David Bell
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Brett Veach Photo after Round One, 2022 –> McDuffie & Karlaftis
– Chiefs Photo credit
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Having my druthers, I think Brett Veach will cover the exposures at OT, WR, and Edge followed by IDL and IOL respectively. With more picks, following round 5, another WR is in order. I limited the picks to 5 rounds and did no trades in any example. The biggest question in my mind was whether I could select a player for my top 3 categories and still result in a draft that found players for the Interior position groups for both the IOL and IDL which is a big question in my view — Strength up the Middle, is crucial to success. In one example mock, I covered all five bases.
When It’s all said and done, my fallback is to trust our “Maverick” GM and his staff with input from Reid’s coaching staff. “Everything will be up to date in Kansas City.” It won’t be perfect most assuredly, but all the bases will be covered and it won’t be the 1919 Black Sox way.
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Brett Veach After the Draft, 2022 – “We’re Excited About this Draft Class”
– Chiefs Photo Credit
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Envisioning Veach’s Move Up the Middle
for the IOL and IDL!
When you peruse the information below, you will see that I have posited Edge Rusher, followed by WR/IDL/IOL as a likely order of importance. It’s my view that the Chiefs view Jawaan Taylor as the starting LOT, reducing the need to draft an OT early. However, I consistently hit Anton Harrison as pick #31 (the Chiefs first official pick).
The IDL – the Chiefs Need to Get their
Feet Wet With a DT in This Draft
When I think about the Interior Defensive Line (IDL) here is one draft pick that I hope is made asap: A 3 or 5 Tech to play opposite Chris Jones. While the Chiefs have bodies that fit the depth role, I am not satisfied with the output. Now, Khalen Saunders has departed. This leaves us with Derrick Nnadi, Tershawn Wharton, Byron Cowart, and Phil Hoskins. I see Danny Shelton as the only 1-tech who has the heft for the 1-tech/ NT role. KC Budman has a sample draft at DrafTek which supplies Derick Hall, an Edge out of Auburn, and Gervon Dexter, a 3 or 5 tech DT out of Florida. He doesn’t ignore OT drafting Tyler Steen (Alabama) in round 4. What I found really interesting in this mock was selecting 1-Tech DT, Keondre Coburn from UT, which doesn’t ruffle any feathers. This mock fits my idea of building strength up the middle on defense which I view as crucially important.
That sample draft by KCBudman also fits my scenario of the team’s needs since Juwaan Taylor is earmarked as the starting LOT and Lucas Niang as the starter for ROT. In round 3, KC Budman drafts WR Trey Palmer (Nebraska). This mock works out well, moving IDL higher in the draft for a higher-ranked player on the draft board by selecting Dexter and backing up the IDL with an NT who weighs 330+ pounds (Coburn).
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I envision a 3 or 5 Tech in the draft. A player who defends the run, but also can crash the pocket and push it back into the opposing QB’s face. Since I think that Edge, OT, and WR have more import as far as positions to focus on in the draft, an interior defender would/should be the next position of focus. I might even consider swapping DT and WR as far as positions of need.
After all, the WR room has good depth — “Chiefs Wide Receiver Room” — and a ton of promise already. Inevitably, due to players left on my draft list, I still draft an Edge Rusher or a LOT in round one of most of my test Mocks… most of the time.
In this particular Mock attempt, Lucas Van Ness fell to pick #31 and I selected him. Then I was able to draft either Matthew Bergeron or Jaelyn Duncan with pick 63. If covering starters at the Bookend OT roles is taken care of, it appears to me more likely that Veach will select an Edge Rusher in round one. My reasoning for this is that on the right side, Lucas Niang is penciled in as the starter backed up by Darian Kinnard. With Taylor earmarked for LOT, in camp Prince Tega-Wanogho would be the #2 LOT. With that line of thinking, the necessity of using a round one pick for a LOT recedes in import.
Still, in test mode, I had to make a decision with pick 95 –> .either a WR or a 3/5 tech DT. In this case, I chose WR. I was using NFL Mock Draft Database. Then I tried PFN while mock drafting LOT, Anton Harrison with pick #31 and Derick Hall with pick #63. With pick #95, the WRs that I wanted to select were gone… so I used the pick to take IDL Zach Pickens and then I drafted Mike Evans (WR) with the first 4th round pick. I was testing the scenario with those mocks as to who was available with pick #95. In the 2nd case, I was pleased with the result. In the first case, I chose a WR with pick #95, and finding a good DT was more difficult.
In various attempts to accomplish a goal, I mostly came up with a logical DT in both cases–a 4th round selection. They were not one of the higher-ranked players, though, in Zach Pickens’s’ case, I believe he was a very worthwhile pick.
However… my investigation by performing multiple mocks was just that –> . best guess shots at what the Chiefs might do. Below is one of the better Mocks that I did on Saturday. In the selections, I was drafting a Top Safety and position players at OT, IDL, IOL, WR, and Edge. Two selections Patterson and Pace received a B+ Grade for this sample Mock. All the other players received an A or A+ grade. The following Mock is very good for the resulting selections and the grades for the players drafted. LB was not my intended target though the last two picks ended up being LB. Pace was a mistake on my part when I hit the icon on the wrong player, so excuse that pick. it was intended to be another OT later in the draft (Wanya Morris out of OU):
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The IOL – No Great Concern, but add an OG somewhere in the 4th or 5th Round to train up
Facing the truth about the Chiefs IOL is easy. KC has one of the best interior OL Groups in the NFL –If not the best. I was able to find an OG worthy of selection in rounds 4 or 5. Nothing really noteworthy though. A player to train up.
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How Does It End Up?
That’s the big question is it not? In all cases, I was satisfied that I could find an OT, Edge, and WR who I think fit — each of them — the Chiefs. Even working to get a DT to find acceptable players to add to the mix. Adding in an OG was tougher, and found in rounds 4 and 5. It can be accomplished in this mock draft. Of course, the whole venture is speculative. The closer we get to draft day, the more I believe Brett Veach will trade up for one of the targeted players on the Chiefs Draft Board. Then they go from there.
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Miracle Trade Up?
I can’t make miracles occur which leads me to believe a trade-up is inevitable. Should the Chiefs sign a player to one of the top four positions will make the first choice in the draft far simpler. That is my basic conclusion, that: signing a targeted Free Agent, and then trading up in the draft, as the likely way that round number one unfolds. See this link for an example Mock Draft “Trade-Up” in round one written by Grant Tuttle for ArrowheadAddict: “NFL mock draft 2.0: KC Chiefs trade way up for bold selection” in which he says:
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“#19, Paris Johnson Jr, OT, Ohio State – Projected Trade with Tampa Bay. This would be an incredible move for Kansas City to make. While two tackles are off the board, Paris Johnson Jr. is arguably the most “NFL ready” tackle in the class. While Kansas City has said publicly that Jawaan Taylor is going to switch to left tackle, the addition of Paris Johnson Jr. would probably change that sentiment.”
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I still believe in the “We Trust In Veach” slogan, thus…
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David Bell — ArrowheadOne
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