Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Well it came and went.
The 2014 Draft started with a bang and ended on Saturday night. For the 2014 Kansas City Chiefs, I was a little confused by their draft choices. No receiver in the first round, a quarterback in the fifth, and two, unknown to me, offensive lineman in the 6th.
While I was confused, the more I thought about this draft the more I found myself becoming more at ease with it. Here are my reasons.
1. We needed defense.
When Dee Ford was announced as the Chiefs first round pick, I was like, “Who?” I admit I did my homework on the bigger names in the draft. The possible receivers that we were going to draft, the bigger name defenders that I thought might be selected. So when Ford was chosen I immediately went to Google to find out about this kid. Man was I glad. Not only is Dee Ford quick off the edge but if you saw the ESPN Sports Science piece they did on him you could not help but get chills when it comes to this skilled player.
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Being put in a category with Adrian Peterson, for his spin, and ranked at the top next to Denver’s Von Miller got me pumped to see this kid play. Now there are some out there who took to twitter to say that Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali is on his way out of KC. I don’t think that is the case. What this does is give the Chiefs an added presence on the defense that was missing when our two best defenders when down in the second half of the season. Another thought I had was that our d-line could be operated like this: Houston, Poe, Hali, Ford. Tamba is good so I think there could be some packages when he moves to the inside and Ford on the out and the offensive line will have their hands full with these guys.
2. No Receiver, No Problem
If you take the second half of the Chiefs season, one thing changed from the beginning, they were able to put up points. Granted they were playing bad teams, but the fact remains that they were still able to be productive with who they had. Even in the really sad playoff game they still put up a lot of points against a good Colts defense.
So by not drafting a receiver what it tells me is that they are willing to work with the core they got. Now will they pickup one here or there or possibly still get someone through free agency or a trade? Sure it is possible, but I think they want to work with this group and build a solid receiving corp.
Now they did get a wild card in De’Anthony Thomas.Very much a Dexter McCluster type player. He is fast, really fast and they will more than likely work plays into the system to get the ball is this kids hands. He also has return ability which is something they need with McCluster and Quintin Demps gone from the team. So while no big time receiver was selected I have faith the Reid and Dorsey know what they are doing and will continue to make strides with our receivers.
3. Offensive Line was more pressing.
With the loss of most of the offensive line starters the Chiefs are really hurting when it comes to offensive lineman. Granted the two offensive line picks came in the later rounds, however if Reid, who likes lineman, can turn at least one of these guys into a solid player then we can still add some more depth through players we pick up off waivers, or even a possible trade.
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Zach Fulton has the ability to turn into a solid pro with the right coaching. So by adding two offensive lineman late in the draft, the Chiefs not only added some depth but the possibility of a good starter.
Overall
Overall the 2014 draft seemed a bit of a surprise, however I feel that Reid and Dorsey are pros and they know what they are doing. Some people think that this was a rushed draft and not the best decisions for the Chiefs. I tend to disagree with that and have a feeling that this draft will turn some heads as the next group of talented Chiefs players make their way into the NFL.
Sounds off, Addicts. What did you think of this draft? What would you have done differently? Share your thoughts below.
Go Chiefs.