2013 NFL Draft: Chiefs Had No Interest In Matt Barkley At 99
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
According to Mike Mayock of NFL Network, the Kansas City Chiefs had no interest in drafting USC QB Matt Barkley with the 99th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.
The fourth round began with the Jacksonville Jaguars trading their pick to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles selected Barkley, leading to immediate speculation that the Chiefs were planning to take the QB with the next pick. Shortly after that, Ian Rapoport reported that he spoke to three different NFL GMs that all told him they believed the Chies would select Barkley.
Instead, the Chefs selected Alabama ILB Nico Johnson at #99. NFL Network mentioned the pick but did not discuss it much as they dove into a Matt Barkley/Philadeplhia Eagles love-fest. Later, however, Mike Mayock broke in to say that he had just talked with some folks in the Chiefs’ War Room and KC said they never planned to take Barkley at #99. Mayock said the Chiefs confirmed that their plan was to select Johnson all along.
This could be true or it could just be the Chiefs trying to do damage control. I tend to believe the former. If the Chiefs really wanted Barkley, they could have selected him three picks earlier in the third round. Instead, KC took Knile Davis, a RB who likely still would have been on the board at #99. The Chiefs would have had to have been monumentally stupid to allow a team to jump ahead of them, for just a seventh round pick, to select Barkley. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jaguars called the Chiefs before trading the pick to the Eagles to see if KC wanted to move up as well.
Lastly, the Chiefs really needed some help at the ILB position. Johnson could be a good fit to take over for Jovan Belcher next to Derrick Johnson. Johnson isn’t particularly fast but he is a downhill thumper that can help in run support, much like Belcher did. With NFL teams playing so much nickel these days, Johnson may only find himself on the field on running downs anyway, making him a great value pick if he does end up snagging the starting job.