Draft Science 2017 – The KC Draft Board

John Dorsey, Andy Reid, and Clark Hunt are about to select a new class of Kansas City Chiefs. This is the draft board to help them do it.

Welcome to draft day! It’s ‘Christmas in April’ and we’re going to go over my draft for the Kansas City Chiefs 2017 NFL Draft.

Before we can get to the players themselves we have to understand the team that we’re picking for. The board is specific to the attributes and skill sets that the players need to have to play in Kansas City systems. The quarterback has to have a skill set and you can work with. And one prospect that has gotten a lot of attention is Patrick Mahomes. We have an exclusive interview with his agent Leigh Steinberg today on the Locked on Chiefs podcast.

The Chiefs run a West Coast Offense that is heavily based on a zone-blocked running game. From time to time, Andy Reid will use a power scheme as well. On defense, we’re looking at a 3-4 base defense with a heavy usage of nickel and dime formations. Bob Sutton plays man coverage as well as cover-2 and an occasional cover-3 concept.

The Board

Ready for the Draft? download the full board here to use during the draft.

This board contains 164 stacked and ranked draft prospects that fit the Chiefs needs. It fits closely with what John Dorsey revealed as his draft board of 150 to 170 players. For this particular draft class, there are 78 on offense and 86 on defense. Players have been downgraded or dropped for off-the-field issues. I split the board into offense and defense for this column. Hit the link to the right to get the full board to follow along during the draft.

Offensive notes

The Quarterbacks. Despite over-inflated draft stock, I only see one first-round quarterback in this draft. The QBs are ranked according to how far they can advance under Andy Reid’s development.

Offensive line. As we saw in part 1 of Draft Science 2017, there is only one ideal fit in a week offensive line class. Beyond Forrest Lamp, players will have to rely on athleticism more as they fall down to the later rounds and hope they can learn the Reid system.

Running backs. Christian McCaffrey is as close as the Chiefs could hope to get to replacing Jamaal Charles combination of elusiveness and speed. The acclaimed top running back in this class, Leonard Fournette, is low on the board because he’s a two-down back with limitations out of the shotgun and catching out of the backfield.

Tight ends. The best tight end class in years has impressive athletes with great receiving ability. It even has two players in OJ Howard and Adam Shaheen that are effective in-line blockers as well. George Kittle is a guy Andy Reid will like.

Wide receivers. This class has few home-run-hitters and the top two have question marks; Corey Davis with no testing and John Ross with injuries. The sweet spot for the Chiefs is in the middle of the late second through fourth rounds and offers the athleticism that the Chiefs love.

Defensive notes

3-4 Defensive line. The number of five techniques and nose tackles in this group is not as numerous as in years past. Malik McDowell fell due to his lack of effort as his season went on and his disregard for his coaches direction. That won’t fly at the pro level in Kansas City.

3-4 Outside linebackers. The Edge rushers in this draft class are heavily slanted towards the 4-3 scheme. Players that can be effective rushing as a stand-up outside linebacker landed higher on the board than rushers who are primarily hand-in-the-dirt. Players like Solomon Thomas and Carl Lawson could only play in a 4- man front and were left off of the board because of fit despite being impressive football players. Missouri’s Charles Harris is the lone exception. While he’s best in the four-man front, he could become an outside linebacker with few years of development.

Off-ball linebackers. Reuben Foster would have been a top-10 prospect on this board if not for his failed drug test. Similar to what happened with Justin Houston in 2011, Foster was moved down the board. There’s a steep drop-off after the top four linebackers when fitting into the Kansas City scheme.

Cornerbacks. The heavy emphasis on man and press-man coverage was used to rank the players capable of playing across from Marcus Peters. Cornerbacks that are best suited to zone coverage we’re downgraded heavily.

Whether in the first or second rounds, Marcus Peters old teammates are the best fits for Al Harris’s CB unit. Kevin King and Sidney Jones may have swap places following Jones Achilles injury. In the end, both have the skills to play the Chiefs scheme with athleticism and production.

Safeties. While not a large need with the re-signing of Eric Perry and Daniel Sorensen, there are a number of safeties that could make up the next generation of the last line of defense.

I hope you enjoy the draft and that you’ve enjoyed the Draft Science series. Please let me know in the comments what you think of this draft board.

Thank you, addicts!

As Always, If you’d like to get a copy of the Athletic Matrix NFL Draft Guide, you can head over to Rogueapc.com