Love debating this WR class so I want to hop in:


Quentin Johnston- love the Kevin White comparison. The more I watch Quentin Johnston, the less I like him though. For such a gifted athlete, he leaves a lot to be desired. At times he looks like an unstoppable force at the receiver position, other times he leaves me wanting more. He has the size, he has the speed, and he has the quickness. I don't want to make the same DK Metcalf mistake though, I think Johnston is going to be a really good football player but I don't know if he has the ball skills and route running ability to be elite in the NFL.

Zay Flowers- I am a huge fan of Zay Flowers even if he is a bit undersized because I think his ability to change direction is elite. His route running and ball skills are fantastic and I think he has the ability to win routes in the short and intermediate areas of the field. We'll see how he tests at the combine but if he tests better than people anticipate, I can see him drafted before some of the other notable WR's in this draft class. In regards to a comparable, I see a little bit of Antonio Brown in him honestly but Lockett is another good comparison.

Jalen Hyatt- I've used the Will Fuller comparison as well so I agree 100% with your write-up. Your assessment is bang on, what I have a hard time foreseeing is if Hyatt can develop the short to mid game. Unquestionably the day you draft Hyatt, the home run ball is in play every snap but to be worth a 1st round pick, I want a guy who can win everywhere. Myself personally I have a hard time with speed merchants knowing if I'm drafting Tyreek Hill or Parris Campbell.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba- For me JSN is the hardest player to evaluate because of his injury. On one hand, his production in his sophomore year is insane. 1600 yards in an insanely talented WR room, out producing Olave and Wilson who both had very impressive NFL rookie campaigns. On the other hand, if Hyatt is a speed merchant, JSN is a route running merchant. Nothing screams elite to me about JSN's measurables, he just has a knack of getting open and catching the ball. Nothing wrong with that, maybe a less physical Juju Smith Schuster?

Jordan Addison- My favorite receiver of this draft class. Jordan Addison can win in any situation, he's not your typical #1 receiver due to his slight frame but there is no one better at the receiving craft than Jordan Addison in this class. Excellent ball skills to go along with great route running, I think he is fast enough to win deep as well. Calvin Ridley I think is going to be Addison's most common draft comparison, he reminds me also of a better version of Darnell Mooney. I see a little bit of Keenan Allen as well, maybe not as good as a route runner but a little more athletic.

Cedric Tillman- Haven't deep dived into Tillman quite yet so I'll hold off.

Josh Downs- I love that Josh Downs had 2 years of production, and it wasn't all on chunk plays. Reliable hands, above average route runner to go with above average athletic ability. Reminds me a bit of Rondale Moore but bigger, maybe not as shifty. I like too that Downs has some nice contested catches on film although he is a smaller guy. I think the tricky part of this draft class is wading through all of these 5'10 185lbs guys and determining who is going to have the most success at the NFL level. My money is on Zay Flowers, I don't love Josh Downs where I think he'll be taken but I think he can be a decent complimentary weapon.

Tyler Scott- Another receiver that I find hard to evaluate. I know you just put him as your first rounder in your latest mock draft. He has 1st round intangibles but I just can't put him that high since he really hasn't faced top level competition. His production was fairly inconsistent as well, you have unreal production in 4 games, but you have 2 games where Scott didn't even record a catch, and another where Scott only recorded a single catch for 11 yards. I don't know if it's subpar coaching or what, but to me if you have this elite talent who can help you win football games, why aren't we manufacturing more touches for Scott to impact the game? I also wish he would have moonlighted in the slot more often, I would value him more if he was more versatile, at the NFL level how much coaching is he going to require if I'd like him to be in the slot also.

I think he's a solid prospect but I have a hard time putting him in the top 5 of this class. Tyquan Thornton is an interesting comparison for me, they had similar production in their last year of college and I think they have similar traits that might hold them back a bit. Tyquan was drafted in the 2nd round largely due to his combine day, Scott could be the same story.

I kinda like the idea of drafting a DT or EDGE guy if he works out you have an elite D-line, Backers, and some corners who balled out as rookies. In other words an elite defense to go along with an elite offensive line & elite QB/HC

We've just seen Andy be able to get skill guys from all over the draft for years.

I think you just go OL/DL early and then pick your developmental skill guys later.

I’m with you guys man. Biggest obstacle in our way back to the SB is Joe Burrow and if we can get pressure on him we’ll win.

