Chiefs draft rumors: Cornerback class is deepest in 10 years, says John Dorsey
By Matt Conner
John Dorsey says the cornerback class in this year’s NFL Draft is the deepest he’s seen in 10 years, which means going back to his Packers days.
If you’ve heard a lot of potential cornerback names mentioned as first round candidates, it’s because it’s true. When the final pick is in on Thursday and the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft wraps up, it’s possible a record number of cornerbacks will have found their names called. Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said at a press conference on Friday that he believed it was the deepest class he’s seen in a solid decade.
"With the cornerback class this year, it’s probably as deep a group of cornerbacks as I’ve seen in 10 years or so. I can’t remember the last time that ‘X’ amount of corners were taken in the first round. I think it may have been seven in the first round or something like that. There’s a chance there could be seven corners taken in the draft."
Dorsey is spot on in his analysis. Some schools even have hopes for having multiple cornerbacks taken in the first round, such as Washington (Kevin King, Sidney Jones) and Ohio State (Gareon Conley, Marshon Lattimore). The question that looms for the Chiefs is whether or not they will take advantage of the cache of players available at a position that Dorsey has already invested quite a bit in recent drafts.
"Now, do I like the corners on our roster? Yeah. I do. I think there’s growth, development and some really good players on it. That’s not to say we won’t acquire some more corners because this is a league now a days where you can’t have enough of those good cornerbacks."
Just last year, the Chiefs drafted three defensive backs in safety Eric Murray and cornerback KeiVarae Russell and D.J. White. While Russell was released, both Murray and White struggled to get much playing time given how much Dorsey already has invested in the position, including Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson and Phillip Gaines. The Chiefs also have the impressive string of games from Terrance Mitchell last season.
The NFL Draft begins on Thursday night, April 27.