Laddie Morse
We’ve seen enough of these two to make our minds up: Ethan Driskell or Lucas Niang? The most recent preseason game clinched it for me, I’m with Ethan Driskell all the way. Sure, Niang was a draft pick but at this point, keeping him would be all about ego and not performance.
Lucas Niang
Lucas Niang is 6-foot-6, 315 lbs. and was selected in the 3rd round of the 2020 NFL Draft with pick #96 overall. Niang runs a 5.60 40-yard dash. Right after he was drafted, Niang proceeded to take the season (2020) off as a Covid drop out. That hurt his standing with the team, and ultimately, with Kingdom fans. He was then named the starting RT to begin the 2021 season.
Niang’s Injury Issues
Niang started 7 of the first 9 games in 2021, missing two with a shoulder injury, then he suffered a ribs injury in Week 9. He missed the next four games, then made his first start at LT in Week 17. However, Niang suffered a torn patellar tendon in that game and he was placed on the IR list on January 7th of 2022.
In August of 2022, Niang was placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list but was activated three months lat. However, he only played offense on 9 snaps during the Chiefs Super Bowl winning season.
In 2023, Niang won his second straight Super Bowl ring (against the 49ers) but only played offense on 58 snaps.
Niang’s Success at TCU
Lucas was a highly successful, and high regarded, Tackle at TCU:
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Niang had been playing with a “torn hip labrum” during his Senior year at TCU, and Todd McShay had ranked him as the #1 Tackle in the 2020 NFL draft even though K.C. ended up taking him as the 9th OT. That was likely because of the torn labrum. That’s something the CHIefs do often… take a medically challenged player and fix him. Example: Trey Smith.
While this is a good catch by Xavier Worthy, Lucas Niang looks slow in covering the edge for a RT:
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Bert said recently that Niang has a rich father. Here’s Nabi Niang and his son Lucas Balthazar Niang.
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That may explain why he took off the Covid year and why he also doesn’t go out of his way to train or do hard things. If Niang knows he has a rich daddy to fall back on, he might be a questionable player to have on the roster.
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Ethan Driskell
Ethan Driskell is a UDFA listed at 6-foot-8, and 313 lbs. by NFL.com (Driskell says he’s 6-foot-8 without shoes on) but Marshall, where he went to college, lists him at 6-foot-9 and 329 lbs.. Either way, he a mountain of a man. The question is… can he move? As in, is he athletic? The answer may surprise you.
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That’s Driskell, #75, out in front of RB Deneric Prince (4.41), blasting #40, Lions Safety Brandon Joseph, who is vying for a starting job. Driskell runs a 5.22 40 time and the above play may show he’s a bit faster than originally timed.
Here’s an interview with Driskell and he says he likes to simulate the game of Trent Williams, and he includes Lane Johnson and Tyron Smith.
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I can’t say why Ethan Driskell wasn’t drafted. After all, many teams need Left Tackles, which is exactly the position Driskell played in College at Marshall. BTW, Marshall is located on the West Virginia side of the Ohio River. The Eagles were once reported to be interested in Driskell:
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“Elite Athleticism”… huh? That sounds ominous to me. Everyone claims to have elite athleticism, but do they really have it? Check it out for yourself (0:07).
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Anytime you see a LT pancake a defender, you have to love it (0:08).
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#52 is Driskell (0:06)
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Here’s Ethan Driskell pushiing Matt Dickerson out of the way in practice last week:
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Tyler McFarland – Photo Credit
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I know we’re not supposed to take preseason games overly serious, but Ethan Driskell has impressed me. Much more than Lucas Niang has… by a wide margin. We’ll find out who is kept by the Chiefs one week from today on August 27.
What do you think?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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