Will the Chiefs Be Picking at the Carcuss?

When your first pick comes as late as number 54, like the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2018 NFL Draft coming up in two days, you have to wonder if they’ll have to be picking from the leftovers? The reality is that this is an absurd point of view, and yet, to hear many fans tell it, this draft has no meat on the bone without a first round pick. I say poppycock… whatever poppycock is… I’ve never really checked that out.  

On Sunday evening, the NFL Network Hosts got together and performed their own first round mock of sorts. When all was said and done they had picked 32 likely prospects and left a bunch of other very talented college players on the board. I got to thinking about just who might be left over for the Chiefs to choose from by the time the 54th pick blossoms so I have created a couple of lists for your viewing pleasure. Let’s begin with 41 players who will be left… if the draft were to fall the way the NFL Network Hosts have predicted. Sure, I know there is no science in this… but who does know? No one, is the answer, because each pick depends on who was taken in the picks right before that pick. That’s exactly what each team’s General Manager is attempting to determine but, since there’s no way to know that, or even predict that… we’re left surmising. So… let’s surmise.

What I’ve done here is take the top 72 prospects ranked by CBS Sports, then removed the players that the NFL Network Hosts took on Sunday evening, and consequently, you have a list of the “left overs”… so to speak. This list points out — again — that the way in which each person ranks the prospects is entirely different from scout to scout, site to site, and I’m sure, team to team. That’s why you could have the top WR in CBS Sports rankings, Courtland Sutton, still on the board after the first round. I know Courtland Sutton is big and strong and talented, but I think they have him ranked way to high. 

However, this is a perfect lesson about what happens on draft day… one player is seen as a lesser ranked player while another team thinks they’re worth oodles.

You may be wondering why I chose 41 players to post on this list. It’s because there are exactly 21 prospects who will be drafted after the first round is over before the Chiefs pick at #54. That also means that exactly 20 prospects from this list (or one close to it… or kind of like it) will be available when the Chiefs pick. Even if you go through and extract what you believe are the 20 best player BEFORE the Chiefs are set to pick, you will still have a bevy of beautiful brides to marry… IOW a great player to welcome into the Kansas City Chiefs family.

Berttheclock pointed out that Gil Brandt’s Top 100 Prospects List came out yesterday. So, I’ve been a little more specific this time and removed the top 50 picks for you. I’ve also removed a few others like Punters and Kickers:

The first exciting feature of this list — for me — was the appearance, and availability, of DT Harrison Phillips. I have mentioned before that he has been a wrestler and won multiple State championships in that category, but it’s what he learned from that, which is exciting. He knows how to use the weight of another player against him. That’s often called leverage. It’s not that Phillips is small, he runs, 6-foot-4 and stands 307 according to his combine profile. He’s extremely strong too, lifting 225 lbs. 42 times at the combine, but it’s also the overall message of the list and that message tells us there are not only going to be excellent prospects to choose from at #54 but also at number’s 78 and 86 (the Chiefs 3rd round selections). That’s not to say that the Veach Boys (GM Brett Veach and his scouts) can’t locate other quality prospects later in the draft, in fact, I’m counting on it, and they need that.

These lists also attest to the idea that players who are the quality of Travis Kelce (pick #96), and Kareem Hunt (pick #86), Mitch Morse (pick #49), and Steven Nelson (pick #98)… are a great possibility in this draft. Now, obviously, we are not hoping for another KeiVarae Russell (#74) or Phillip Gaines (#87), but those “duds” appear to be the exceptions to the rule of this regime. Plus, you can count on Brett Veach’s aggressiveness, which means he’ll most assuredly be jumping up or down the draft board to… “get his man.” He said as much on Friday in his media session.

That’s enough to take in for one day. Let me know if there is someone you’re hoping falls in our laps… and I’ll see what I can do.

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