Get another pass rusher and we’re in business

If there's a WR there they absolutely love, sure. But for the most part, just pile on as many front 7 players as you can and we'll figure the rest out.

As I run these mock drafts, the guy I'm typically settling on is Ojulari and occasionally Hyatt.

I think I'd be fine with either of those guys. They present some real explosive potential on both sides of the ball and both have the potential to be real dynamic complementary players for us.

Do you worry that we just keep running into "complementary" type guys with where we're picking though?

At some point some of them need to turn into build around guys.

Both of those guys have tremendous upside. I think you're reading too much into "complementary". I think he's referring more to their immediate impact.

That's the nature of picking at the back of the 1st.

A little bit. I don't think Hyatt is a likely do everything #1 WR type, but I think w/ Kelce and Toney and maybe another possession WR, Hyatt's skill-set fits really well. And ultimately I think that's probably how we're going to continue building our offense going forward. We want to give Mahomes a variety of weapons and styles to use.

Defensively, I see Karlaftis as the 'necessary' SDE in a Spags scheme where Ojulari can be a guy who plays well off the attention that Jones draws and the relentlessness of Karlaftis. And the two of them will present different aim points that opposing offenses have to deal with.

I don't see 'complementary' as a perjorative. It just means they fit well with our surrounding players. Would it be nice to find the next Chris Jones who draws attention and still dominates? Yup. But there's as much luck as there is skill involved there.

Oh, it's a great pick if they become those type of guys. Having good players is never a bad thing.

I think you keep swinging with good players, and let your coaching staff develop them into potential high enders if luck breaks your way.

Looking at this from a future financial contract situation, we need to prioritize OT and Pass rusher and WR.

NT, ILB, Safety etc are spots that you can fill in FA year in year out.

I think it's fair to say it's just not as top heavy as you say, but that there's then a reasonable depth of R2, R3 types. That seems comparable to recent years. Can't say I see all of those comparisons though, but that said I think Flowers is better than Dotson. I guess my perspective is there's not a lot of top 20 guys, there IS a lot of "somewhere from top of the 2nd to bottom of the 4th guys"...and so that's probably where I'd be comfortable taking that pick. I think there's a lot more "end of the 1st, beginning of the 2nd" DE types, so that's probably where I'd have that pick going.

Updated.

Feel really good that one of those 10 guys will be the pick (assuming they don't trade it or trade up).

Why not I. Foskey? I think he fits Spags profile more than the others

It just feels like Derrick Hall is the guy. He has what they’re looking for opposite of Karlaftis

Why don't you have Jahmyr Gibbs up there? ROFL. What a horrible pick. There is no way in hell that the Chiefs take a running back in the first round. Not even to convert him to a wide receiver. I like every one of your picks 1000x better than that abortion of a pick in the mock draft. Any one of those would actually make our team better.

And I should give a ****?

I watched youtube Tennessee offense vs. Alabama and Georgia, and I'd be happy if KC took Wright with the first pick. He went up against top pass rushers and did a great job. You can see him lunge and not be technically sound at times, but he got the job done, and with better coaching he should be able to protect Mahomes for the next 5 years.

The shorter term with Omenihu combined with the relative lack of activity at DT (suggesting he could be moved inside on passing downs) sure points to DE at 31, doesn't it?

Would still be pretty excited over some of these WR options though - as has been noted, the DE group is pretty deep this year and I feel like there will be viable options at 2.

Just depends on how the board falls. Hell, I still think OT is on the table.

A tackle would make sense in that you'd have your tackles locked up for the next 4 years. A DE would be nice.

I'm really ok whichever way they go to be honest.

Just not a running back. :)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Todays been boring so far, so I’ll drop a graphic.<br><br>For those wanting to spend a high pick on a TE, notice that the 75th percentile outcome (right end of box) for round 1 WR’s is better than all but 3 TE’s, none of whom were drafted in round 1. <br><br>Think twice. Then think again. <a href="https://t.co/csFOd4eE2Y">pic.twitter.com/csFOd4eE2Y</a></p>&mdash; Joseph Hefner (@josephjefe) <a href="https://twitter.com/josephjefe/status/1633521137429905408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

And Kincaid is small.

I mean for all the "He's Travis Kelce!" talk, he looks more like Noah Grey to me. And frankly, the more I look at him, he is a dead ringer for Trey McBride.

