Laddie Morse
This may not have been the best draft class in the past ten seasons, but it was solid up the middle. What I mean by that is, the very best Wide receivers were deep, but not strong at the top. No Calvin Johnson – or even a Ja’Marr Chase — for example. Although the WR position wasn’t incredibly excellent at the top, they proceeded to be the most selected position in the draft with 33 WRs taken. The same rationale could be used for the Left Tackle position. There was no Penei Sewell nor Tristan Wirfs (who both were drafted in the past 5 years and each has made the Pro Bowl). Although the OT position wasn’t elite at the top, it wasn’t that deep either, with the total number of OTs taken not breaking into the top four. Only 5 OTs were taken in the first round.
However, the CB position was strong and deep. We’ll have to keep tabs on CB Devon Witherspoon — taken 5th overall — to see how he does this year. 31 CBs were taken in this draft and they were second only to the WRs. Just goes to show how strong the passing game has become in the NFL.
The Chiefs began the night on Thursday with 10 picks overall. There was no way they were going to be able to fit 10 more players onto their roster, so… they made some trades and ended up with 7 picks (players) in all. Now, let’s take a look at each of the Chiefs seven draft picks.
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Felix Anudike-Uzomah was a great pick. Was he the best EDGE rusher in this draft? I doubt it, but he could end up being that guy in the long run. K.C. began the evening with the 31st pick in the draft (in round one) and stayed right there to end up with the guy they wanted all along: Felix Anudike-Uzomah (FAU). Looks like we won’t have to wait to see if Felix is a good hearted guy:
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FAU was a Kansas State grad and also played for a local high school in Lee’s Summit. FAU may not be as bendy as some would like, but Mike Borgonzi — Chiefs assistant General Manager — said FAU reminded him of Tamba Hali and that he was always moving until the whistle, just like Tamba. It’s not a bad comparison at all, but let’s step back and appreciate that Tamba was second all time in sacks for the Chiefs with 89.5 sacks.
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The Chiefs owned the 63rd pick, but traded with the Minnesota Vikings, who had gotten the pick from Detroit in a trade for TE, T.J. Hockenson and Detroit proceeded to trade the 63rd pick to the Broncos, who then selected WR Marvin Mims. K.C. used the 55th pick to take WR Rashee Rice from SMU. After watching tape on Rashee Rice, you can understand why he was the preferred WR:
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Here’s Rashee Rice’s Relative Athletic Score:
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Rice, at 6-foot-2 and 203 lbs., gained 1,355 yard receiving in 2022, but played his last 10 games with turf toe. Still Rice averaged 112 YPG last year. He got turf toe in Week Four vs TCU, but played through the pain. However, it did effect his play. From October 26, 2022, 247sports.com says this:
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“Rashee Rice had an uncharacteristic performance last week and he has taken steps to stop it from happening again. He caught four passes for a season-low 41 yards and had some uncharacteristic drops on his 12 targets. Part of it has been a turf toe injury Rice picked up early against TCU. It has limited Rice to under 100 yards receiving in all but one of the last four games and without a touchdown in the last three. There were some drops and just some plays Rice normally makes, and feels like he should make, that didn’t get made.”
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So, Rashee Rice is better than what we first thought he was. Sure, we may have thought Brett Veach made a good pick when it happened, but it looks like Rice is even better than what we thought at first glance. Nice job Mister Veach!
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For some reason in every draft, a player is over looked. Wanya Morris appears to be that player. Maybe it’s his lack of girth (6-5, 307) or perhaps it’s his perceived goofiness in interviews. Here’s Wanya chattering about the time he got a hamstring injury and the whole play involved.
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Here’s Wanya Morris babbling at the Senior Bowl in an interview:
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“I’m always smiling, but don’t let that fool you.” The more I listen to Wanya, the more I love him and this pick! On the upside, Wanya Morris is an excellent choice for an Offensive Tackle. In fact, he should end up being the Chiefs Swing Tackle (unless he wins the starting Right Tackle role). That means, he will fill in at either Tackle position in case of an injury or an emergency.
