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Clayton -
Jeff, the NFL Draft was a couple weeks ago now, so we can all calm down and see how it all fell out. Well, except Jaguars fans who already lost the No. 3 overall pick, Dante Fowler Jr (Sorry Josh, hopefully a soon to be contributor to Tank To Win). I’ll start off the series with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jeff will follow in a few days with his Falcons grades.
Kansas City Chiefs
Round 1 - No.18 - Marcus Peters - CB - Washington
I was expecting to pick a guy like Jaelen Strong (crazy slide into the 3rd round), the minor sliding of Breshad Perriman, or a high risk/high reward pick of Dorial Beckham Green. The need for receiver is severe and it was presumed that with this pick, help would be on the way.
Not so fast though! Kansas City was just as worried as me when it came to the secondary, picking up the most talented corner in the draft in my opinion, but a big risk, Marcus Peters. A favorite of mine, I said to look out for him in our Draft Predictions post.
I was ecstatic to see the pick of Peters. The prototype of the modern day corner, Peters is big (6’0” and 198 pounds), has good speed for his size (4.53, 40 yards dash), and is quick based on his 60 yards shuttle, 11.26 seconds.
There is risk involved with Peters. He was kicked off of the Huskies by new head coach Chris Peterson, but after discussions with former Huskies coach, Steve Sarkisian, the Chiefs felt it was a risk worth taking. Peters is more talent than technique at the moment, but with Bob Sutton at the helm, and secondary coaches Emmitt Thomas and Al Harris, Peters should be placed in a position to succeed.
Sean Smith is a free agent after the season, so a possible replacement was needed if Kansas City is unable to re-sign Smith.
Grade - A-
Round 2 - No. 49 - Mitch Morse - OL - Missouri
This… this was an awful pick. Sure Andy Reid and Co. could develop him, but Mitch Morse could have been had in the next round, possibly picking OT Jake Fisher, NT Jordan Phillips, OG A.J. Cann or even WR Jaelen Strong. Those are all guys that were available, not to mention other guys who slid down the boards.
Morse is likely to find his home at center instead of tackle in the pros. Morse has a strong upper body, but short arms and needs to improve his lower body strength. Kind of sounds like Rodney Hudson, strong upper body, short arms, needed to improve his lower half.
Problem is, Hudson is a much better athlete and played on the interior in college. Morse has a stiff lower half and only played tackle at Mizzou. Hopefully there won't be much of a learning curve, as everyone says Morse is incredibly smart, but there were much better options for a number of needs here.
Kansas City had better hope Reid didn’t make another Danny Watkins pick here…
Grade - C-
Round 3 - No. 76 - Chris Conley - WR - Georgia
In our draft prediction piece, I had Conley on Kansas City’s radar. Apparently I am a psychic as the Chiefs traded up to acquire Conley.
Conley is an athletic freak who was overshadowed by Todd Gurley (rightfully so honestly), but he brings a lot to the table.
Guys who are 6’2” and 217 pounds and can run the 40 yard dash in 4.35 seconds do not grow on trees. Conley is very smart, has good sized hands, and knows how to keep his feet inbounds. Conley also is strong in terms of bench (18 reps of 225), and explosive, launching for a 139.0 inch broad jump and a 45” vertical leap. All of those numbers were in the tops of the receivers at the combine according to NFL.com.
There were reasons Conley could be had in the 3rd round though. He dropped a few too many passes, needs to get stronger so he isn’t so easily bumped off of his routes and needs to show the speed and quickness at all times now.
Conley was a great pick this late, despite having to trade up to acquire him. He will have Maclin there to help teach him, and develop along with the other younger guys.
Grade - A
Round 3 - No. 98 - Steven Nelson - CB - Oregon State
Nelson seems to be another reach by Reid. Nelson has already been dubbed as a mighty mouse. He lacks ideal size, speed, leaping ability, and quickness. He does have decent strength though, doing 19 reps on the bench press.
Again, Smith is a free agent after the year, but Nelson is not replacing him, as he is best fit as a nickel or dime back.
There will be a spot for Nelson as Marcus Cooper, Jameel Fleming and Sander Commings have not been able to show consistency, or the ability to stay healthy. Nelson’s main competition likely will be last year’s 3rd round pick Phillip Gaines. At minimum, Nelson provides energy and depth.
Nelson is a high effort guy and has good instincts, but the lack of size and speed are concerning, especially when most slot guys are now burners.
This pick was disappointing as DE Trey Flowers, S James Sample, OT T.J. Clemmings, NT Gabe Wright and CB Josh Shaw were all available.
Grade - C-
Round 4 - No. 118 - Ramik Wilson - ILB - Georgia
John Dorsey and Andy Reid were in a SEC Georgia Bulldog mood, as Wilson was the second Bulldog to go in their first five picks.
Wilson showed better Georgia Pro Day numbers than he did at the Combine, but Wilson seems like a bit of an odd fit. Wilson brings good size, and the improvements in speed at his Pro Day is good, but on tape he had a rough time while in coverage. He is more of a run stuffer at this point, but maybe if Derrick Johnson is healthy, he can bring him along. In that case, this pick will look better.