Trey McBride may end up an okay player someday but he ain't gonna be Travis Kelce.

I'm just not seeing a guy I'd take in the 1st at TE this year. And with the draft being awfully deep in similar guys (Musgrave, LaPorta, Kraft, Schoonmaker, Kuntz) I just don't see a reason to be at the front of a run on them.

Let TE come to us. I'd take Musgrave in the 2nd or consider any of the rest of them in the 3rd/4th, board depending, but I cannot talk myself into a 1st round TE at all. Not even a little bit. I'd rather take Gibbs...

{ducks}

I don't think it's terribly likely - but lets say Harrison, Jones and/or Wright are all on the board when we pick.

Harrison gives you that really athletic natural long-term LT. Jones gives you a set and forget RT who probably has little chance to convert to LT (and who's best case scenario is probably Orlando Brown) and then Wright gives you some combination of the two.

I think I still take Harrison. I'm pretty sure I'm out on a 6'8" OT with some weight/feet concerns. Wright is the one that intrigues me - I think he's the one most likely to be the sort of versatile RT we want. With Taylor seemingly ensconced on the left side, I'm less worried about long-term LT prospects. And Harrison may get bullied a bit for a year or so.

I dunno - I really like Wright. He may be the best combination of immediate contributions and long-term ability. A good mix of ceiling/floor.

So everyone I wanna pick at 31, there's other guys at their position that I think I'd just as soon take in the 2nd.

Is trading down a legit option this year ?

Is there anybody you guys feel should be on the list that isn't?

Maybe someone can tell me why Foskey has dropped out of everyone's minds. I still think he's a bottom of the 1st, top of the 2nd type of player.

I try to keep the list as short as possible, but he's definitely on the bubble for me.

Kinda thinking this too. Sam La Porta fits us very well and isn’t much different later on, but isn’t he pretty much Noah Gray? Wouldn’t be mad at 2 good receiving TE’s to help Kelce’s workload.

And as much as the size concerns creep up, I would hate it if the Bengals drafted this kid to go with what they have bc damn. If we don’t get to Burrow quickly again he could carve us up with those weapons. Yeesh.

Just don’t think there’s a guy at WR I’d see them take, even as late at 31. The value just doesn’t seem to be there compared to DL or tackle. Feels like the value isn’t far off from rd 2 than it is in rd 1. And I think we’re involved with OBJ and Hopkins bc of that along with a bad FA class.

DL is very very deep though. You could get a very good one around 63. To me it just feels like the best value in rd 1 is a tackle. I don’t trust Niang to be anything more than a swing tackle. You could really solidify this OL for the next 2 years

The more I look here....I think all these Wr's are a bit redundant with what we've got. I'm just not sure any of them are true outside guys, outside of maybe Hyatt.

IF you could get someone to give up a 4th rounder to recoup the one you give up for Hopkins and get back down in the 2nd........I might take Gibbs.

I think Spags would really like him. He checks off virtually every box we believe Spags to have.

He's a little stiff for my tastes but Spags doesn't look for the same things I do. I think Foskey could be a Marcus Davenport sort of player and you couldn't even begin to complain about that.

I'm just not convinced that Spags is ever going to take a pure speed rusher like everyone wants him to.

I just don't know why I should be more worried about him than I was Hayden Hurst.

Fine Bengals - draft him in the 1st. Y'all had a developed version of him last year and it was...fine.

Just seems more and more apparent that I'm simply not on the Kincaid train.

He's not.

I gave up on the idea last season.

It's the sort of mindset I have to put myself in during fantasy baseball season. "You play the game - you don't coach it..."

So I think Kenley Jansen is a washed up husk who's going to get 38 saves by the skin of his teeth while the Red Sox have 3-4 guys pitching the 6th through 8th innings who would do the job better than he does. So what? Don't draft those guys - they don't have the role. Draft Jansen because he does and THAT'S the guy that's going to actually help you. Sitting there with Tanner Houck on my roster screaming "DAMMIT BOSTON, WHY ISN'T THIS GUY GETTING THE 9TH!?!?!" doesn't do anything for me.

Do I think the Chiefs would be better with a fast DE opposite Karlaftis? Yeah, I do. But I seems increasingly obvious that Spags doesn't. So I'm gonna play the game and not coach it.

They sure have met with a lot of those speed rushers though, and after drafting McDuffie last year, it could just be that they've gotten more flexible with their thresholds.

