If Josh Simmons falls to 31...
 

Do you take him? This is assuming the medicals check out and he should be back to 100% at some point in the near future.

In the hypothetical, can you provide a few other names on the board?

That’s the question for me. What else is available?

Gone (besides obvious ones):

Grant
Nolen
Harmon
Burden
Green
Pearce
Stewart
Emmanwori

Available:

Starks
Hampton
Conerly Jr.
Scourton
Jackson
Amos
Higgins

IF, and this is a BIG if, the medicals fully check out and looks like he will get back to 100%, it's a no brainer. He was the best LT prospect this year prior to the injury. He would have been a likely Top 5 pick; someone the Chiefs would never have a chance at with their sustained success.

We have a tackle spot likely opening up next year at RT if/when Taylor is cut. Moore is a wildcard and we don't really know what we have with him. If you get a chance at an elite guy that has the potential to be a good to great LT for the next 10 years protecting Mahomes blindside, you ABSOLUTELY do it!

All that said, I'm nervous about the injury and what the medicals are gonna show . . . . .

He wouldn't make it to 31 if the medicals check out, right?

I have a really hard time passing on Hampton

You'd think so, but reports have been mostly positive, yet the most plugged in guys are mocking him to the Chiefs or around that range.

It probably has to do with a lot of the playoff teams not having a huge hole at T.

No. Even if it looks okay, you don’t know how the recovery will truly go in camp and how his body will respond. I also remember seeing that when they measured his arms, he was barely 33 inches. I think that matters to them.

Not just a little short. It’s way short.

No, definitely not if Conerly is there. And it's most probably no anyhow. I am sure some team is going to take the chance in round 1, but I'm just going to say that after looking at this a lot I'd probably not take him until at least our 3rd round pick.

He has one of the two true career killers at this juncture in the sport. At best, there's about a 25% chance he returns to his prior performance after 2 seasons.

I'm just going to direct you guys to a study done on this injury (as well as Quad tendon tears) and leave it there.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article...rmance%20level.

Edit: Wanted everyone to know I just recently came across that study a couple of days ago. It's drastically shifted my belief that he can ever be the same player he was and if he does, it could take a while.

Harmon is the one guy I would absolutely not pass up this year (that has a chance to be there at 31) and maybe one of the receivers.

Other than that I'm hoping to trade down a bit and still come away with a Defensive Tackle, an Edge and either CB or WR with our first three picks.

yeah, I don't think so.

I think if he makes it to #31, it's BECAUSE the medicals are questionable.

No way he makes it to 31.

Of course it's not likely. This is a unique situation though.

On one hand, you have a really bad injury.

On the other, reports have been surprisingly positive albeit a little quiet. I haven't seen anything negative honestly.

When you combine this with where the more plugged in guys have him going, and you look at most of the teams picking before us in the 20s and the lack of a need at T, it's at least a possibility worth discussing.

The negative stuff doesn't usually surface until about a week or two before the draft, if not a few days before. If reports on his knee are still positive around that time frame then he won't be there at #31.

Even if the medicals are 100%, glowingly positive, that doesn't mean he'll ever be the same player. It's an extremely critical injury. I have significant reservations. I think rolling the dice on him isn't the issue. Doing it with your first-round pick is.

Teams that took pass rushers that ruptured their Achilles early in the draft are finding out that wasn't such a great deal either.

Sure, but considering that they're putting it out there that he's doing so well that he might even have his own personal combine, that's a good sign it's not just talk.

Plus, with an injury like this, it's still honestly shocking that there are no negative reports at all.

I'll definitely believe it when I see it regarding the personal combine, though I've read the same chatter.

IF he does have one AND he looks like the player he was, he won't make it to 31. That said, if he did and all that were true, that'd probably prompt me changing my tune.

I don't see any of it as likely though.

Maybe he drops like a rock ala Trey Smith and we get him in the 2nd or 3rd.

I speak fluent sarcasm as well. Good one.

For what little the simulators are worth, I see him available at #31 about 2/3 of the time.

Crow’s medical research paper is highly compelling, but I’m for taking him and rolling the dice.

Posted this in a couple threads already: https://bsky.app/profile/brettkollma.../3lkqrgfsfle2h

Not a complete view of pass blocking capability, but Simmons is #1 on the list.

We need to fix the LT and quit playing musical chairs at that position. So yeah draft him and let him heal up 100% and not be forced into duty. When he's ready and the best option make him the starter for the next four or five years.

Just saw Mike Band's mock has us trading up to 24 with the Vikings to get Simmons.

https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-mo...-mike-band-1-0

In this case, the issue with the media is they still don't understand the injury. I keep reading every mock stating "torn ACL" when it's been clear it's a Patellar tendon injury.

ACL injuries are still extremely worrisome but repairs have become commonplace in the NFL with little worry that a player can come back.

Patellar tendon injuries, while you'd think would be a better situation given there's blood flow to the injury site, don't have a glowing track record.

Simmons may be one of the few success stories but he just happens to fit into the demographic of players who are least likely to return to form based on historical data.

It's a scary proposition and using additional capital to retain him is even scarier.

If Simmons falls far enough for us to draft him, that means quite a few teams’ doctors think he’s too much of a risk. I’d rather take Conerly if he’s available, else a DT.

This is a really good thread but IMO it is better to discuss this with Kelvin Banks bc man that guy is falling down the mock draft boards for some reason.

It's a no from me, dawg.

