D
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs got the worse of every deal, and it shows in the D.
by CalvinylG ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 3 steals
· 12 reaches
The tape said wait; the Chiefs did not. Joshua Cephus went at the 198th pick, a good 68 picks before the board was ready. A weekend that fought the value and lost, hence the D.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. With quarterback unsolved, spending premium capital on cornerback is the choice that costs them. Leaving quarterback unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring. The Keegan value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Xavier Legette at par in Round 2, Pick 3, which is nothing to complain about. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
T.J. Tampa at No. 50 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Bralen Trice in the 55th pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid sticker price for Kiran Amegadjie in the Round 2 slot, and that is fine. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Brandon Dorlus at slot 71 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It fills a real need, too.
They reached a country mile for Mekhi Wingo at the 80th overall pick, and the board is aghast. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They talked themselves into Cedric Gray at the Round 3 slot, and the board did not agree. The roster fit checks out.
Zak Zinter at the 95th overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board had Dadrion Taylor-Demerson higher than Round 3, Pick 34, and the safety fell to them anyway. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A wild overpay on Johnny Wilson in No. 105, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Matt Goncalves. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
McKinnley Jackson in slot 115 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose cornerback. Josh Newton in pick 132 leaves quarterback for later.
AJ Barner at the 149th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Trevor Keegan is a better player than No. 159 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Kendall Milton in slot 171 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They jumped the gun on Cornelius Johnson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
No drama and no debate, Ty'Ron Hopper went about where he belonged in pick 181. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
The board had cheaper options than Ryan Flournoy at pick No. 188, and it noticed. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Joshua Cephus at the 198th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.