Wanya is #64 in the video below, which includes some Senior Bowl clips:
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Morris has played on both the right and left side of the offensive line so his experience in both of those places makes him well suited for the Swing/T role.
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Chamarri Conner was not on my list of players I’d scouted prior to the draft. What I know has been learn about him since he was picked. DraftBuzz.com says Conner’s weaknesses include giving away too much of a cushion to WRs at the line of scrimmage. However, that is something that can be coached out of him. The same goes for some other weaknesses they mention like, he “was able to physically overwhelm opposing receivers early in the down” which can be dealt with in practices during training camp.
A big part of the Andy Reid (Chiefs) “persona” is being teachable. I’m going to assume Conner is one of those players who can be taught. Thus, he should have no problem adapting to the Pro game in no time at all.
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Beyond the fixes that must be done to his game: Chamarri Conner reminds me of a L’Jarius Sneed… Lite. If he progresses, I can see him taking Sneed’s place (in the event that K.C. can’t afford him next offseason).
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Conner was asked to do many a thing in college so his role changed each year. Does that remind you of anyone? If you said LJ, we’re on the same page. The one thing I do know that Chamarri Conner can do right now, is play Special teams… and… play up in the box. He a big hitter!
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B.J. Thompson is out of Stephen F. Austin (SAF) and played at 220 lbs. all last year. Since then, he’s put on enough weight to play at 243 lbs. but it’s being suggested that he needs to put on more weight to play in the NFL. He may be perceptually tall and lanky but much of that is due to his 6-foot-6 height. The skill he has down pat is bending. He can do so even against the toughest opponents.
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B.J. Thompson is also a very good basketball player and he once won a dunk contest while at Baylor:
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While we won’t be paying to see B.J. Thompson dunk a basketball, it proves his superior athleticism. If he can put on a few more pounds, he’ll be a great depth player at Defensive End for the Chiefs.
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Keondre Coburn is maybe my least favorite pick this year. Why? Because he lines up as a DT in the Zero or One-Tech position. We haven’t really had a zero or one-tech player since Dontari Poe was in K.C.. Do we need one. Yes, but we already have Danny Shelton who can serve in that role. Not everyone agrees with me however…
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Coburn weighs 344 lbs. and stands 6-foot-2 tall (almost), so he’s plenty big enough. Coburn has been an Honorable Mention in the Big 12 for the past three seasons for the Texas Longhorns. Coburn played all four years for the University of Texas and from texassports.com comes this about his Senior year in Austin:
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“[Coburn has] totaled 28 tackles (10 solo), three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two quarterback hurries….”
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Let’s not forget that the Chiefs starting RB in 2022 was Isiah Pacheco who was drafted with the 251st pick just last year. Nic Jones — the 250th pick this year — is out of small school, Ball State and he stands 6-foot-0 tall and weighs 189 lbs.. In his presser with the Chiefs after he was drafted, Nic Jones said, “It was a dream come true being drafted by the Chiefs.” Hopefully he still feels that way in a year:
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Nic Jones had two INTs in his last season at Ball State:
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Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time, like Nic Jones was above…
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“Reevaluating the draft, FAU was a fine pick, really like the swings on high upside guys in Rice and Wanya. After that, the lack of depth in this class showed. Trading up for Conner, a Sneed type pick, with substantially lower upside. BJ Thompson is a nice swing, but the type of guy who typically goes a bit later. Chiefs traded out of their pick at the top of the 6th, meaning subsequent selections were not high priority guys. Overall, probably a weaker draft, than the past two, but kinda to be expected.”
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Lastly
If you couldn’t tell, I’m a big Rashee Rice fan. I’d go so far as to predict, that Rice will win the rookie of the year award — The Mack Lee Hill Award — for the Chiefs in 2023. Prior to the draft, I was calling for Brett Veach to take a DE, an OT and a WR with his first three… picks and that’s exactly what he did. As far as I’m concerned, the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs… just got better.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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