The Chiefs Recent Draft History

 

 

 

 

 

The Chiefs Recent Draft History

 

by Laddie Morse | April 21, 2019

 

When it’s time for the NFL Draft, it’s party time at my house…even if no one else is joining in. I love to watch the NFL Draft and I like to make a whole night of it, especially on Thursday and Friday evenings. One area of the draft I like to look at is the Chiefs recent draft history to see if it can tell me anything I don’t already know… or think I know… so I can be prepared for what is about to hit the fan. So, let’s take a sniff… I mean a peek.

 

Here’s a little draft history, for the past 6 seasons, because that’s how long Head Coach Andy Reid has been at this and it also provides a bit of accountability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those players listed in RED are players still on the roster. It’s get’s a bit naked the further you go back in time. That’s natural but it also looks like Brett Veach has been dumping the players he didn’t draft or likely had nothing to do with. Until I went through this process, I had no idea that none of the 2015 Draft class was with the Chiefs any more. That’s a pretty sorry state of affairs. From 2013 to 2016 (four years), there are only 6 players still on the roster who were drafted in the Andy Reid era. Of the 15 players drafted in 2016 and 2017, only 6 players remain: a 40% success rate. I don’t know what the average success rate is league wide, but I’m guessing it’s better than that. From 2013 through 2017 (because it doesn’t seem fair to judge the draft from last year quite yet) the Chiefs have drafted 38 players and kept 9: a 23.6% success rate (at developing and holding onto their own drafted players).

 

Here’s a graph showing the players still on the roster. Those in RED are still here, those in GREEN are gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The graph is filled in from the bottom up, beginning with the 2013 picks, so it’s easier to see that the players still on the team are generally listed towards the top. In the first column, on the left, you can see that the top box, box QB-3, represents Patrick Mahomes, and the boxes below him represent Aaron Murray (2014, 5th round) and Kevin Hogan (2015, 5th round). Another example is that box OL-1 represents Eric Fisher because he was the first player that Andy Reid helped to draft. Right next to him is TE Travis Kelce, the 2nd player Reid and company choose in 2013. The same holds true for each of the other boxes filled in, each in the order they were drafted.

 

The biggest surprise for me was the total number of Offensive Linemen drafted. However, when you consider that this includes all OTs, OGs, and OCs, it makes more sense. While the CBs have the greatest number of players drafted, remember that Andy Reid has said “You can’t have enough of those guys” and so we should expect that trend to continue.

 

 

Also, take note that a player like Eric Murray, who was originally drafted as a CB, ended up playing Safety for the Chiefs, so he was designated here as a Safety. The same is true for De’Anthony Thomas as a WR, although he played RB in college.

 

 

Another surprise was that the Chiefs have only drafted two Tight Ends in the past 6 years and a lot of very good TEs have come into the league during that time. Considering that Andy Reid likes to run many 2-TE sets, it would seem that this may be the year of the tight end.

 

Many have suggested that since the Chiefs have so much money invested in the Linebackers position, mainly in Anthony Hitchens, that the Chiefs would not want to draft one high in the draft. If you go by the number of Linebackers who have been drafted by the Chiefs (3), they may want to, or feel they need to, invest more in that area of need.

 

Every team needs to make sure they get their fair share of mid-to-lower round players who can contribute at a high level, or else a championship becomes improbable. There’s no way to buy a championship while using a “stars only” approach. The Chiefs have had some recent success drafting players in the middle-to-late rounds like: RB Kareem Hunt in the 3rd round, TE Travis Kelce in the 3rd round, OG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif in the 6th round, WR Tyreek Hill in the 5th round. The Chiefs will need to hit again with a few of those mid-to late-round picks to help develop and sustain a consistently legitimate championship contender.

 

We’ve all heard the New England story, ad nauseam, about a kid drafted in the 6th round who went on to have plenty of Super Bow; success. He was called a steal. I believe that Travis Kelce was a steal, a 3rd round pick who is on his way to becoming one of the best to ever play his position. The Chiefs have had other steals as well. In fact, the Chiefs seem to have a history of great fortune in the third round of the draft:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1983 is often best (or worst) remembered for the Chiefs disaster when they drafted QB Todd Blackledge. However, in the third round, that same year, they took CB Albert Lewis, who was once called the “toughest cornerback I faced” by none other than Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice, perhaps the best of all time. Not bad company for a 3rd rounder like Lewis who played 11 seasons for the Chiefs.

 

 

So, here’s a few suggestions for the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds. I know, I know, the Chiefs don’t currently have a 4th round draft pick but let’s be real, Brett Veach can remedy that with one phone call. So…

 

 

DT Trysten Hill – 6-foot-3, 302. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com says of Hill,

“He’s the most talented and impactful defensive lineman on the team, but concerns over his football character and maturity have hindered his standing on the team at times. Despite starting just once this season, Hill was a gap bandit who disrupted running games and spent time harassing quarterbacks with consistent effort and hustle. He needs to get stronger and play with better control, but his get-off and athletic hands/feet should make him a rotational one-gapper if the maturity and coachability check out.”

 

 

 

 

A less than ideal analysis? Sure, but that’s the deal with middle round draft picks, they’ve all got some a form of tonsillitis but… lop those tonsils off and give em some ice cream and we’ll call it a party. Meaning… if there’s a football player in there, the coaches will get that out of them (9 out of 38 tells me that hasn’t happened enough here in K.C., especially on defense). Here’s more on Trysten Hill. As this circle graph shows, Hill has some explosion (broad jump and vertical jump):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about DT Demarcus Christmas in the 4th round? At 6-foot-4, 308 lbs. Demarcus Christmas best film was against Alabama in 2017. The Draft Network says Christmas is, immovable when he leverages himself correctly and explodes into contact. He’s designated as an interior defensive lineman and is a 4th year senior who has been given 4 out of 5 stars by thedraftnetwork.com. Demarcus Christmas can be a load and… he’s also one strong man:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there’s the 5th round. Sometimes a draft pick has no other reason for being than that their name sounds good (the “Williams Effect”):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes when a name sounds right… the performance lines up… and the choice is right:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ransom Hawthorne covered Dexter Williams last week and he could make a good 5th round pick. Ransom said of Williams: “Maybe the best athlete, at the RB position, in the entire draft. Excellent ball security and great vision. Pass protection needs some work, from a technique standpoint, but the effort is there. Upside to be an elite NFL player. Missed some time in college due to injury, but it’s not a serious concern. Perhaps the bigger question is Williams’ character. He was suspended from the team, at one point for a rules violation. He was also arrested for Marijuana possession. Chiefs spoke extensively to Williams, at the combine. If they feel he’s reformed, he could be a HUGE steal later in the draft. Maybe even someone Veach decided to trade up for, if they’re not sure he’ll make it this far.”

 

 

 

Good Morning Football had a great interview with RB Dexter Williams who goes 5-foot-11, 212 lbs.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He sounds like a Reid-kind-of-guy… especially for a late rounder. Let’s hope the Chiefs make some great picks. I can not wait for draft night! Happy Easter everyone!

 

 

 

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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