Chiefs should target Hunter Henry in second round

The 2016 NFL Draft is quickly approaching as it will kick off just one week from this Thursday in Chicago. For general manager John Dorsey and the Kansas City Chiefs, they will look to build on the foundation that helped them become one of the top teams in the AFC heading into the ’16 regular season.

With Dorsey’s guidance, Kansas City has transformed from a bottom feeder in their division to a team that has had three consecutive winning seasons, including two trips to the AFC playoffs during that span.

One of the many reasons why Dorsey and his staff have been able to turn around this franchise so quickly is because of the draft picks that they have cashed in on, including Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce. Last week, I ranked Kelce number one the current list of Dorsey’s draft picks during his time in KC. The former University of Cincinnati emergence as one of the league’s top young tight ends has certainly been to watch over the past couple years. He has also added some swagger and confidence to a position that the Chiefs were in desperate need of ever since the departure of future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez.

Since Kelce’s arrival as a top-tier tight end for Kansas City’s offense, it makes one wonder if the organization will try to add another prolific pass catcher at that position. With the NFL being full of parody these days, many teams have tried to emulate what the Patriots used to have when Tom Brady had both Pro Bowler Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez at his disposal. For the Chiefs to go this route, they need to look no further than the second round of this year’s NFL draft to potentially find another stud tight end to pair with Kelce.

I’m referring to the Chiefs taking former Arkansas standout Hunter Henry with their second round selection. Of course, this is all assuming that Henry will be there when Kansas City’s name is called with the 58th-overall pick. However, if he is there, I could see Dorsey and the Chiefs going with best player available and picking the Little Rock, AR native to help pair with Kelce in KC’s offense for years to come.

The Mackey Award winner racked up over 1,600 receiving yards for the Razorbacks in his three-year career while finding the end zone nine different times as well. His 6-foot-5, 253-pound frame helps him to pose an immediate mismatch with linebackers and safeties at the next level. He is also very smart and is known to have a high football IQ and appears to have a good understanding of how an offense works for a guy who is only 21 years old.

Henry’s potential to be a dual threat tight end at the next level makes him valuable to any NFL offense, especially QB Alex Smith and the Chiefs. One NFL scout even tabbed him as the most complete tight end that has come through the draft in years.  Also, Andy Reid’s offensive playbook seems to let tight ends do a number of different things and Smith has a history of getting the ball to his TEs frequently, especially in the red zone.

When you consider both of these factors, along with his intelligence and strong work ethic that he displayed while in college, its easy to see why all early signs point to Henry being be a perfect fit for the red and gold.

However, even with all of the talent and promise that Henry brings to the table, the Chiefs already have some young in-house talent on their current roster. This includes former college basketball player Demetrius Harris and second-year man James O’Shaughnessy.

Both players impressed at times last season as Harris caught a highlight reel touchdown in the final game of the regular season and O’Shaughnessy had 54 receiving yards against the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 2. Even though both of these players have yet to reach their full potential as NFL tight ends, picking Hunter Henry with the Chiefs’ second pick in this year’s draft is worth the gamble if he is available.

What do you think of the Chiefs drafting Henry, Addicts? If he is there in the second round, would you select him?