Grading Chiefs GM John Dorsey’s First Draft Class

Round 3

Dec 29, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Knile Davis (34) celebrates his 2nd quarter touchdown run against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Liu-USA TODAY Sports

Pick No. 96 Knile Davis, RB, Arkansas

Grade: B+

2013 Cap Hit: $646,504

Dead money if cut: $379,512

Many thought Dorsey was out of his mind drafting Davis here. It was seen as a reach and a huge risk given Davis’ injury history as well as his penchant for coughing up the ball.

While it took the rookie awhile to find some playing time behind the Chiefs starting running back Jamaal Charles, when Davis did get the ball in his hands, he looked very comfortable. While he did put the ball on the ground three times in his limited touches this year, only one of those was lost. Coincidentally, those fumbles only came in games that Davis saw limited action, against the Oakland Raiders in Week 6 and two against the Colts in Week 16. The two games where Davis had the most action — against the San Diego Chargers in Week 17 and the Colts in the Wild Card game — Davis didn’t drop the ball at all and played very well.

Ending the season with 242 yards on 70 carries with four rushing touchdowns wasn’t a bad rookie campaign. If you combine that with the rushing TD and receiving TD he had in the Chiefs lone playoff appearance when he was forced to step in for a concussed Jamaal Charles, I would say Davis was quite the steal with the 96th overall pick.

Oh yeah, did I mention he can return kicks too?

With the dead money involved, Davis is likely safe from a cut. Even though he ended the year with a broken leg, I would look for him to return in 2014.