In Nickel and Dime packages, Wilson will likely come off the field, but you have to hope that he can improve his coverage skills, especially when covering a tight end.
Other options could have been CB Josh Shaw if Nelson wasn’t picked previously (picked two picks later), LB Jake Ryan or LB Kwon Alexander.
Grade - B
Round 5 - No. 172 - D.J. Alexander - LB - Oregon State
Another Oregon State pick, another reach, as Alexander did not even go to the combine. Obviously that does not mean anything, but the pick was a huge surprise, and Alexander could have been had later, like priority free agent later...
Alexander is a speedy guy,and will need time to come along behind Derrick Johnson.
The pick is just so bad and disappointing. Alexander missed time due to a multitude of injuries, including knee, neck injuries, and is undersized. Alexander also seems to be an OLB in a 43. He is not a pass rusher, and that limits him to an ILB in KC. Just awful, even though he will help on special teams
Players that were still available at this spot: DE/DT Michael Bennett, NT Letterious Watson, OLB/DE Anthony Chickillo and LB Deiontrez Mount.
Likely a special teams and practice squad player.
Grade - F+
Round 5 - No. 173 - James O’Shaugnessy - TE - Illinois State
O’Shaugnessy is a good depth pick for a tight end group that is lacking behind Travis Kelce, as Anthony Fasano was released.
He is not a crazy athlete, or have any crazy measurables, but could help if Demetrius Harris or Richard Gordon falter in camp.
He has good size at 6’4” and ran a decent 4.68 40 at his pro day, so he can develop behind Kelce and help stretch the field as a tight end that is in the slot, as he is not a blocker.
Grade - B-
Round 6 - No. 217 - Rakeem Nunez-Roches - DT - Southern Miss
Nunez-Roches was a good run stuffer in Conference USA, despite being known as a penetrating tackle. In KC he is likely to be a 34 DE, but could possibly spell Dontari Poe for a spell, especially in passing situations.
He is way down the depth chart at the moment, especially according to ourlads.com, so he may not even make the 53 man roster, possibly spending time on the practice squad next season.
It could have been incredibly interesting if Kansas City had tried to end Ifo Ekpre-Olomu’s slide, who was finally grabbed in the 7th round. Before his knee injury he was a likely top 2 round pick. Maybe his knee injury was much more complicated than lead to believe, but this late, he should have gotten a look at even as high in the 5th round.
Grade - C
Round 7 - No. 233 - Da’Ron Brown - WR - Northern Illinois
At this point in the draft, you are just taking guys with athleticism or intangibles. The same goes for Ifo Ekpre- Olomu at this spot, but Dorsey and Reid must have liked what they saw from Brown.
Brown is kind of athletic, but not a freak like Conley. At 6’0” and 205 pounds, Brown ran a 4.54 40, possesses great hands at 10 ¼”, and uses his catch radius to his advantage.
He lacks great quickness, the speed actually isn’t great, and he needs major work in his route running, so being an outside threat like he was at NIU is likely out of the question. He is a likely practice squad player, but could push guys like Junior Hemingway, Frankie Hammond, Albert Wilson, Armon Binns (all guys who are not impressive despite fans likely them too much), and the troubled but talented Da’Rick Rogers.
OVERALL GRADE - B
Some needs were met, but there were way too many reaches made, especially when superior talent was available. I mean come on, T.J. Clemmings was available in the 4th round, Michael Bennett was available in the 6th round and Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was there still in the 7th round. The draft likely hinges on Peters, Morse, Conley, Nelson and Wilson. As usual, you hope to nail a couple guys after the fourth and fifth rounds, but the chances are not great ones in my opinion, especially with the lack of value in several guys.
Peters has great potential, but has big bust potential as well if the coaching concerns carry over to the pros. He could either be a shutdown corner in three years or out of the league in the same amount of time. I love the pick, as he was my top corner and could have been picked before Trae Waynes if it weren’t for the team dismissal.
Morse was a huge reach and superior guys were just waiting to be plucked. He may be the guy with the most to prove in the class. He likely heads into camp as the starter about Eric Kush, but according to multiple analysts, Kansas City is very high on Kush, so Morse better prove that he was worth this high of a pick from Day 1.
Conley was a great pick in terms of need and potential. Instead of going with a safe guy, they went for the home run. Hopefully Alex Smith will be able to utilize Conley and Maclin’s speed, and show he has more arm than he showed last year, and it was more of the guys around him.
Steven Nelson was a reach as well, but if he can either push Gaines into playing better, or playing in dime packages as a rookie, this has a chance to be a solid pick despite being the big reach that it was.
Wilson should get some time to learn behind DJ and the other vets on the roster, but the hope is he will push to start next to DJ out of camp or start getting more time after the BYE (week 8). Here’s to hoping Gary Gibbs can get Wilson on the fast track to the starting lineup.
Rest of the picks are all lottery tickets, but Kansas City needs to nail one or two of them though. Time and time again, nailing the late picks is what gets you to the glory. Everyone knows the stories all too well, maybe one of the late guys can become a gem for KC.
Follow me on Twitter at: @19Yanks23
Follow Jeff on Twitter at: @Jeffkay1989
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