Love the guy. I’m just not sure where he is on the board now that we have Omenihu. Feels like they would have a similar role?

It's possible but I'll believe it when I see it at this point. If we can somehow pull Hyatt and Foskey with our first two picks...then I'll be ****ing happy. I just flip flop between DE and WR with that 1st rounder.

Ah - looks like you and I have the exact same OTs...

Would you consider Downs as a potential 1st rounder?

Smith and VanNess pipe dreams? Tuli seems very Spagsy, no? I can't imagine I'd go DE if he were the best one available, but I could be talked into it.

For the sake of a pretty streamlined board, I'd say Downs is the only one I'd really consider adding. I think you could make a viable argument for him in the 1st but he might just be too similar to Skyy.

Downs, like Foskey just missed the list for me. I mean if I were to add 2-3, they'd be on it.

Excellent intel, thank you for sharing.

Smith and Van Ness are some of the guys that I took off because I don't think they'll even be in our range.

Derrick Hall had a 4.55 40 and a 1.59 10 (3rd best). His pro day is tomorrow and I feel like he’s gonna kill if. Wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a 6.9-7 second 3 cone fine.

He just feels like a guy that would be our pick

The thing about Hall is he's pretty much that happy middle of speed rusher that fits the Spags profile.

I think Hall would be my pick of this litter.

If I had to narrow this list down to 4 guys:

Jalin Hyatt
Derick Hall
Will McDonald
Keion White

I think those are the most likely picks.

I think they'd take Wright/Harrison over McDonald and I gotta figure ONE of them makes it that far. Wright seems the most likely as I could see some team falling in love with Harrison's feet and grabbing him sooner than expected.

I agree, I just have this feeling that both are probably gone, even if it's around our range. Maybe I'm wrong though.

I'm kinda out on Hyatt. I just don't know that he really brings what I can't find elsewhere

I have such a draft crush on Nolan Smith it's unhealthy.

You and me both. He's my favorite player in the draft. Guys with his athleticism/traits and football character just don't fail.

How far is he gonna have to fall to get to KC? 20ish?

31 ;)

I'm baffled by the lack of love for Foskey. He's my fav DE that would be within our range to snag.

I would be happy with that pick but there are guys with higher athletic upside that should be there for us.

It would be pretty Veachy to trade up and draft Nolan Smith. And by that it wouldn't at all be what I expected him to do.

It would be almost identical to the McDuffie trade up last year.

My favorite prospect in the entire draft, but doesn't meet the Chiefs typical thresholds, so I refuse to get my hopes up.

I just don't see them going for a tackle that early, not now. I think they intend to have Taylor play LT so OT becomes more of a search for a guy on the right side, probably in the middle rounds.

I like the DE and DT classes much better than WR. I'd love to get Hall.

Lucas Niang scared the shit out of me. He’s been a walking injury

Yeah, I'm not keen on him being the starter. Ideally, he'd be your swing tackle and they'd find a RT somewhere else.

I just think Taylor is going to be the LT. I don't think they're even looking for LT's at this point unless somebody plummets in the draft.

I think it's McDonald, he has speed, but he also got used in that 3-3-5 so he has a bunch of experience being used as a block eating run defender even with his athletic ability.

Niang is probably gonna get the shot and if that doesn't work they'd probably tell you they can throw Wanagho out there with help and get the same thing they got from Wiley.

He turns 24 before training camp and is undersized. I doubt he goes in the first rd. He has mid-to-late 2nd rd written all over him

DJ has him in his top 25 and Zierlein has him as a 1st rounder as well. I've seen some people have him going as high as top 10. If he makes it out of the 1st, he's going high in the 2nd.

Him being 24 isn't a huge deal becuase he's ready to play.

I think you're way off here.

If he had more snaps as a pure rusher he'd be viewed better by regular fan, he didn't get many chances to show his skills.

Eh - good luck eating up blocks at 240 lbs in the NFL.

I like McDonald a lot, but more as a rotational OLB for odd fronts or a Wide-9 sort of guided missile on 3rd downs in an even front.

Now he MIGHT be able to be that guy here w/ Karlaftis and Omenihu. You go out there on 3rd downs and go into a sort of LEO front w/ Karlaftis shading and Omenihu sliding inside - you can really do a lot to provide excellent rush angles for McDonald at that point.

