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The Chiefs were busy during the first night of the NFL Draft Thursday.
Kansas City traded its No. 29 overall pick, as well as a third- and fourth-round pick to New England to move up to No. 21 overall, and selected Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie. Later in the round, the Chiefs went with another defensive pick, taking Purdue edge rusher George Karlaftis with the 30th overall pick.
Ready to roll 😎 pic.twitter.com/imWariVYND
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 29, 2022
Excited to be a Chief 💛 pic.twitter.com/8Fe0F3JXk2
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 29, 2022
The Chiefs now have eight draft picks remaining; two in the second round, one in the third, one in the fourth, and four in the seventh.
HEAR FROM BIG SHOW HOST ANDY HUMPHREY
“I’ll be honest; heading into the draft, I didn’t think the Chiefs would be able to afford leaving the first round without an impact receiver. But watching how it played out Thursday night for Kansas City, I don’t think there’s much room to complain about the picks they made, and when they made them.
On McDuffie, I think the Chiefs got really good value. Brett Veach mentioned Thursday night that they were surprised he had fallen that far, and since only three defensive backs had been taken prior to pick #21, it was reasonable to think teams would think defense and he’d be swooped up by someone else before it got to the Chiefs’ first pick. With Charvarius Ward out the door, there was a true need for KC to get a guy that could fill his spot Day 1. It doesn’t mean McDuffie will give the exact same production right away, but his skill set fills a true need on the team, and the Chiefs got him at the perceived right moment.
The pass rush is also a major need, and Karlaftis should slot into that role nicely. Similar to McDuffie, it probably surprised some that he would be available at #30, and at that point it was the best available player. I’m interested to see how the Chiefs use Karlaftis, and how it affects Chris Jones and Frank Clark going forward. There was plenty of concern about whether the Chiefs would be able to keep up with other teams in the division beefing up their defensive lines this offseason. If Karlaftis lives up to his evaluation, KC will be just fine in that arms race.
Because of all that, I’m willing to give Veach the benefit of the doubt. For now. You still need a solid offensive weapon, either through the draft or a trade, that can slide into Patrick Mahomes’ arsenal immediately. I still think it’s at least mildly frustrating that all the Eagles needed to do to land A.J. Brown from the Titans was a mid-first round and a late-third round pick (and, oh yeah, $100 million over four years, but hey, it’s not my money!). There are still some interesting receivers available that might fall to the Chiefs at No. 50 overall, including George Pickens, Skyy Moore and John Metchie III, but even then I’m not sure the void left by Tyreek Hill is filled by any of those guys. For a team in the Chiefs’ position, you need to surround your franchise quarterback with as many known talents as possible. Here’s hoping that happens this weekend, or sometime before Week 1.”
