D-
Kansas City Chiefs
The phones sank the Chiefs this weekend: D-.
by CalvinylG ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 1 steals
· 15 reaches
The Chiefs looked at the value chart, folded it up, and took Jared Wiley at the 171st overall pick regardless, 35 picks early. The math is unkind, and the D- follows.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. Spending an early pick on cornerback with quarterback open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through quarterback.
Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers. On value alone, Tampa makes the weekend a net positive.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, quarterback very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
No drama and no debate, Xavier Legette went about where he belonged in the Round 2 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A big swing on Ruke Orhorhoro at pick No. 50, well ahead of any board in the building. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They paid up for Patrick Paul at Round 2, Pick 26 when waiting would have done the job. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They read the board right and T.J. Tampa was the payoff at the 64th overall pick. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A clean, defensible pick in slot 68 with a little surplus value in Bralen Trice. The roster fit checks out.
Brandon Dorlus in No. 71 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A need, and now a little less of one.
A conviction pick on Zak Zinter at pick 88 that the board grades a round light. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Cedric Gray in No. 91 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It fills a real need, too.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Theo Johnson in the Round 3 slot, miles early. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Matt Goncalves at slot 103 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Johnny Wilson well ahead of where he belonged. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A surprising call. With quarterback still to address, they spent pick No. 106 on Josh Newton, a cornerback they were not short of.
By-the-book stuff, McKinnley Jackson at Round 4, Pick 20 squarely in line with his ranking. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They talked themselves into Kitan Oladapo at the 132nd overall pick, and the board did not agree. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They paid a round early for Dillon Johnson in pick 159, more than the board wanted. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jared Wiley at slot 171 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Kendall Milton at the Round 5 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A premium they did not need to pay, Ryan Flournoy a notch or two before his time. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Dominique Hampton. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Nathaniel Watson at the 213th pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.