Sunday Night Mock Draft
Because what else are you going to read late on a Sunday night? (Besides Ladner Morse?)
A few assumptions walking into this quick mock of the Kansas City Chiefs 2012 Draft:
1. WR Dwayne Bowe, CB Brandon Carr, DE Wallace Gilberry, and FB Le’Ron McClain will be retained.
2. OT Barry Richardson, RB Thomas Jones, NT Kelly Gregg, ILB DeMorrio Williams and C Casey Wiegmann will not.
3. The Chiefs go 8-8 and are drafting 16th in the NFL Draft.
Enjoy.
1. OT Bobby Massie, Ole Miss
Yet another year passes, and it is becoming increasingly clear that Branden Albert may not be the left tackle of our future Super Bowl run. Massie on the other hand, comes from a school GM Scott Pioli loves to draft from, and contains the requisite size and agility for an NFL left tackle. My assumption is that the biggest hole the Chiefs have is for a large, supreme athlete to lock down the LT position. Albert will probably be kept around one more year (perhaps with Massie as RT his rookie year), then Massie will inherit the job in 2013.
Picks 2 through 7 after the jump.
2. OT Riley Reiff, Iowa
I remain convinced that the big-ass farmboy from Iowa is on Pioli’s radar. He comes from another school that Pioli loves to scout, and he plays a position that Iowa’s Kirk Ferenz is known to coach. Reiff reminds me a lot of Bryan Bulaga, in that he’s not really a great LT prospect, but a brilliant RT prospect. Barry Richardson is probably gone after this year, so I expect Reiff to battle Massie for the RT spot in 2012, then inherit it in 2013 when Massie slides over.
3. OLB Shayne Skov, Stanford (pictured above)
One thing the 2011 draft proved: Pioli is concerned about the passrush. Justin Houston and Allen Bailey were great grabs in the 3rd, but who knows about Miller. And now that it seems that Houston is destined for a rookie season on the bench, Pioli will need to dip back into this position in 2012. Skov is high character, and would immediately compete with starting SOLB Andy Studebaker: he is undersized, but he is fast, versatile, and passrushes better than anything else he does.
4. WR DeVier Posey, Ohio State
Ideally I’d use the 4th rounder to pick a one-dimensional speed threat at this point, but there really don’t seem to be that many in this year’s draft, but who knows as time goes on. In the mean time, the Chiefs simply need to beef up the back end of their WR roster. Posey doesn’t bring elite speed, but he brings tons of experience in a big program, and a reliable pair of hands. Something we all too rarely see in our WR corps past the starters
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5. NT Kerry Murphy, Alabama
Gregg will not return for 2012, but I’d bet that the team is willing to give NT Jerrell Powe a sink-or-swim moment with NT Anthony Toribio or some FA vet a backup role. If that’s the case, the Chiefs will take a chance on Murphy in the 5th round, a really talented nose tackle with some serious injury concerns. He’s had too many surgeries to be worth the high rounder that he plays like when he’s on the field.
6. S Harrison Smith, Notre Dame
The Chiefs continue to desperately need safety depth, especially at strong safety behind Eric Berry. Smith is a great candidate; he’s got good size, good speed, and he seems to be particularly adept at pass coverage.
7. ILB Will Ebner, Missouri
Demorrio Williams is not long for this team. If that’s the case, the Chiefs will need another athletic ILB to take his spot for depth. Ebner is undersized and speedy and reliable.
The 2012 Kansas City Chiefs
QB: Cassel, Stanzi, Palko
RB: Charles, McClain, McCluster
FB: Bannon
WR: Bowe, Baldwin, Breaston, Posey, Copper, McCluster
TE: Moeaki, Pope, O’Connell
LT: Albert, Massie
LG: Lilja, Harris
C: Hudson, Harris
RG: Asamoah, Harris
RT: Massie, Reiff
DE: Dorsey, Bailey
NT: Powe, Murphy
DE: Jackson, Gilberry
OLB: Hali, Sheffield, Houston
ILB: Belcher, Siler
ILB: Johnson, Ebner
OLB: Studebaker, Skov, Miller
CB: Flowers, Carr, Arenas, Brown, Daniels
S: Berry, Lewis, McGraw, Smith
K: Succop
P: Colquitt
LS: Gafford
KR: McCluster, Arenas
PR: Arenas, McCluster