D+
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs bled value on every deal, hence the D+.
by CalvinylG ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 21 picks
· 0 steals
· 12 reaches
Call it belief, call it a gut call, but Dillon Johnson at the 132nd pick is 36 spots clear of consensus, and that is the headline.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. They will regret leaving quarterback for another day if the season turns on it. The Chiefs indulged a want in Newton while a need in quarterback stayed open.
It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Xavier Legette at par in slot 37, which is nothing to complain about. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They paid up for Ruke Orhorhoro at the 53rd overall pick when waiting would have done the job. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They paid sticker price for Christian Haynes in pick 64, and that is fine. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Kiran Amegadjie in pick No. 71. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Austin Booker at the Round 3 slot is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It fills a real need, too.
No drama and no debate, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson went about where he belonged in Round 3, Pick 19. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
No edge and no loss on Dominick Puni in No. 89; it is a wash and a sensible one. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They reached into another round for Theo Johnson, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Cedric Gray at slot 92 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Khyree Jackson at Round 3, Pick 32 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Johnny Wilson at pick No. 99 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Josh Newton in the 104th overall pick leaves quarterback for later.
McKinnley Jackson at pick 105 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The roster fit checks out.
A real head-scratcher, Trevor Keegan in the Round 4 slot is miles ahead of his ranking. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Dillon Johnson in Round 4, Pick 32, miles early. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
By-the-book stuff, Walter Rouse at the 159th pick squarely in line with his ranking. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Ryan Flournoy this early at the 171st overall pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Kendall Milton in the Round 5 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Jared Wiley at slot 196 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Dominique Hampton in No. 209 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Nathaniel Watson. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.