We knew Chiefs GM Scott Pioli was capable of throwing us a curveball, but I don’t think any of us (with the exception of commenter Danny W-respect) saw this one coming. One thing we thought we knew for sure was that Pioli places the utmost value on intangibles. Then he goes and picks a guy whose value is all in the tangible (ie, real) world. Jonathan Baldwin’s measurables to character ratio is probably the most lopsided of anyone in this draft class. This was a guy I was absolutely sure Pioli wouldn’t touch.
But touch him he did. He touched him long, and he touched him hard. OK this got perverted real fast. Much like the headshot on my press pass.
I scare your children after the jump:
I was disappointed in this pick at first because it blindsided me, but I like it more and more as the day goes by. I’m not going to call it a homerun or an A+ like some, because this is far from a sure thing. But no one can deny this pick is muy exciting. Uncertainty can be a thrill! And this kid’s ceiling is definitely very high. Of course, his floor is very low, too. This is a straight-up feast or famine pick. Either way, fantastic for a fake journalist such as myself. I will write thousands of words about Baldwin in the coming years no matter what he does.
One thing is for sure: we can throw what we thought we knew about Scott Pioli out the window. We know nothing. The phrase “right 53” is now even more meaningless than it was before, which I wouldn’t have thought possible. And in pulling off a trade back, our GM gave us the gift of more fun today. Rounds two and three are going to be an absolute blast.
Pioli responsible for fun?! What’s next, expensive free agents and real answers at press conferences? I’m not ruling anything out at this point.