Chiefs Draft: Low Round Low Down for 2023

Laddie Morse

Would the Kansas City Chiefs have won Super Bowl LVII if they didn’t have their rookies? I asked David Bell this very question today and he said,

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“Absolutely not.”

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Consequently, I have begun to do a deep dive on lower round picks. Pick #136 is where the 5^th round starts so, any player ranked lower than that is where we being today. Since the Chiefs pick at #166 in the fifth round, that’s where I’ll really begin to focus my attention.

With the Chiefs having some success in the lower rounds in recent years, it’s important to look backwards to look forwards. First, let’s take a look at rounds 5 through 7 and the picks Brett Veach has made since he became General Manager.

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2018 Draft

As a CB Tremon Smith was selected in the 6^th round with pick #196. Smith had 4.32 speed and after his rookie year, in which he was mostly used as a Special Teams returner, he was tried at RB in the Preseason of 2019, but that experiment failed and he was released in September of the 2019 season.

Kahlil McKenzie was also taken in the 6^th round that year, two picks later, with the 198^th selection. He was originally a DT in college but was tried at OL and that experiment also failed. McKenzie was released before the 2019 season.

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2019 Draft

Veach selected CB Rashad Fenton in the 6^th round with the 201^st pick in that draft. Fenton was a useful DB and stuck with the team until November of 2022, this past season, when he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for a 7^th round pick in this coming draft.

RB Darwin Thompson was selected with the 214^th pick in the 6^th round and in his second season, week 17, he recorded 110 yards rushing against the Chargers. In the end, he was released in August of 2021.

In the 7^th round, with pick #216, Veach drafted IOL Nick Allegretti. Allegretti is still with the team and plays a vital role of backup IOL and he can play all three of those positions.

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2020 Draft

With the 5^th round pick, #177 overall, Brett Veach selected DL Michael Danna out of Michigan. Danna has become an important rotational Defensive Lineman and has 78 Tackles to his name to go along with 10.5 sacks. He’s not good enough to eb a starter, but he plays a crucial role in DC Steve Spagnuolo’s system.

CB Thakarius Keyes was taken in the 7^th round of the 2020 draft with the 237^th pick overall. He went on the IR list for half a year and when he was activated he played in 8 games and had 8 tackles. He was released before the 2021 season.

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2021 Draft

TE Noah Gray was selected in the 5^th round with the 162^nd pick.  Gray has 35 receptions over the past two season, 335 receiving yards and two TDs. Some were hoping he’d be the heir apparent to Travis Kelce, but he’s 6-foot-3 and weighs 240 lbs. and while he has good hands, he hasn’t shown he could step up if Kelce becomes absent for some reason.

WR Cornell Powell was selected in the 5 round that year with the 181^st pick. While I had high hopes for Powell, he’s never panned out. He’s still on the roster but will have to show that he’s elevated his game to stick on the roster this season.

RG Trey Smith was selected in the 6^th round with the 226 pick. His medical situation (a blood clot disorder) almost lost him his career but having taken care of that, he now becomes w=one of the best Guards in the NFL and is part of the IOL that provides Patrick Mahomes the ability to step up in the pocket with the comfort of knowing he’s well protected.

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2022 Draft

In the 5^th round, Veach selected OT Darian Kinnard. Kinnard will compete for the RT position this year in training camp and while some have been disappointed with his not stepping up and into the starting role this past season, Andrew Wylie took care of those duties. With Wylie gone, Kinnard is expected to compete for that position this year.

CB Jaylen Watson was taken in the 7^th round with the Chiefs 243^rd pick overall. Watson became a regular starter when Trent McDuffie went down with a hamstring injury in Week One vs the Cardinal. Then, in Week Two, he had a 99 yard pick-6 (an INT for a TD) which caught everyone’s attention. Watson is 6-foot-2 and figures prominently in the Chiefs future plans.

RB Isiah Pacheco was selected with the 251^st pick overall in. the 7^th round. He is known for saying, “I’ve come to take a grown man’s job” and that exactly what he did. He runs hard and is fast, has 4.37 speed, and eventually took over he starting role for Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Lastly, Veach selected DB Nazeeh Johnson in the 7^th round with the 259^th pick overall. Nazeeh has 4.38 speed and he played most of his snaps on Special Teams. He will either be replaced by an incoming draft pick, or play the same role in 2023.

Brett Veach

Veach appears to be getting better and better as the years go by… at least as far as drafting late round prospects is concerned. Of course, if he hadn’t drafted the players he got last year, a Super Bowl ring may not have happened. Last year, both Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams had formal visits with the Chiefs. Here’s a listing of the visits K.C. has had with prospects:

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With Patrick Mahomes sponsoring practices in Fort Worth, I would think the league will somehow outlaw such meetings in the future. In the meantime, here’s some prospects that could see themselves wearing red and gold this fall.

