B+
Kansas City Chiefs
The steal of the weekend belongs to the Chiefs and Nolen: B+.
by Gravespire ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 8 steals
· 1 reaches
The Chiefs did not reach, did not trade up, did not blink. They just waited, and Walter Nolen fell into No. 133. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B+.
They will need Gadsden II to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through quarterback.
They left with wide receiver solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Add it up and it is a good, unfussy class.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 9 they get a cornerstone up front. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
A top-tier edge rusher at a bargain, Jack Sawyer in the 44th overall pick, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Somehow Tate Ratledge was still sitting there in pick 64, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Wyatt Milum at the Round 3 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Tre Harris at the 80th pick is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
You do not let a safety like Sonny Styles reach No. 113 and blink. They did not. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
They robbed the room for Walter Nolen here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Fair-plus on Jack Bech, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Riley Mahlman in slot 193 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A wide receiver of that caliber at Round 6, Pick 19 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They talked themselves into Oronde Gadsden II at No. 209, and the board did not agree. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.