Chiefs Mock Chalk Talk: Who’s Available at #31? – After months of waiting, we’ll finally find out, in three weeks, who the Kansas City Chiefs will invite into the fold, and draft with their 8 selections in the 2021 NFL draft. The idea here today is to share four mocks by national pundits and then give you a list of potential players that Brett Veach is likely to be choosing from. A note of caution however, everyone’s big board is different, and the further down the draft board you get, the wider the possible choices. In other words, if the Chiefs were drafting 5th in this draft (thank God they’re not), then the choices would probably be much more clear, than if they were drafting at #31, or #32, like they did last year. So, here’ who’s available with some of those media type’s mocks.
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Sidenote: the Jets-Panthers trade for QB Sam Darnold won’t have any effect on what the Chiefs do in round one, it just cements that three QBs will go in the top three picks in this draft. If you count them out, it looks like four QBs are a lock to be taken before K.C. picks at #31: 1) Trevor Lawrence, 2) Zach WIlson, 3) Mac Jones, 4) Justin Fields. After that, who knows for sure? BTW, I think the top QB talent in this draft is Justin Fields, who may end up the last of the four to be selected.
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The first of the “Who’s Available at #31?” mocks, is based on information gathered by David Bell, a mock done by Drae Harris from “The Draft Network Version 6.2:”
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The point here is not so much to examine the mock, as it is to consider the players not mocked ahead of the Chiefs, like those below:
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David left a note about Caleb Farley, that his lower ranking, “shows worry about surgery.” Aside from that, who would you be interested in if the draft fell this way on day one? I’m not a big Dillon Radunz fan so, I’d probably go with OT Alex Leatherwood, if the roster remains as it is right now.
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Here’ the second “Who’s Available at #31?” mock, and this one is by DrafTek:
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You can begin to see a pattern in the top ten, or even the top twenty, players taken, it’s the same one’s again and again.
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Here, DrafTek has K.C. taking a wide receiver in Terrance Marshall. David Bell says the top WRs have skills that can’t be taught, but the more I examine the WRs in this draft, you can get some very talented pass catchers as low as the 4th round. Consequently, I’m not so sure I’d go with a WR pick in the first round. However, I am a member of the “In Veach We Trust Foundation” (IVWT) like David, so whoever he takes, I’m sure he’ll be a great fit and pick.
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The next “Who’s Available at #31?” mock is by Josh Edwards at CBS Sports. Here’s how he lays it out:
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Here are the prospects who Edwards gave K.C. and Tampa Bay, plus those who he didn’t fit into the first round:
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I was a bigger fan of LB Zaven Collins a month ago than I am right now. I guess I’d like to see the Chiefs fill all of their most important needs this offseason first, which is probably not going to happen. However, I’ve become aware of some excellent LB choices later in the draft so taking Collin at the top, you’d have to be convinced that he’s a no-rick guy, and I’m not so sure of that. He could end up being the next big thing at LB in the NFL… but with speedy, coverage oriented, LBs like Jabril Cox, Cameron McGrone available later, it’s hard to see why you’d want to take any risk at all with your 31st pick.
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The last “Who’s Available at #31?” mock we’re focusing on today was shared by Nick Farabaugh of ProFootball Focus:
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The Chiefs pick, and those others who were still available in his mock scenario include:
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I’d love to get Creed Humphrey to be the Chiefs next Center for the next decade… in the second round. Taking Humphrey in the first is not likely to happen for two reasons: 1) He’s a Center, and 2) He’s left-handed. Last year, Veach and Reid wanted the best RB — in their eyes — in the draft and consequently took Clyde Edwards-Helaire, so I can’t discount that this is a possibility. Especially since Humphrey may be the best OC in this draft. I like Landon Dickerson a lot, but he comes with medical concerns. I see Humphrey ahead of Dickerson, even if they both get a 100% healthy report card. I’m also a big fan of Liam Eichenberg and that has been the case for over a month now. Eichenberg is also ahead of where Eric Fisher was at this time in his development. The Draft Network says, “Liam Eichenberg is an NFL-ready starting left tackle who should find assimilating to the pro game fairly easy“. I would concur.
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So, who would you pick, if any of these mock scenarios became a draft day reality?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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