But I'm not gonna rely on him as a 3-down player in a 4-3. Even having him out there for 70% of the snaps in a 3-4 may be asking a bit much unless you're 2-gapping in front of him.

He's just awfully light, man.

I've seen some recent mocks with Myles Murphy being available at 31. That would probably be best case scenario for us.

I think he's early/mid 2nd.

What might cause a slide is that he's a guy that isn't terribly scheme diverse. There will be teams that just flat won't have him on their boards in the 1st or 2nd day, IMO.

So there will need to be 3-4 teams that REALLY like him and see a great way to use him. And then he needs to hope that those 3-4 teams don't have someone on the board when they pick that they like just a liiiiitle bit more.

That's why I like doing that CP Mock - I really started to get an understanding of why guys slide several years back as I was putting boards together for a couple different teams and found myself with some guys who I had as a top 30 player for one team and not in the top 75 for another team. And invariably I was able to get those guys for the team I liked them on a round later than I expected to.

Because that's just how slides happen. I will always say that's why Omenihu fell as far as he did - he was a strict 4-3 guy and there were just guys a bunch of 4-3 teams liked a little bit better.

Then of course the 3-4 Texans took him, he spun his wheels for a while and then got dumped for a 6th round pick to a 4-3 team that could actually put him to use.

Scheme diversity prevents draft slides and I question if McDonald has it.

I agree. He looks incredibly lanky for a DE. More like a safety to me. The comp for him is Randy Gregory and honestly that could not be more appropriate.

I cannot see a 24 year old undersized speed rusher going in the first. That alone is too much stacked against him, but I think this DL class is gonna push him down the board.

I don’t think he fits here but they could try something different. I just see a guy like Derrick Hall who has everything we want but is a tick off on his weight at 254.

Idk guys. I love Foskey but Omenihu seems to be in that role. Really thinking Derrick Hall is the guy

Would love McDonald and agree his usage means he's not the mismatch I think he's made out to be. Man I dunno about Niang and I find it really hard to believe they'll not be looking for an RT pretty early

I could see them going RT as high as round 2 but I think it will be more like 3rd or 4th. I just don't see them spending a 1st rounder on an OT at this point.

And like you, I'm definitely unsure about Niang. I don't think they're done at the position, FWIW.

My top 5 are

1T D-TACKLE Mazi Smith
EDGE Isaiah Foskey
RIGHT O-TACKLE Darnell Wright
O-WEAPON Jahmyr Gibbs
EDGE Derick Hall

I really like this and feel its realistic. I would replace Gibbs with...

LEFT O-TACKLE Anton Harrison - He COULD be available and to me, allows us to keep Taylor at RT. Only having one shaky O line position would be ideal. Yes its the LT but we've been dealing with helping that position out for two years. We no longer have to help out the RT so our O line would be incredible.

I would be ecstatic to land Wright at RT also but then we really have to hope Taylor can excel at LT.

This draft feels pretty underwhelming and I wouldn't mind trading out if anyone is even buying

https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=347922

It's all in your head from hearing "this is a weak draft class". There is very little difference between this draft and the last few years where we are picking.

And every year 1/2 the board wants to trade back.

Time is a flat circle.

We really have to hope Taylor can excel at LT because he's going to be the LT.

Starting to think the 1st needs to be a plug & play OT.

Any DE we nab is likely going to play situational pass rusher in year 1 now that we have Omenihu, a run stuffing DT is only a 2 down player, and no rookie WR does well in Reid's offense.

OT seems like the logical choice in the 1st.

I don’t understand the hype for Mazi Smith. Sure he’s strong and athletic as hell with a reported 4.41 shuttle and 6.96 3 cone, but the guy has 6 career TFL’s and 1 sack….in college.

Bro you lined up next to Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo and still didn’t have any real production or wow plays?

Big red flag for me.

But he consistently got pressure on tape. That translates.

I don't think he's a 1st round pick, but if he's somehow available at 63, you run the card in.

I’m with you. I would not take him at 31. Can’t see the justification. I’m completely fine with him at 63.

Mel Kiper has us taking Anudike-Uzomah in his latest mock draft.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New ESPN mock draft this morning from Mel Kiper Jr. has the champs taking the king �� <a href="https://t.co/LVrmWjVJOC">pic.twitter.com/LVrmWjVJOC</a></p>&mdash; Tyler Dreiling (@TylerDreiling) <a href="https://twitter.com/TylerDreiling/status/1638203200166588417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>