Chiefs Draft: A Chat With David Bell

David Bell and Laddie Morse

David Bell and I have been carrying on a conversation about the Kansas City Chiefs 2024 draft and who they might pick for months now. You’ll find a lot of similarities in our comments and we’ve each speculated on the phone that this is because we both played the game, and more specifically, we’ve both played the position of Middle Linebacker (MLB). Of course, when we did that, those were the days when a MLB was like the QB of the defense and we had to know everything an opposing QB knew. Here are some snippets from our email conversations:

Either the Chiefs will trade up into the early 20s… or they trade out. Both seem more likely than them staying put. –Laddie

I feel similarly about either a trade up or down in the draft. One potential factor revolves around the question of: How many QBs are taken in the first round. It’s very possible that 4 QBs go: 1, 2, 3, 4. In which case there would be a good chance that 6 QBs could be selected in round one, or at least 5. At any rate, if 5 or 6 QBs are selected in front of Pick 32 in this draft, it’s possible that the “Bump-down” effect would make a major target on the Chiefs board reachable with a trade up. It’s an interesting conundrum. For me, I have favored trading back and getting an additional top 100 pick. Wait and See arethe watchwords for me today. – David

Veach has a history of trading his top picks and sometimes he even ends up with more picks. The axiom, “Trust in Veach” is in play here full tilt. With a couple weeks to go before the NFL Draft even begins, it’s hard to get overly excited about any particular prospect, However, there are some guys that I have what you’d call, a “Draft Crush” on, including… WR Brian Thomas Jr., OT Amarius Mims, DL T’Vondre Sweat, WR Ladd McConkey, and WR Adonai Mitchell. If you’re wondering if I hope Veach takes a WR first in this draft you’d be right [at that point], but… the quality OTs fall off severely after round one so my educated guess is, a LT who Veach moves up to get, then a WR later on. In the meantime, Veach should sign a FA WR over the next two weeks [before the draft]. –Laddie

Because I believe that all 3 [top] LOT players will be drafted before the Chief makes their selection, prior to pick #32, The Chiefs will draft the best available WR pick #32 and I think that will be Adonai Mitchell, a WR out of Texas. -David

It’s hard to think the Chiefs will pick any other positions than OT or WR (early on). So, in having to choose between those two, I’ll go with OT, simply because I feel that the good OTs in this class run out first whereas the good WRs might last into the third round. So, my pick is OT Tyler Guyton out of Oklahoma. –Laddie

I had discounted drafting a LOT as possible in round one – but then a tweet by P____ –> our occasional author who mentioned that KC might draft a ROT in round one. Why? They could be planning Jawaan Taylor moving to the left side and adding Wanya Morris to a pairing for competition. I thought about that and it makes sense. There will be solid players available for ROT at pick #32. In 2023, the Chiefs signed Taylor with an eye on starting him as the LOT, which [ultimately] didn’t happen because Veach then signed LOT Donovan Smith. I am not predicting anything about that possibility, merely pointing out that it exists. I then took a look at a PFF 2-round mock today. They have the Chiefs selecting OT Guyton with Pick #32 and then in round two, drafting [WR] Roman Wilson. -David

It sounds like you’ve resolved yourself to the same position I have: that it might be best for K.C. to take an OT first then focus on at WR next. I also think the WR group is so deep that an excellent one could be had in the third or fourth rounds. So, if K.C. decides to go the OT route in round one, they can still get a great choice at WR in a later round(s). -Laddie

David also sent me a mock:

In the mock… I could have gone many different directions. Today, I presumed that Veach will re-sign Donovan Smith and keep Morris on the left side for competition. If such happens, getting an OT early, was the focus as opposed to WR. This WR class is deep. In this draft, I was able to get Mitchell, OT Coleman, and OG Puni and then still find a CB, and a 3rd WR late. I felt like this was a sensible draft and it accomplished goals for [at least two] top WRs, an OT, and an OG while still being able to find a CB and RB. I believe Joe Thuney will be with us 1 or 2 more years, but Puni can train up for a year or two down the line (Andy Heck’s value). With Allegretti gone, that made the most sense to me. -David

I then offered up this mock:

In this mock… I took an OL first with the idea that Troy Fautanu could one day take over for Joe Thuney at LG. He pulls well and has “heavy hands” as they like to say, which will be a plus in running the ball. Fautanu is ranked as the 20th best overall prospect by DrafTek and is their 5th best OT. However, I believe he’ll end up playing OG in Reid’s system and his presence should help with the transition the Chiefs will be going through in the next two offseasons with their OL. Also, I wanted to take a RB and was able to get one late. -Laddie

What do you think? Anyone have a preference as to which position group the Chiefs should draft from, first overall? Please don’t just say BPA.