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Putting Chiefs draft into the big picture

By Ben Almquist

Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the stage before the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view of the stage before the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2016 NFL Draft is officially in the books.  Now, of course, comes the endless analysis and fallout from this past weekend’s activities.  Every media outlet in the US, and many abroad, will be spending hours and hours trying to break down what every single move means and how it could have been done better or worse.

More from Kansas City Chiefs Draft

I’ve given the draft a couple days to percolate in my head before coming to my conclusions.  And honestly, I’m pretty pleased with what the Chiefs did.  There was no marquee name pulled in, but there was a clear emphasis on building the depth of the roster and looking to the future.  That’s a solid drafting strategy, and will help provide a lot of stability moving forward…assuming, of course, that at least some of these picks work out.

But the draft goes beyond just the players added.  Every pick or trade is a story unto itself, with consequences that go beyond just what we saw happen over the weekend.  Let’s take a look at some of those…

Did the Chiefs just draft Dontari Poe’s replacement? Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Did the Chiefs just draft Dontari Poe’s replacement? Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports /

Chris Jones in…Dontari Poe out?

It’s the common thought now that John Dorsey drafts to replace players who are coming up on Free Agency.  Eric Fisher for Branden Albert.  Dee Ford for Justin Houston/Tamba Hali.  Marcus Peters for Sean Smith.

And now Chris Jones for Dontari Poe.  The train of thought makes sense.  Albert and Smith have both since left town.  And Hali ended up hanging around on a very team friendly deal.  So, logically, Poe is likely on his way out, right?

Not quite.  Yes, there is a bit of a track record to support this, but there is a very important factor that needs to be remembered.  John Dorsey did make attempts to retain both Albert and Smith.  In fact, the Chiefs reportedly made a hard push at the 11th hour to retain Sean Smith, but the Raiders just had too much money to throw at him.  On top of that, there is the fact that the Chiefs retained both Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, even with Houston’s mega deal.

Chiefs fans should expect that approach before Poe hits Free Agency.  John Dorsey will make a concerted effort to keep the big man, he just won’t pay more than what he sees as actual value for Poe.  But with only Poe, Eric Fisher, Eric Berry, and Albert Wilson as quality free agents in 2017, the Chiefs should have more than enough money to make a strong play at keeping Poe.  And there have been reports that this is exactly what the Chiefs are working on right now.

So don’t be in too big a hurry to write Poe off just yet.

Next: Corners everywhere!

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