Kansas City Chiefs Rookie Review 2016: Parker Ehinger
By Matt Conner
Before the Chiefs draft an entire new draft class to analyze, let’s take a look back at 2016. Our next Rookie Review is OL Parker Ehinger.
John Dorsey sacrificed his Thursday night pick for the chance to add an extra, early Saturday pick. The Kansas City Chiefs general manager was approached by the San Francisco 49ers late in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft with a chance to slide down. The Niners wanted a guard. The Chiefs ended up landing a guard as well. For the cost to take Joshua Garnett from Stanford, the Niners gave up the pick that would become Chris Jones as well as Parker Ehinger.
Ehinger has helped us further understand what John Dorsey loves in his offensive lineman: intelligence and versatility. Not that there aren’t other qualities in play, but Ehinger was named a Freshman All-American as a right tackle, started two seasons at right guard and then earned all-conference honors for his play at left tackle his senior year at Cincinnati.
Measurements
6-6, 310 lbs.
Key college stats
Three-years plus of starting experience. First Team All-American Athletic Conference in 2014-15.
What they said at the time
"“The Chiefs could use some competition in their interior. Ehinger was a 3-year starter at tackle but he likely gets moved inside at this level. He’ll add some versatility to a unit that has allowed the 5th most sacks since 2014.” -Mark Dulgerian"
One year later
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While the verdict is still officially out on Ehinger given that we lack a full season of game film to watch and assess, the reality is that Ehinger surprised everyone—maybe himself included?—when Andy Reid placed him among the team’s starting five so early in the preseason at left guard, slotted above guys like Zach Fulton, Jarrod Pughsley, Jah Reid.
Ehinger was a necessary addition for a team that had lost so many offensive linemen over the previous few years, including Jeff Allen to the Houston Texans and Ben Grubbs to retirement earlier that offseason. The Chiefs still felt a little thin heading into the season with Ehinger up front, but he began to show improvement game after game until he was eventually lost of the season with a knee injury versus the Indianapolis Colts.
The Chiefs are likely to enter the 2017 season with Ehinger slotted where we last saw him, but it also wouldn’t surprise to see the Chiefs add another young player to the mix if a great value slides to them in the draft. There’s plenty of picks coming in this draft, which means competition will be fierce, even for players with experience in starting slots. In addition, Mitch Morse’s ability to also play guard could become an issue for Ehinger if the Chiefs picked up a top center in the draft. That’s all conjecture but Dorsey’s valued versatility could work against the job security of particular players.
Summary
For what was a throw-in pick, Dorsey landed an instant starter at left guard.