D
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs bled value on every deal, hence the D.
by CalvinylG ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 3 steals
· 8 reaches
The Chiefs bet big and early on Jared Wiley, 33 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. Hard to defend, and the D reflects that.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. It is not that Jackson is a bad player; it is that the Chiefs had louder needs to answer first. The quarterback hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Jackson at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. They are betting the present roster is worth a lighter draft next spring.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and quarterback is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, Xavier Legette at slot 35 squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A tidy bit of business in pick 50, where Jordan Morgan graded well above the range. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They did well to land Cooper Beebe in the 53rd overall pick, just ahead of his grade. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They paid up for Max Melton at the Round 2 slot when waiting would have done the job. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A slide stopped in pick No. 69, with Kingsley Suamataia worth more than the price. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Austin Booker at the 71st pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson at pick No. 90 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A minor itch, scratched.
A reach for Mekhi Wingo in the Round 3 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value said wait; Johnny Wilson in Round 4, Pick 4 says they were not listening. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A curious use of slot 120. Quarterback and linebacker needed the pick; a cornerback in Khyree Jackson did not.
Justin Eboigbe in pick 132 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They paid a round early for Kitan Oladapo in the 140th pick, more than the board wanted. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A market-rate edge rusher, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Xavier Thomas. It fills a real need, too.
Jordan Jefferson at No. 171 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They talked themselves into Kendall Milton at pick 172, and the board did not agree. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Jared Wiley in the Round 5 slot is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.