If you’ve been a Kansas City Chiefs fan for very long then you’re probably aware that head coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey like players who are multidimensional… and can do more than one thing on the field. I’m not necessarily referring to a player like Dontari Poe… but his other skills should not be ignored as Andy Reid made good enough use of him to generate two TDs. I’m talking about players like De’Anthony Thomas, Tyreek Hill or Knile Davis who can all return kicks as well as play a position and in the case of Hill and DAT, wide receiver and running back too. Andy likes to have players who have more than one gun in their holster.
Most fans may be assuming Tyreek Hill will be taking all the punt return and kickoff return duties now that Knile Davis was sent packin’ with his saddle bags for the second time (okay, enough of the cowboy metaphors… I’ve been in Texas way too long). However, Andy Reid has stated recently that he’s planning on incorporating Hill more into the offense so if his snaps go up there… it raises the question: how much will Hill be burdened with the return chores in 2017? Consequently, if JARD can find a superior specialist to share the return responsibilities, it could benefit Hill’s impact on the offense… and keep him from getting saddle sores from riding the kick return horse too long (I know… but I just had to squeeze one more in there).
So, who are those players in this draft, who are “twofers?”
Cornerback/KR Adoree Jackson of USC
Adoree Jackson was a junior at the University of Southern California in 2016 and had 5 interceptions on the year. At 5-foot-10 inches and 186 lbs. he may be smaller than the ideal size that JARD likes in a CB but his ability to return kicks may make him a high round candidate for the Chiefs. In his three seasons at USC, Jackson had 4 punt return TDs and 4 kickoff return TDs averaging 27.1 yards per kick return and 12.6 per punt return. That alone is good enough to get him drafted but pair that with his performance as a corner and that may be the reason he ranks as the 55th best overall prospect by CBS Sports and the 32nd best by DraftTek. While he doesn’t have blazing speed, he does run the 40 in 4.42 so Adoree Jackson would probably make a great pick in the second round if he tumbles at all.
Running Back Christian McCaffrey of Stanford
Christian McCaffrey is a 6-foot-1 inch, 201 lbs. wunderkind. I rate McCaffrey tied with Leonard Fournette as the best RB in this draft. In fact, I predict that McCaffrey will have a longer career than Fournette because McCaffrey often attempts to avoid tacklers whereas Fournette attempts to blow them up. Chiefs ex-RB Larry Johnson used to run the way Fournette does now and his number of carries playing that way shortened his career.
McCaffrey not only has a terrific jump step and change of direction on top of being able to read the hole and be patient with his blockers as a running back, but he is a very good returner. Christian McCaffrey is the best West Coast Offense running/receiving combo weapon in this draft. While he’s coming out after his junior year he’s had 3,633 yards rushing with 955 yards receiving in the past two years.
I watched several hours of McCaffrey’s game tape this week and it doesn’t take long before you see his skill level, which is remarkable. His change of direction reminds me a bit of Gale Sayers… which is saying something. McCaffrey gains plenty of yards after first-contact which alone could set him apart from all the other backs in this draft with the exception of Fournette. He has great hands and can catch a fly in a wind tunnel. Some have even said he may end up a wide receiver but that would be a tragedy considering his running ability. His weakness is also his strength because everytime he touches the ball he’s trying to break a big run… which means he tries to break it outside too often. When watching him play a whole game at a time, you begin to get the feeling that he’ll inevitably break a long run for a TD and… amazingly… it usually happens.
Christian McCaffrey averaged 26.4 yards per kickoff return and 11.2 yards for each punt return. McCaffrey is near the top of my list of players I hope the Chiefs will select… if he’s still there… in this year’s draft.
Running Back/KR T.J. Logan
While T.J. Logan might only the rank 217th best overall prospect by CBS Sports and 221st by DraftTek, this 5-foot-9 inch, 196 lbs. running back slash kick returner is a dynamo. Logan uses every bit of his 4.34 speed and in Tar Heel country, he’s referred to as “8-Ball” because he’s worn that number since high school. At North Carolina he’s not only taken a back seat, headlines wise, to QB Mitch Trubisky but with the arrival of Elijah Hood, has certainly taken a back seat in awareness of his skills. Logan has returned 5 kickoffs for TDs and ha never returned punts which makes his 5 return TDs numbers are more impressive. Logan averaged 27.2 yards per kickoff return and in his senior year, that number jumped to 32.9.
As a running back T.J. Logan gained 2,165 yards in four seasons and gained 663 yards receiving. What stands out about Logan’s running and receiving numbers are his 23 TDs from scrimmage. That’s a lot of TDs per touch. Logan’s speed, ability to change directions at top speed and nose for the end zone should make him an intriguing target late in the draft. The Chiefs could use Logan to share kickoff chores with Tyreek Hill and Spiller or replace Spiller is he doesn’t work out. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com says of Logan, “… athlete with excellent short area burst and the finishing speed to hit home runs in all three phases if the opportunity is right.” Opportunity right? Bob Sutton should be able to help with that. Here’s a highlight reel of T.J. “8 Ball” Logan (jump to about :40 seconds into the video to get past the hype),
Safety/KR Jabrill Peppers of Michigan
Jabrill Peppers is also a junior coming out of college. He had one INT in his three seasons of action but had 66 tackles in 2016. Peppers averaged 13.1 on punt returns with one TD and averaged 26.8 yards per return on kickoffs with no TDs. At 5-foot-11 inches and 216 lbs. Peppers ranks 8th overall at DraftTek and 14th overall by CBS Sports. Peppers will be long gone by the time the Chiefs come calling so nothing more needs to be said here.
Safety/KR Desmond King of Iowa
Desmond King is a senior who goes 5-foot-11 inches and 203 lbs. and had 14 interceptions in his four-year college career with 8 of those coming in his junior year. King had 263 total tackles averaging 66 tackles per year. King had no TDs as a punt or kick returner so his appeal as a “twofer” is likely limited. I wouldn’t recommend the Chiefs go after him unless it’s just as a Safety… if he falls down the board a bit.
So, there you have it… a list of the best multitalented prospects in the 2017 NFL draft. The twofers. The double-lassos. Are there any dual-threat prospects that you’re hoping the Chiefs corral this year?
