K.C. Chiefs 2014 Draft: That’s What The Mock Says

There are only 75 more shopping days until Christmas and you know what that means: the postseason will just about be here and we’ll all be cheering the Chiefs on to the playoffs. And of course, we’ll be looking forward to the 2014 NFL draft! So, why wait til it’s too late to say who you want the Chiefs to be slipping under the tree!

The motivating force for doing this right now of course is “wondering with great wonder what the next step will be for our beloved Chiefs in the season coming up.” Plus, in our recent past we Chiefs fans have been compelled, by this time of the season, to dream about winning futures (like this one) and so thinking about future drafts has been the solution. However, this year it is by choice that we dream about just how much better this team can be. And that’s a pretty dreamy dream.

I have no preconceived notion or a specific idea prior to writing this who I will select in any given round. I have watched a fair amount of college games but, more game tape highlights than is healthy for anyone’s brain cells. However, I set about this task as if the draft were this coming week and as if no one knows for sure yet who will land where. Which of course no one does.

I will admit up front, that this mock is not based upon the “best player available” philosophy specifically, although I certainly am not going to be picking players who rank in the 200s, in the first round. These choices all come from multiple rankings services that place them near the spot they have been slotted to be selected. Also, this is not a prediction for the Chiefs. However, certain assumptions are being made about “team needs” based upon the Chiefs overall play so far, as well as what is trending around the league.

For instance, while Alex Smith is to be the Chiefs QB for the foreseeable future, there also appears to be a need to provide him with more targets at the WR and TE positions. It also means I won’t be projecting any QBs this year. While this is supposed to be a good year for QBs… the upside of that is that the higher all these QBs are selected… the further down other high quality players will fall, and hopefully fall into the Chiefs lap.

That being said, if I had to choose, I would take QB Marcus Mariota from Oregon if he was available late in the first round but I’m afraid he could go as early as #1 in the draft so I won’t be faced with that conundrum. Mariota reads the whole defense in the span of one second before firing his passes with that super-fast release. He’s amazing to watch.

Draft order will not be a factor here. While gaining a precise idea about the position the Chiefs will pick at in 2014 would be preferable, it isn’t doable at this point in time so I won’t make up an arbitrary and therefore meaningless drafting order. This mock will be based on the popular and growing idea that the Chiefs will select in the last ⅓ of each round in the 2014 NFL draft. Also, since it would be absurd to project a single prospect for the Chiefs to select at this point in time, I’ll provide three possibilities in each of the first three rounds. After all, who really knows how things will shake out beyond the top 100 picks but, it’s time we start hearing some more names and possibilities for our early picks. If you’ve missed any of our scheduled AA coverage of potential NFL prospects by Jeff Grasser Jr. have a look-see here.

As Arrowhead Addict’s resident Armchair Addict, Lyle Graversen, has stated in his Monday column called “Just How Good Are The 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs?“,

"While there is NO question that the Chiefs are light years better than they were last season, the general consensus seems to be that this team is still a work in progress."

With that, let’s proceed to round one.

~ ~ ~