ArrowheadOne Writer’s Mock Draft: Fourth Round Pick – just as the Kansas City Chiefs have had many excellent 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks over the years, so too have they had their share of good 4th rounders. However, it was more difficult to find more good 4th rounders in Chiefs history plus, they seem to have made a habit of trading away several of their 4th rounders. Pictured above are some of those choices. Clockwise, from the upper right-hand corner:
- Jack Rudnay – 1969
- Otis Taylor – 1965
- Jared Allen – 2004
- Demarcus Robinson – 2016
- Donnie Edwards – 1996
- Matt Herkenhoff – 1974
David Bell selected ILB Zack Baun as the Chiefs 1st round pick in our ArrowheadOne Writer’s Mock. Then, Michael Travis Rose selected CB Bryce Hall for the Chiefs in round 2. Next came the 3rd round pick by David Perkins, a Safety, K’Von Wallace. Now, it’s Ransom Hawthorne’s turn to select:
Ransom Hawthorne on Saahdiq Charles
Saahdiq Charles is a really good fit for Chiefs Zone Blocking scheme. He’s likely a Guard, at the NFL level, but two years starting at Left Tackle, in the SEC, makes him a really good candidate for a swing role. Plus movement skills, and a decent anchor. Arms are short, and he’s not the strongest guy. According to Dane Brugler, of the Athletic, teams have significant concerns about Charles’ maturity. Chiefs have built a really solid locker room and Reid has generally done pretty well with guys like that. Taking a versatile lineman, with early starter upside, this late in the draft, is well worth the potential risk. With only a 4th round pick invested, Chiefs can feel free to cut ties, if they ever need to. Charles is a 2nd round talent, as long as Reid can reach him, Chiefs will have themselves a young, cheap, starter, at Left Guard, who offers emergency OT depth.
David Bell on Saahdiq Charles
Saahdiq Charles, at 6-4, 295, has the size and length for the OT role and his quickness is what captures the attention of observers which gives him a view of a high ceiling coming to the NFL. He’s entering the draft a year early and played on an LSU offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award, for the best collegiate OL. Charles is a player who will require coaching up to round out rough edges and will need a strength building program for the NFL. Adding Charles is going to be a selection to work the player up to be a contributor and hopefully more. His speed, agility and quickness will aid that development. Charles does have a “red flag” due to a 6-game suspension in 2019 for internal team discipline reasons. Although he would have benefited from another year of experience with LSU, he played in 13 games as a freshman for the Tigers and showed promise as he continued to develop during his time there. I like his feet and ability to begin each play from his anchor position using his agility to slide laterally. It is this factor which makes him a good target for the Chiefs draft: he can be coached up from his weaknesses and fit well to the slide and glide for the ZBS. Getting to the second level is crucially important in the Chiefs OL scheme so Charles’ quickness makes him a fit. I see Charles able to fend off opponents and his quick feet should get him into the slot to pick up defenders in the gaps. Charles is not without weaknesses and has a tendency to lunge when blocking and sometimes plays over his toes which can be manipulated by defensive linemen leaving him off balance and out of position to make a play. This can be coached out of him, because he’s a player who has good lateral movement and with the Strength and Conditioning program of Barry Rubin and Ryan Reynolds and Co he should quickly adapt as a quality depth player. Charles needs to learn how to use his hands to gain leverage against opponents so, Andy Heck and Eric Bieniemy would have their work cut out for them to teach him to utilize his quickness and agility which he already possesses, to develop him into a consistent contributor to the Chiefs Offensive line.
David Perkins on Saahdiq Wallace
Charles is 6-4 and 321, an OT from LSU, with the ability to run a 5.05 – 40, 3.01 – 20 and 1.73 – 10, with a hand-held sub 5.00 in the 40. His speed is comparable to Fisher, maybe a half step slower. No other stats are known due to pro-days being cut. A wingspan of 80+ inches equals the height of 6’8″ – meaning his arms are 4 inches longer than he is tall. That is good, especially for an OT! He is rated the 14 best OT by NFL Rough Draft, and the #20 best OL by The Huddle Report. Overall, rankings are #75, #103, #109 and #154 on various draft boards. He is considered a low 3rd or 4th round pick, slipping to the 5th. Charles is foot quick with natural balance, good mobility and fluidity in space. Plays with low pads and experienced on the island. Power and technique are his worst traits (nothing a red-shirt year can’t correct), and needs work on his punch. Projects well for teams that like OLs that can move in ZBS. Biggest issue may be missing 6 games in 2019 due to disciplinary issues at LSU; limiting film against more quality opponents. Slightly raw but the physical traits will give any team something to work with.
Laddie Morse on Saahdiq Charles
Ever since Andy Reid took Michael Vick under his wing and gave him he second chance of a lifetime, Reid has been known as a the coach with a heart of gold. If the Chiefs do select Saahdiq Charles in this draft, that same heart would have to open up again, and open fairly wide apparently. Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports sites a source who knows Charles and says he was: “tremendously immature and constantly stayed in trouble during the Tigers’ dream season.“ What may be more troublesome is that this same source also said, “He makes it tough to trust him. He’s not reliable. In three years, he had a major discipline issue each year.” In trouble every year? Even though Charles was suspended for several games last year, once he did return he held down the LT tackle position and played at a high level there. The tape I watched on Charles shows he can anchor with the best of them (which means he already knows how to use his body leverage), keeps a wide base (feet), uses quick feet to slide laterally, and locks on to a DE with a deathgrip to keep him off of his QB.
This is a wild rep by LSU OT Saahdiq Charles, who is a Top 10 OT on my board. Extremely smooth movement skills and footwork. Great grip strength. pic.twitter.com/nvfm3hxRjA
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) April 9, 2020
That means, the Chiefs could be getting a real bargain if he lasts until the end of the fourth round. So, Saahdiq Charles is a High Risk-High Reward offensive lineman and until Marcus Peters came along, the kind of player that Andy Reid consistently took a chance on. Will he return to his true heart and go for it again in this draft? The answer may be that Reid has already won it all so now maybe he’d be willing to take some chances again. I would support the pick of Saahdiq Charles as well, because he could end up being a replacement for Eric Fisher down the line and Fisher’s contract ends in 2021 and it would only cost K.C. $3.1M in Dead money to cut Fish next offseason if Saahdiq is ready in a year. Since Ed Orgeron, LSU’s head coach, trusted Charles to protect the blind side of Joe Burrow, the best QB in the nation — who won the Heisman Trophy and led them to a national championship — then Saahdiq Charles may have what it takes to protect the best QB in the NFL for the next ten years. Sure, Charles may come with some baggage, but under Reid’s influence, he could flourish… and so could the Chiefs.
Tomorrow, on Draft Day, we’ll present our 5th, and last pick, in the ArrowheadOne Writer’s Mock series. Come back at noon today for some, “Q&A With AO Writers” See you then.
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