Post NFL Combine: Through the Chiefs Lens

Post NFL Combine: Through the Chiefs Lens

by Laddie Morse | March 6, 2019

If you’ve ever walked into a jewelry store with your future wife and scanned all the pretty possibilities… and then realized you weren’t the Prince of Wales with an unlimited budget… then you might understand the way the Chiefs general manager may have been feeling this past weekend at the NFL Combine. However, if you’re the Oakland Raiders, maybe you are thinking you’re the Prince of something because you have 3 first round choices. On the other hand, who would you rather be right now, the Raiders or the Chiefs (as far as draft picks go… because the answer to that one is always the Chiefs anyway)? If you’re the Kansas City Chiefs you are sitting in the catbird seat for the next 10-plus years because you have the premiere, and incumbent, MVP of the league at the most important position in all of sports. If you’re at all unsure that the Chiefs are in a better position this offseason than the Raiders are, consider this: there is no way — this year — that the Raiders can draft, 1) a DE better than Khalil Mack, 2) a WR better than Amari Cooper, and, 3) a QB better than Patrick Mahomes. Yes, this draft is loaded but, it AIN’T… GONNA… HAPPEN.

Back To The Future of the Chiefs

While the Chiefs are sitting pretty on offense — for the most part — they are apparently in the midst of a heart replacement surgery on defense. They apparently prefer to trade Justin Houston, Dee Ford as well as Eric Berry. Of course there are problems with each of them and it mostly has to do with money.

• Justin Houston’s cap hit is $40M over the next two seasons but his performance in no way measures up.: 9.0 sacks in 2018. Houston’s Dead Cap hit is $8.6M over the next two years.
• Eric Berry has played so little over the past two seasons that it’s not worth mentioning. However, he’s on the payroll for FOUR MORE YEARS with a $60M cap hit. Even if the Chiefs cut him he will have a $26.95M Dead Cap hit over the next three seasons including $14.95M this year.
• Dee Ford has been Franchise tagged, but they still want to trade him.
• Brett Veach is excited for Steve Spagnuolo and Brendan Daly to get their hands on Breeland Speaks  and  Tanoh Kpassagnon.

The point is, the Chiefs are willing to completely restructure their defense. Whatever new DC Steve Spagnuolo has said to Brett Veach and Andy Reid in their post-evaluation meeting, fans must understand that it includes a complete and utter vote of no confidence in the defensive roster, especially as it applies to Houston, Berry and Ford…. the heart of the Chiefs D for several years now.

What this means for the Chiefs moving forward is… they are also looking for the suitable replacements for these players. Since Eric Berry’s contract extends for 4 years… and his cap hit is the most… and he’s considered “special” in the eyes of Chiefs fans… and the Chiefs might still get a good year or two out of him… then… it’s resonable to assume he’ll be invited to training camp… on a short leash. That narrows down the team needs to the kinds of players Steve Spagnuolo wants on his defensive line and I assume that includes Chris Jones. In fact, if Veach could find a clone of Chris Jones, they’d likely take him.

While that may narrow the search radius a bit, if we go with this hypothesis, then the recent Combine numbers of a deep DB class comes in handy. What do I mean by that? Well, if Veach is wanting to zero in on a stud defensive lineman for Spags in the first round, then he will also want to know which DBs he can take in the 2nd, 3rd or 5th rounds… who can step up big.

That’s what I’ll focus on here today: a couple of defensive backs who can help right away, but aren’t projected to the first round.

Safety Darnell Savage Jr.

Darnell Savage is out of Maryland and goes 5-foot-11, 200 lbs. He’s intriguing to me because os his 40 time at the Combine which was 4.36. His 3 cone drill time was 7.03 and his 20 yard shuttle was 4.14. Both of those time are above average. 6.80 to 6.50 are considered good 3-cone times and I believe the best ever is Jordan Thomas last year at 6.28. In the 20 yard shuttle, anything under 4.10 is considered good but the best ever was Kevin Kasper at 3.73 in 2001. The reason I’m including Savage here is his tape. He plays with a passion and is able to use his speed to catch runners in the backfield and WRs going long. If Veach can get him with the second pick of the second round, he’d be worth it. DrafTek has him rated as the 86th best overall prospect and CBS has him as their 160th best prospect. “So, why take him so early?” Because Veach usually does take his guys ahead of where many outlets have them ranked but, more for this reason: Veach needs to know what he can count on when he uses his early pick to select a DL. If he knows for sure that “his DB guy” is going to be there at a certain pick later in the draft, then he can pull the trigger on his earlier selections. To be transparent, Savage reminds me of Eric Berry when he came out of Tennessee in 2010 and he was just a missle to the ball every time. Enjoy.

Cornerback Corey Ballantine

Ballantine is from Topeka, Kansas and guess what, that’s right, he’s a Chiefs fan and was a Chiefs fan as he was growing up. Now, if you’ve been reading here at ArrowheadOne for some time, then you already know that I’m in favor of the team signing players who are K.C. area natives for the simple reason that they are loyal to a “T” and thereby more motivated to help bring a Super Bowl victory back to the Chiefs. In the case of Ballantine, he’s grabbed the attention of more teams than the Chiefs but he did have an official interview with Veach and crew on Sunday evening. The reason Ballantine is being mentioned here has more to do with his performance than loyalty. He’s 5-foot-11, 196 lbs. and ran a 4.47 – 40 yard dash plus a 6.82 3 cone drill and a 4.14 20 yard shuttle. Ballantine played in Division-IIA and was named the Defensive Player of the Year (The Cliff Harris Award) at that level. Although DrafTek ranks Ballantine as the 186th best prospect, Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports says he’s one of the “Under-the-radar Players.“

Cornerback Trayvon Mullen

Mullen is out of Clemson and fresh off of a National Championship. Why mention that? Because winning matters. Mullen stands 6-foot-1 and 200 lbs. His 40 time was 4.46 and although he didn’t run the 3 cone or the shuttle, his vetical was 34 1/2 inches and his standing broad jump was 10 feet, 3 inches. Mullen is that long press corner the Chiefs have favored in the past and I’m going to assume they still do. CBS calls him a “day 2 talent” and DrafTek has him ranked at #41 but if he’s available at #61 or #63, then Veach should jump all over him. While Mullen is not a player that Veach can count on “being there” for sure when he picks at the end of the second round, he’s too good not to mention here. At Clemson, he was rarely beaten which is probably because he was rarely targeted… a reputation that is a good one to have. He’s got loose hips with excellent lateral quickness and flies to the ball which is confirmed by his 4.46 – 40.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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