2013 NFL Draft: Chiefs Draft 5 Of The Top 99 Prospects

32 picks per round, right? The first 64 picks make up the first two rounds, right? In the 2013 draft, that’s not exactly true.

In round two of the 2013 NFL Draft, two teams have lost their picks: the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints lose their round 2 pick for their involvement in Bountygate. The Browns used their second-round pick for 2013 on WR Josh Gordon, who they took in the supplemental draft.

Vwah-lah… 64 picks in the first two rounds becomes 62.  So, when the Chiefs pick first in round 3, they are essentially drafting at the back of round two… mathematically speaking.

So, the Chiefs will have the 63rd pick in this draft.

Consequently, those two, second round blacks holes, provided by the Saints and the Browns, causes a ripple effect until the end of round 3, when some compensatory picks kick in. Like the compensatory pick the Chiefs are expecting to receive for the loss of Brandon Carr last year.

Whereas, in any normal draft year, round 3 selections are picks 65-96, this season, round 3 selections will be picks 63-94.

This year, by receiving the expected compensatory pick for Brandon Carr, the Chiefs will pick again at pick #96. Why not #95? Because, the Texans loss of Mario Williams, and Williams inflated contract with Buffalo, outweighs the Chiefs loss of Brandon Carr and his contract with Dallas.

The Titans can also expect a 3rd round compensatory pick for the loss of Courtland Finnegan so, round 3 should end with pick #97.

Since the Chiefs will be selecting second in round 4, although there’s no guarantee about compensatory picks yet, there’s a high probability that the Chiefs next pick, their round 4 pick, will be the 99th pick in the draft. And that… will be their 5th pick.

Now, if that happens, it looks like the Chiefs will be drafting 5 out of the top 99 prospects in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Let’s see, 99 ÷ 5 =  19.8.

What does this mean? It means the Chiefs will be selecting a player, on average, every 19.8 draft picks.

While this may not mean a lot to most of us, other than liking the idea of the Chiefs adding 5 top 100 talents to the roster… it provides GM John Dorsey and HC Andy Reid a goodly amount of draft day trading leverage. When it comes time to, trade up, or trade down, the draft board to take the players they like best, in the positions they see best fits on their value chart, they’ll have the luxury of… moving about the cabin freely.

Now, the Chiefs aren’t allowed to trade their 3rd round compensatory pick, per league rules, but, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing a game of Twister with a number of other teams by dangling their sexy draft pick positions… and more than just once.

This is going to afford Dorsey and Reid the opportunity to… “get their man”… at every stage of the draft.

Drafting 5 of the top 99 college prospects is a luxury that many teams would love to have, especially in a year loaded with cornerbacks, defensive linemen and pass rushers.

Assuming the past is now in the past… and I’m pretty sure it is… Chiefsland is a great place to be right now!