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Carrington Valentine is ranked 174 overall by DrafTek and he’s ranked 164 by CBS Sports. He runs a 4.44 40 yard dash and here’s what DraftBuzz.com had to say about him:

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“In 2022 as a junior Valentine played in 12 games and contributed on 726 snaps. He chalked up 45 tackles, 6 assists, and added 17 stops. In the secondary Valentine forced 6 pass breakups, one interception….”

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Carrington Valentine’s RAS is 9.86:

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His stats include:

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• 1,526 career snaps | 1,373 on boundary

• 2022: 51/59 tackles | 36/65 comp (55%)

• 13.9 YPC | 4 INTs | 6 PBU

• 283 ST snaps in two years

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At 6-foot-5 and 275 lbs. (an alternate source says he’s 6-foot-6 and 292 lbs.) Mike Morris is the prototypical size that DC Steve Spagnuolo likes in his Defensive Ends. Morris is ranked 283 overall by CBS Sports and 238 overall by DrafTek, so some of you might not be very excited about this prospect, but just you wait one minute. Since he’s from Michigan (a college alum along with Mike Danna) he should have most of the correct techniques taught to him previously. Morris runs a 4.95 which is very good for a big man. DraftBuzz.com says of Morris:

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“As a junior [in 2022] Morris played in 11 games and contributed on 321 snaps. He recorded 11 tackles, 3 assists while making 17 stops. As a pass rusher, he produced 35 total pressures, which included 19 QB hurries, 7 QB hits, and an excellent 9 sacks on the year.”

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DraftBuzz list these as his weaknesses:

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“Plays tall and gets upright off the snap. Wins with upper-body strength and needs to focus on leverage. Plays high and with poor balance and power. He’ll lose ground at the point of attack, and Morris doesn’t get the full benefit of his length.”

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While these are concerns they can all be “coached-out” of him with the Chiefs coaches doing their best. Here his RAS:

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Counting down his weight is not a negative in my book. While his 22 reps at 225 lbs. may be a downside, the question is… how well does he play the game? I’ll let the videos speak for themselves:

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BTW, that’s the 6-foot-6, 320 lbs. Jaelyn Duncan that Mike Morris beat (the Jaelyn Duncan who is the 10th best OT in this draft according to DraftBuzz.com). Spags would love working with a guy who is versatile and already knows how to run a stunt up the middle (see below):

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Tyler Steen could end up in a Chiefs jersey if they don’t go for one early in the draft. Steen is 6-foot-5 and weighs 321 lbs. plus he has moved up 25 places at DrafTek and is now ranked 134 overall. Steen runs the 40 in 5.2, which is fairly typical for a big guy. Tyler Steen ranks 188 overall at CBS Sports and that’s the main reason for including him here. DraftBuzz.com had this to say about Steen:

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“After [his Junior] season’s end [at Vanderbilt] Steen transferred to Alabama where as a senior Steen saw action in 12 games and played a total of 788 snaps for the Crimson Tide. He allowed a disappointing 16 QB hurries, 2 QB hits, and 2 sacks while playing at left tackle.”

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Here’s how Tyler Steen’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS) came out:

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RB/WR, Sean Tucker

I may be the only one who sees this but… I see Sean Tucker as another Tyreek Hill type of player, someone who starts out as a RB and then transitions to WR. Tucker ran a 4.3 40 yard dash coming out of high school but didn’t do any of the measurables at the combine, so we don’t know for sure just how fast he is now.

DrafBuzz.com says Tucker is the 7th best player at his position and that he runs a 4.57 40 yard dash, but if you watch his tape, he clearly is much, much faster than that. He often leaves other in the dust. Let’s take a look:

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My idea of course is for Tucker to go through the same metamorphosis as Tyreek Hill went through. Can Andy Reid and his crew pull of another Houdini trick with this prospect? They are better prepared to make this happen than ever before. The ten picks that Brett Veach is starting with gives him the leverage to move up if he needs to, to make sure they get Sean Tucker.

Tucker doesn’t have a Relative Athletic Score so we’ll have to use the old eyeball test.

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Tucker may have “Bouncey-Bouncey-itis” where he tries too often to bounce every running play to the outside. What thrills me about his play is thinking about what Andy Reid could do with a WR/RB like him, getting him isolated and out in space, because it seems that Tucker breaks at least one tackle on each of his runs. I’ve heard it said of Tucker, that he has to work on his hands because of drops, but I haven’t seen him drop a ball yet, not once.

Even if the Chiefs draft him to just be a change of pace back when bringing him in, I’d like to see that. There aren’t many prospects who make me smile when I watch their tape, but Sean Tucker is one of those players. DraftBuzz.com said of Tucker:

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“In 2022 as a junior Tucker saw action in 12 games for the Orange. He ran for an outstanding 1061 yards on 204 attempts for an excellent 5.2 ypc, with 11 TDs, with one fumble. As a receiver he made 37 receptions for 262 yards.”

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Do you have any late round favorites you’d like to share with the class?

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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