Chiefs: Rookie and Sophomore Grades

Laddie Morse

The General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, Brett Veach, appears to be getting better and better at his job. Especially when it comes to: 1) picking players in the draft, 2) signing low cost Free Agents and re-signing his own players, and 3) balancing the budget (cap). The main reason for this post is to dig deeper into the Chiefs needs. Can we really understand the list of team needs without first understanding their strengths and weaknesses? No? Well, there ya go.

Some say it’s too soon to grade a rookie calls. I disagree. So, let’s take a look at the players I’ll be grading today. Here’s there positions, snaps, age and coming birthdays, most of which are later this year.

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The red line separates the two drafts years.

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Trent McDuffie only played in 11 games in his rookie year. Was he an integral part of the defense? Yes, with the caveat that he wasn’t available the whole season. McDuffie was taken with the 21st pick overall last year and you come to have high expectations. He met those expectations… when he was on the field.

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GK started the year with zero sacks over the first half of the season… then… he finished the year with 6.0 sacks and 33 combo tackles. With his late season up-swing in sacks, I can’t wait to see if he can keep up that pace in 2023. GK was the 30th overall selection so we had high expectations for him too, and in his case, he came through. Should we ever expect more than 6.0 sacks out of a rookie? Not unless we intend to give him an A+.

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Skyy was taken with the 54th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and was a disappointment for me. I expected him to become the Chiefs #1 WR by year’s end, and that didn’t happen. He ended up with 22 receptions for 250 receiving yards. Hopefully, Skyy has the punt fumbling out of his system. Reid says both he and Kadarius Toney will play a bigger part in the offense in 2023, so he still has a chance to prove himself in year two of his Chiefs career. Yes, he had a very good Super Bowl… thus, the plus.

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Bryan Cook was taken with the 62nd overall pick, in the 2022 NFL Draft, which means he’s also a 2nd round pick. I remember thinking when he was drafted that he will be an upgrade over Daniel Sorensen… and he was. His upside is much higher than he showed this season and I’m looking forward to his improved time on the field as well as performances. This Safety can hit!

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Leo Chenal was taken with the 103rd pick overall in last year’s draft, a third rounder. Chenal had many quality snaps in the 2022 season and should be counted on to play a bigger role in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense this year. With he and George Karlaftis being the youngest players on the team, the defense will be strong up the middle for years to come. Especially if Veach can find some IDL’s in this year’s draft or Free Agency.

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Joshua Williams was the 135th pick overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, a 4th round pick. His highlight of the season was an Interception against the 49ers in San Francisco. He went up high and used his 6-foot-3 height to go up and get it, right at the goal line. Excellent play.

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Williams was the highest rated HBCU player coming into the 2022 NFL Draft. Although Williams had a very good season, he was outplayed by Jaylen Watson, a 7th rounder.

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Kinnard was taken with the 145th pick in last year’s draft, a 5th rounder. When he came into camp, many were talking about the possibility that if he stepped up, he could grab the starting RT position, because Lucas Niang was still on the shelf. He didn’t do that, and ended the year with 6 Special Team’s Snaps and zero Offensive snaps. It was rumored that he might move to the interior of the offensive line in the future. There are no starting positions open there, but that seems like more of a fit for his abilities.

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Jaylen Watson was drafted in the 7th round with the 243rd pick overall. He also ended the season with two interceptions the first of which was memorable… at the goal line against Justin Herbert and the Chargers when he went 99 yards for a score. His first INT was a pick-6! Hallelujah!

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Jaylen Watson is also 6-foot-3 and he made Justin Herbert miss on his run-back. While K.C. will be set at the CB position for years to come, there are CBs in this draft who could add a lot to the unit.

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Pacheco was drafted in the 7th round with the 251st overall selection, another 7th rounder. I recall thinking at the time of his selection, that he would never make it in the NFL. His tape against the Michigan Wolverines was not so hot and I totally based my “flop” tag on one piece of game tape. What a blunder that was… on my part. Pacheco was not only an excellent back for the Chiefs, but he has made the future of the position, a solid state radio once again. Yes, he’s taken a grown man’s job!

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Pacheco was so good this year, and he won the Mack Lee Hill Rookie of the Year Award for the Chiefs and while some think he could have ended up winning the Super Bowl MVP, I’m not so sure, as long as Patrick Mahomes is around.

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Nazeeh Johnson was the Chiefs third 7th round pick at #259. He played zero defensive snaps but was in on 33% of the Special Teams snaps. Although he’s still on a rookie deal, I can see another late round DB bumping him from the roster. Why is he a C-? Because it’s hard to grade a player any lower when they were on a Super Bowl winning squad. Even if they are a rookie.

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You can easily argue that Nick Bolton’s scoop-n-score (see below) in the Super Bowl was the deciding TD in the game. If he had his second scoop-n-score stand, he would have been the SB MVP. Bolton had 112 Tackles in 2021 then jumped up to 180 to set a team record in tackles besting the legendary Derrick Johnson. Bolton was the glue in Spags defense. He was also “the” reason they were able to let Anthony Hitchens walk last offseason.

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Creed was the second 2nd round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft for K.C., 63rd overall, and he hasn’t disappointed in any way shape or form. He is now considered the best OC in the entire NFL, bar none. I was mistaken during the draft that year that he would not be good for the Chiefs because he is left handed, and that extra little adjustment on Patrick Mahomes part, was something that Reid and company would not want to put on him. Boy oh boy, was I wrong.

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Note: has anyone else noticed that every single time that the Eagles OC Jason Kelce is ready to snap the ball, his RG Isaac Seumalo, taps him on he hip and THEN he snaps the football? I think it’s so strange. Has anyone else noticed???

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Kaindoh played on 23% of the snaps in the 3 games he was active for in 2021, but played in zero games in 2022. Here’s what FOX Sports said about him in October of 2022:

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“Kaindoh is yet to make his 2022 season debut as he’s sat out every game, but he’s now clear to suit up for Monday night’s game against the Raiders. The 23-year old defensive end didn’t record a tackle over three games in the 2021 campaign.”

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I don’t expect that Kaindoh will make it onto the team in 2023.

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Noah Gray went from 26% of the snaps in 2021 (his rookie season) to 52% of the snaps during the 2022 season. He exactly doubled his involvement in the offense. I can see him becoming an even bigger part of the offensive scheme this coming year. The Chiefs have been looking for someone to step up and take some of the burden away from TE extraordinaire Travis Kelce, and Gray just might be the man for the job. That is… unless Veach drafts a TE out of what has become a deep draft for tight ends.

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When Cornell Powell was drafted with the 181st pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, I had high hopes for him. However, he seems to have disappeared. He appeared in zero games in 2021, and then was active for three games this season but only had 3 snaps on offense and 28 snaps on Special Teams. Those 28 snaps are a surprise to me because… I just don’t remember him. At all. Maybe his inclusion in the offense has something to do with his 4.53 – 40 speed… or should I say, lack of speed.

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Trey Smith was one of the big surprises of the 2021 draft for the Chiefs. He stepped in at right guard and then never relinquished the position. The Chiefs had even signed Chris Long, but Long never got a chance. Neither did anyone else. Trey Smith has become famous for his pancakes… and I’m not talking about his recipes either. It couldn’t happen to a nicer Bronco… but someone has done us the favor of super-imposing John Madden’s voice over this Trey Smith play. Enjoy!:

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Now, to determine the real needs of the Chiefs, based upon these evaluations…….

So, how would you grade these first and second year players? Who did I get wrong… or right?

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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