Now, You Too Can Play, “If I Was The Chiefs GM”

Hey everybody, let’s play “If I Was The Chiefs GM.” The Chiefs need a new GM, right? I know what you’re thinking, “Tell me something I don’t already know.”

The truth of the matter is, a good many Chiefs fans could actually do a better job than Scott Pioli has for the past four years. It’s easy to say that when the team is 1-10 with too many other statistical maladies to calculate for fear of catching the sickness that keeps one from going to Chiefs games (are you listening Clark?).

Perhaps you’ve begun to put the team together in your own head already anyway.

I was watching a bit of the Green Bay-NYG game the other night and when the announcers began to talk up Randall Cobb of the Packers I said to myself, “I recall wanting the Chiefs to draft Cobb when he came out in 2011.”

We do this all the time mentally: we say, “I would have taken _________ (so-and-so) instead of _________ (the player the Chiefs did take).”

Now, that’s completely different than saying, “The Chiefs could have gotten _________ (so-and-so) instead of  _________ (the player the Chiefs did take).”

The first is actually admitting prior thought, that you once wanted the Chiefs to take a particular player and the second is just Monday morning quarterbacking (second guessing at it’s worst).

So, here’s how you play “If I Was The Chiefs GM.”

1. Firstly, you start out by saying, “If I was the Chiefs GM….”
2. Then, you reveal that you had another player firmly in mind BEFORE the Chiefs ever drafted a particular player, whether or not that was a first rounder or a fifth rounder.
3. You point out why you wanted them and/or how they would have been a good fit for KC.
4. You explain who the Chiefs would have to give up to get that player instead of who you would have selected. For instance, if you had someone else in mind for the Chiefs to take with the 2nd round pick they gave up in 2009 (instead of Cassel and Vrabel) then spell out who that was and why they would have been a better choice.

5. Also, admit who you would have taken… even though they haven’t turned out to be such a great player. Maybe you can do that if… if you’re braver than Scott Pioli… which actually isn’t that brave I guess.

Note: this game is not to be confused with Googling players that the Chiefs “could have” gotten in a particular draft when the reality was that you never gave that player a thought during the draft of that particular year. This is about a player you really loved, BEFORE the Chiefs ever sent their card to the commissioner: someone like Aaron Curry, or Mark Sanchez, or Taylor Mays, or Russell Okung, or Rolando McClain, or  Gabe Carimi, or even Akeem Ayers.

Now, I mention those players because I distinctly recall many Chiefs fans screaming for those players to be a Chiefs draft pick. So, if you’re woman enough… or man enough… go ahead, step up and admit that you wanted someone who may not have been the best choice after all.

In any event, it’s time to play, “If I was the Chiefs GM.”

Here’s my shot.

If I was the GM I would have taken Randall Cobb. In the case of Randall Cobb, he was taken with the 64th pick, in the second round, by the Green Bay Packers in the 2011 draft. The Chiefs took Jon Baldwin with the 26th pick and Rodney Hudson with the 55th pick, then followed with Justin Houston at #70.

So, who would I have given up to get Cobb instead of who the Chiefs took?

Baldwin still has a lot of potential. This season, he surely hasn’t shown the talents that were present in the preseason or off the season. A QB change, which most certainly is coming, may yet show just how good JB (not Justin Bieber) can be. However, at this point, I’d take Cobb over Baldwin.

I would do the same with Hudson and Cobb. Sure, the Chiefs would be left scrounging for help at the Center position right now but, isn’t that exactly what they’re doing at this very moment?

I’m not saying Cobb is or will be a superstar but, he sure looks like he’ll be a Pro Bowler soon enough.

Now, that’s the point of this piece. Name someone who you would have drafted, who you liked on draft day, and explain why you’d have taken them over who the Chiefs choose instead.

I’ll do another.

I really liked Brain Orakpo out of Texas in 2009 instead of Tyson Jackson. In fact, when the Chiefs choose Tyson Jackson I said, “Who?” Not that I didn’t know him but, he was not a big name to me. Did the Chiefs need a DE instead of a OLB? Sure, but, they waited until 2011 to take an OLB in Justin Houston anyway so, taking Orakpo isn’t such a big stretch.

If I was the GM I would have taken Brian Orakpo. Many thought Tyson Jackson should have been taken in the teens. Orakpo was taken number 13 and taking Orakpo may have been too high at #3 as well. However, Orakpo made the Pro Bowl in his first two years in the league.

Imagine Orakpo, Hali and DJ all on the same LB corp. Boggles the mind (Orakpo is out for the year but, he is expected back next season). However, I also have to admit I was pretty high on Aaron Curry and probably would have taken him over Orakpo, which doesn’t bode well for my GM resume.

Here’s another shot at… “If I Was The Chiefs GM.” In 2010 the Chiefs selected Javier Arenas at number 50 and 7 picks later the Ravens choose humongous DT Terrence Cody. I would have taken Terrence Cody for sure and I was fairly convinced the Chiefs would too at that point. Clearly, I was wrong. This was the pick that Pioli had traded All-time TE great Tony Gonzales for, to his ex-Patriots GM-playground buddy in Atlanta, Thomas Dimitroff, and all the Chiefs got for it was a second tier return man, an average slot defensive back. It would have been Cody for me for sure.

A quick look at this past draft: If I Was The Chiefs GM… I would have taken David DeCastro or Luke Kuechly (had he been available) instead of Dontari Poe.

Alright Chiefs fans, who do you remember actually wanting the Chiefs to take instead of who was announced as being part of the “righteous-53?”

Now, I know some of you think this is a worthless endeavor and to you I bid a fond adieu. For the rest of us — dreaming about what the Chiefs could be, and might be, may well be all we have at the moment.

So, submit your GM resume below (if you dare), it starts like this… If I was the Chiefs GM I would have taken….