Which side of the ball will Kansas City focus upon?
The NFL Draft is just under a month away — and as it draws near, how the Kansas City Chiefs will utilize their draft assets is still a bit of a mystery.
Kansas City’s offensive tackles were victimized by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, so the team could focus on the offensive line — especially at left tackle, where former Kansas City guard Joe Thuney had to pitch in to help.
Bu left tackle is just one of 22 positions on the football field — and the Chiefs now have eight picks in the draft: selections 31, 63, 66, 95, 133, 226, 251 and 257
But if history holds, the Chiefs might not make selections at all of these spots. They might trade picks away to move up — or gain additional picks by trading back.
In 2024, the Chiefs traded up to select Xavier Worthy 28th overall, exchanging a package of picks with the Buffalo Bill.
The picks:
— No. 28, 133, 248 to KC
— No. 32, 95 and 221 to BUF— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 26, 2024
But in 2022, the Chiefs traded back in the second round, taking wide receiver Skyy Moore with the 54th pick.
The Chiefs trade: Pick 50
The Patriots trade: Pick 54, 158
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 30, 2022
Later, the Chiefs gave that 158th pick (and a seventh-rounder) to the Seattle Seahawks, moving up to draft offensive tackle Darian Kinnard.
The Seahawks trade: Pick 145
The Chiefs trade: Pick 158, 233
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 30, 2022
Could Kansas City make similar moves this year — and if so, for whom?
Since March 15, the Chiefs have signed (or re-signed) four free agents — all of them on defense:
In all, a dozen of Kansas City’s free agency moves have been on defense, while 10 have been for offensive players. Could this mean the team will depend on its free-agency moves for its defensive needs?
Then there’s this: according to CBS Sports, of the Chiefs’ eight confirmed top-30 visits, seven have been with offensive linemen.
- OT Anthony Belton (N.C. State)
- OL Mose Vavao (Fresno State)
- OL Esa Pole (Washington State)
- OL Bryce Cabeldue (Kansas)
- OT Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan (Oregon State)
- OT Caleb Etienne (BYU)
- OT Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota)
- CB Melvin Smith Jr. (Southern Arkansas)
There are two ways to look at this.
Except for Ersery, none of these players will probably be selected in the top 100 picks. Some of them — such as Vavao and Etienne — might end up as undrafted free agents (UDFAs) after the draft.
Are the Chiefs simply doing their due diligence — making backup plans for the event they don’t get their guy — or could this be a sign they are not prioritizing offensive tackle in the first round?
Or should we believe that Kansas City is bringing in all of these guys as a smoke screen to conceal its true intentions?
In a recent “Monday Morning Quarterback” column, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote that in a perfect scenario, the Chiefs would land an offensive tackle like Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. or Ohio State’s Josh Simmons.
If [the Chiefs] had their druthers, an offensive tackle — maybe a guy such as Conerly or Simmons — slips to them, and now they throw him in the mix with incoming left tackle Jaylon Moore and up-and-down veteran right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
While we know for a fact that the Chiefs met with Conerly at the NFL Scouting Combine, I also wouldn’t put it past Kansas City general manager Brett Veach to leak this information to an NFL insider to cover his tracks as he narrows in on his true target.
Breer goes on to state that since the draft’s strongest positions are on the defense, the Chiefs might be happy with a defensive lineman — especially an interior pass rusher like Walter Nolen Jr. of Ole Miss or Kenneth Grant of Michigan.
We’re left with this: outside of quarterback, none of the moves Kansas City has made should keep the team from taking the best player available on its board at any point of the draft.
There is, in fact, an argument that this is exactly what Veach has been doing: plugging the roster so that he can select the players he has identified as the greatest impact players available to Kansas City in 2025.
So what will those positions be?
Based upon the current roster, where the Chiefs are picking and the relative strength of the position groups in this draft class, I think Kansas City’s draft class will include two offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, two defensive backs, a running back and a wide receiver.
That’s right: a 50/50 split between offense and defense.
Here’s how I would prioritize them:
- Round 1 (31): Offensive tackle, defensive tackle or and unexpected blue chip player
- Round 2 (63): The position left from Round 1
- Round 3 (66, 95): The position left from Rounds 1-2 — a running back or a run-stuffing defensive lineman
- Round 4 (133): A wide receiver, tight end or best player available
- Round 7 (226, 251, 257): Best player available
What do you think? How do you think the Chiefs will approach the draft?