Any indication why?

Reasons I’m out:

1. I dont trust recovery of the knee
2. He has short arms
3. His sample size is tiny

Just way too much risk for me.

I'm also game for Banks if he falls... It does seem like we'll get a shot at an OT if we want one. Conerly Jr is still most likely.

Seems most of these OTs have short arms or a wart of some kind. Maybe they all slip a little because there's more better players at other positions.

Interesting. I wonder if teams are nervous about his footspeed/ability to match up with speed and get to deeper sets?

I don't see too many other reasons to bag the guy.

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Simmons' Instagram account is following Patrick & the Chiefs. He isn't following other OL needy teams. Just saying

Why are some mocks have us moving up, giving up a 3rd and 4th, to pick a guard at 27-28?

Saw that too lol

Because the people running those mocks are most likely lazy AF, thinking just because we traded Joe Thuney to the Bears that we have to go find his replacement in this draft. Trading up for a guard in the first, no less.

He's been following since the week before the Super Bowl

This is where I've been on Simmons for quite awhile now. I just could not understand why so many people were hand-waiving that injury. I think you and I discussed it briefly a couple weeks ago.

It's a TERRIBLE injury.

The medicals won't 'check out' to any degree I'm likely to be comfortable with. All we'll know is if the surgery was basically successful and the repair was medically sound. But that'll not tell us anything about the elasticity in the knee, whether it can still explode and whether there will be long-term impacts on his ability.

I just really struggle with the whole "Before he got injured" analysis that has become so common with him. It just takes me back to the "Justyn Ross was a 1st round pick before he got hurt..." stuff.

So what? He got hurt. Now he sucks.

And that happens with more of these guys than we realize. Simmons could very easily be the next.

A torn patellar is just about as bad as it gets.

I'd probably take Scourton off that list though I wouldn't slam the door on Starks because I do think he's awfully good and I don't like our safety room much. That said, he's not a super explosive athlete.

So you'd be banking on him being another Kyle Hamilton sort who simply timed poorly and slide further than he should've because of it. Which is certainly possible.

But as to the original question, I'd be fine taking Scourton ahead of Simmons there and could probably be talked into 3-5 other guys as well.

I like Scourton a lot but man. JT Tuimoloau. I am becoming a major fan of his. He’s just really really damn good and has been flashing for 3 years

Yeah he’s not making it to the Chiefs. Think today sealed that

Bouncing around against air without doing much of a real workout isn't going to seal anything for me. It's nice to see him moving, but that doesn't mean much.

If the medicals check out, he's going top 15. If they don't, you don't want him.

I really don't think he's an option.

Darrisaw lasted to the 23rd pick, and most thought he'd be a top 15 lock

This guy has what is usually a career ending injury right out of the gate, though. Totally different situation.

The more I think about it, it just feels like if he falls that far teams don’t like the medicals. And if that’s the case I don’t see us jumping for him. But then again maybe there’s a plan like Trey Smith. But it’s a far different injury.

Bump :D

Thanks for the reminder...

I sure hope Veach gets this one right because it sure looks about as bad as it could possibly get.

Hopefully this magical 2nd pin or whatever is a surgery game changer.

It’s something that has been around for a while and has typically been used for the most severe cases.

There is some info floating around that his tear was a partial one (which would mean a tear rather than a rupture). Maybe double bracing a partial tear is a new approach.

I’ll grasp for whatever logical hope I can add on, I guess.

No but I'd pick the hell outta him at 32.

He can sit all season if he needs to, until he’s healthy, no worries.

When he finally is healthy, he’ll sure up that LT spot for several years.

No need to doom and gloom, think positive thoughts.

I kinda hope we just plug that LG spot in the 2nd.

I know I'm being a stubborn Debbie downer but it almost feels to me like we need a Kelcesque pick to salvage this draft ala 2013.

You're misunderstanding.

The issue isn't whether he is healthy or will get healthy. All indications are he's doing well in recovery and on track to be available/cleared for football activity for the upcoming season.

The issue is whether his "healthy" now is different than his "healthy" before. Is his knee/leg the same? Is it less than? If it's less than, how much less than? Is he at risk of doing what Jack Conklin apparently did, overcompensating with his good leg/knee, and blowing that joint the **** out (Conklin tore EVERYTHING - ACL, MCL, PCL - if I remember correctly)? Is his noted upper-body strength enough to compensate for the leg/knee, if they are less than they were before, which would indicate that maybe he's never quite as good as he could have been but still is effective?

I'm hoping it all works out. But there are significant reasons for concern, and I'm not the sort to just ignore those. I can set them aside and hope, but they don't just go away.

Understood. We’re all in the same boat, now, hoping he gets healthy and becomes a pro bowler.

Here’s a question no one’s asked… IF he has lost a step due to injury, long term, couldn’t he just end up playing LG for us?

It would still fill a major need, he wouldn’t need as much movement skills, and he could potentially dominate that role considering his skill set.

Sure, he wouldn’t be as valuable of a 1st rounder if that were the case but we could still end up with the best IOL in the league.

I am more worried about him losing power than agility. Which would be just as much of a problem, if not more, at G.

IF he loses his agility, AND he loses his power, how about a position as mascot? ROFL

Well, we'll know in August, because Andy says he'll be ready for camp. So, as far as I'm concerned, that's what is happening.

There’s pretty much no real quality info anywhere about his specific injury so I’m trying to use what I don’t know to help me sleep at night.