Will The Kansas City Chiefs Draft A Cornerback In The First Round?
Now that the feeding frenzy that was the start of free agency has finally died down its time for Chiefs fans to turn their attention back to the NFL Draft. Ever since the 2014 season came to a close most have focused on two key areas that Kansas City needed to address this offseason. The national media and casual fans focused almost exclusively on the wide receiver position, citing the Chiefs zero WR touchdowns (I know, I’m sick of hearing about it too) as their justification. Meanwhile others (like a certain Chiefs blogger that happens to post his thoughts every Monday morning) have been preaching the need to rebuild the offensive line. While I still believe that a good offensive line is the key to a successful 2015 season, as I have looked over the Chiefs roster after their recent signings I am starting to believe that their first round pick in the draft won’t be an offensive lineman or a wide receiver. I believe Chiefs fans should be prepared for their team to take a cornerback with their first pick.
Before I get to which CBs that the Chiefs may draft, let me spell out why I think this may happen.
1. The Chiefs have already made a major acquisition at both WR and on the OL with the additions of Jeremy Maclin and Ben Grubbs.
2. The Chiefs were rumored to be one of the teams that was interested in Darrelle Revis. While I never believed that they had a chance to land him it does show their interest in upgrading that position.
3. The starting CB spot opposite Sean Smith is completely up for grabs. All of the candidates currently on the roster have question marks. Jamelle Fleming was a mid season free agent that they signed off the street. After a promising rookie season Marcus Cooper seemed to fall out of favor with the coaching staff last year. Philip Gaines showed promise but lost time to two different concussions, which in today’s NFL could put his long term future in question. Finally, while Ron Parker has experience at CB his skills are much better suited for the safety position.
4. This is Sean Smith’s contract season and John Dorsey has a history of drafting with the future in mind (Eric Fisher to take over for Branden Albert, Dee Ford to take over for Tamba Hali, etc).
5. Where the Chiefs are drafting in the first round there could be good value in the CB position. While the top offensive linemen and wide receivers may already be off the board it’s possible that Kansas City could grab one of the better (if not best) CBs in the draft with the 18th pick.
6. The 2015 CB class is not very deep so if KC is hoping to get a potential starting caliber player at that position they will need to draft one early.
While I respect the argument that KC could also use an ILB and therefore could draft someone like Eric Kendricks in the first round, my argument for taking a CB over an ILB would be one of positional value. While having a good ILB is obviously important, I don’t believe that NFL general managers put as much stock in that position as they do starting CBs that are capable of covering another team’s best WR. So while I can see KC taking a player like Kendricks if they feel he is significantly better than any of the CBs on the board, I think if they have the players graded out similarly that they will take the CB over the ILB.
So now that I’ve made my case for why Kansas City may draft a CB in the first round, it’s time to look at which prospects the Chiefs may target. In this blogger’s humble opinion there are five CB prospects that warrant consideration for the Chiefs first round pick. Let’s take a closer look at all five. While different draft experts have different favorite CBs this year, I’m going to look at them in what seems to be their consensus order. Starting with…….
Next: Click Here For The Consensus #1 CB