Laddie Morse
The past two seasons the Kansas City Chief General Manager has managed to pull off two of the most memorable drafts largely due to his late round excellence. Two years ago, Veach drafted Trey Smith out of Tennessee and got him in the sixth round with the 226th pick overall. Smith went on to start every game as a rookie at Right Guard helping to give the Chiefs one of the top Interior Offensive Line units in the entire NFL. Then, last year Veach drafted CB Joshua Williams in the 4th round with the 135th overall selection, and also got CB Jaylen Watson with pick #245 overall in the 7th round, as well as picking up RB Isiah Pacheco with the 253 overall selection also in the 7th round.
Between these three — Williams, Watson and Pacheco – they started 21 games (and played in many more) while logging 1,393 snaps between them. This years draft is also deep at several different positions, so lets ‘take a look at three prospects I like a lot.
WR, Trey Palmer
Palmer is a wide out from Nebraska who runs a 4.33 – 40 yard dash. In fact, his 40 time may have him moving up into the second day of the draft, but for now, he ranks as DrafTek’s 104th overall selection (which would make him the second player taken on day three). CBS Sports has Trey Palmer ranked as the 110th best prospect.
Palmer is 6-foot-0, and weighs 180 lbs. and ran a 4.33 – 40 yard dash at this year’s combine:
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He spent his first three years of college at LSU then transferred to Nebraska a year ago and put up so solid numbers in his senior year: 1,043 receiving yards for a 14.4 YPC average, with nine (9) TDs in 12 games. TheDraftNetwork.com says of Trey Palmer:
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“Nebraska WR Trey Palmer is a dynamic receiving target who has flourished this season during a breakout campaign with the Cornhuskers. Palmer capitalized on the wide-open dynamics of Nebraska’s overhauled offense and quickly established chemistry with QB Casey Thompson en route to a single-season receiving record campaign (1,043 yards) before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft.”
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What jumps out at me about what the Draft Network said was, that Palmer quickly established chemistry with his new QB at Nebraska. That should mean he’ll have a base frame of reference to work from if the Chiefs decide to take him. IOW, he should be able to adjust more quickly than most rookie WRs coming into the Chiefs new (to him) offense. Here’s Palmer weaving his way through traffic on his way to a 61-yard TD:
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OT, Wanya Morris
Wanya Morris is from Oklahoma and stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 312 lbs.. He played for Tennessee then transferred to Oklahoma where he spent his last two years. NFLDraftBuzz.com says of Morris:
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“He is a work in progress with high-end physical traits. He’s extremely light on his feet for a 300-pounder, a natural knee bender who plays with balance and leverage… He thrives on physicality, often out-grappling bigger defensive linemen and winning in the phone booth with tenacity and upper-body strength… He flashes power and nastiness in the run game, able to win at the point of attack and athletic enough to get out as a pulling blocker before landing blocks on the move at the second level.”
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Here, Morris goes up against DE Dylan Horton and shows his skill level at a Senior Bowl practice:
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DrafTek has Wanya Morris ranked as their 124th best prospect while CBS Sports has him at their 167th best overall prospect. Morris may not rank in the top ten of this years Offensive Tackle prospects, but in a draft deep at OT, it would be a mistake to pass him by, even if he’s seen as a developmental player. Here he is against Derek Hall at another Senior Bowl practice:
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TE, Payne Durham
Payne Durham runs a 4.87 – 40 yard dash and that may be why no one knows his name. However, if you stopped right there, you’d miss out on many other wonderful aspects of this prospect. One of the reasons teams may be passing on him is that he is 6-foot-5 and weighs 255 lbs. and see him as a blocking TE only.
In 33 games at Purdue, Durham had 1,275 yards receiving and 21 TDs. He also had 126 receptions for a 10.1 YPC average. Here are some of his highlights:
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Here’s Payne Durham at the Senior Bowl scoring a TD and getting his helmet ripped off:
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Durham is ranked as DrafBuzz.com’s 13th best TE, while DrafTek has him ranked as their 8th best. Although there are 259 draft choices currently in April’s NFL Draft, Payne Durham ranks as CBS Sports 270th best prospect overall (which means Veach could end up signing Durham as a UDFA). DrafTek has Payne Durham ranked as their 127th best overall prospect which means there’s a ton of variance in the ways that different teams, and ranking services, see him.
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Five Late Round Honorable Mentions
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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