Some teams draft for need, others claim to draft the “best player available”, but almost all of them aspire to do both. While this is difficult to pull off, the Kansas City Chiefs have become fairly adept at doing it, especially in the early rounds. The drafting of Chris Jones, in the 2nd round last year, is an excellent example. The Chiefs got the player they wanted at the right spot by moving down in the draft. If the Chiefs hope to fill a need and also net one of the steals of the draft, they’ll have one major problem: the Houston Texans.
Houston’s biggest needs (per NFL.com writer Lance Zierlein) are QB, OL and ILB. Three positions that the Chiefs could definitely stand to add some talent. Fortunately, their needs on OL are a bit different since Chiefs need depth on the left side, and Texans need depth on the right, but they could still be interested in some of the same prospects. Both Chiefs and Texans are in need of a speedy coverage ILB. Texans are more desperate for a QB than the Chiefs, but Chiefs are only two years away from having no QBs under contract. Tyler Bray is a Free Agent next year and Joel Stave isn’t much more than a practice squad guy. Even if Smith remains the starter, for the foreseeable future, the Chiefs need an affordable #2 QB in case of injury. The fact that they’ve worked out just about every QB in the draft certainly seems to indicate their intention to draft one. If Chiefs are to snag an ILB, QB, or OG they’re going to have to work around the Texans to do it. There’s basically two ways I see this could happen.
Trade Up To #22, Miami’s Spot
If Chiefs want to jump Houston, they’re not going to trade with the Raiders to do it. Trades between division rivals are pretty rare. The next two closest teams are the Giants and the Dolphins. Giants need an OT, if one is there (and I think there will be), they won’t want to trade down, not a lot of depth at that position in this draft. Miami needs a CB, but this draft is flush with them, moving down a few spots doesn’t hurt them that much and they could probably get Chiefs 3rd round comp pick for their trouble. I suspect that Watson and Trubisky will be off the board by pick 22, but Mahomes will still be there. If Chiefs want him, they’ll make a move. Here’s a quick mock draft with Chiefs trading up. (I did all the mock drafts in this article on Fanspeak using the Fanspeak Big Board and user generated team needs).
- 1. QB Patrick Mahomes
- 2. OLB Jordan Willis
- 3. ILB/OLB Tyus Bowser
- 4. TE George Kittle
- 5. DT Jarron Jones
- 5. 2.CB Brian Allen
- 6. RB TJ Logan
- 6.2. RB DeVeon Smith
- 7. OG Aviante Collins
Trade Down To #37, the Rams Spot
The Los Angeles Rams need a pass rusher, but they don’t have a first-round pick. Chiefs are in a spot where a couple of those guys will be available. If Chiefs move down to the 5th pick of the 2nd round, looking at the trade value chart, they could pick up LA’s 5th pick of the 3rd round and send them a 4th, 5th and 6th. Rams get more late picks, Chiefs get more early selections and don’t have to draft players they can’t keep. Most importantly though, Chiefs find themselves in a prime spot to snag the 4th QB of the draft or one of the better ILBs (there should be a couple who go early in the 2nd round). If you’re not as worried about immediate needs, Chiefs could probably make this same move and snag Sidney Jones, a top 10 pick in talent, who’s coming off an injury, but will still likely go early in the 2nd round. Here’s a mock I did with the Chiefs trading down.
- 2. ILB Raekwon McMillan
- 2.2. QB Nathan Peterman
- 3. OLB Ryan Anderson
- 3.2. CB Teez Tabor
- 3.3. TE Jake Butt
- 5.2. OG Erik Magnuson
- 6.2. RB Joe Williams
- 7. NT Josh Augusta
Standing Pat in Round One
Of course, it’s always possible that the Chiefs have another plan to deal with the Texans. Instead of trading up or down, they could stand pat, and snag value at other positions, waiting till later rounds to pick up shared needs. A draft done that way could look something like this:
1. OLB Charles Harris
2. CB Chidobe Awuze
3. TE Gerald Everrett
3.2. RB Semaje Perine
4. QB Jerrod Evans
5. OG Erik Magnuson
5.2. NT Stevie Tui’Kolovatu
6. ILB Ben Gedeon
6.2. RB/KR TJ logan
7. K Eric Medina
Whichever approach Chiefs take, I’m anxious for the draft to arrive. After combing through every angle, the fatigue is setting in. All the over-thinking is starting to stress me out just a little bit. I’m ready to stop guessing what the Chiefs will do and start writing about why they did it. In the end, while I like the idea of getting extra picks, by trading down, I also dread it, because it could mean waiting yet another day for Chiefs’ draft to begin. Which approach do you favor and which position is most important to you to hit early? Let me know in the comment section.
Chiefly Bacon’s Bonus Thought
Doing all this mock drafting has given me immense sympathy for Dorsey. The more you know each prospect, the harder it becomes to select just one of them. You’re always worrying that the other might have been a better choice. In a draft, with this much talent, every missed pick could be the difference between a Super Bowl run and a rebuilding year. Glad I only have the imaginary pressure of getting it right.
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