Early Kansas City Chiefs Draft Outlook

Dec 14, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Dorsey has done his best work so far in the third round. With three third round picks he has found Travis Kelce (Lil Gronk), Knile Davis (would start for most teams), and Phillip Gaines (future starting cornerback).

Good news for the Chiefs is Dorsey may have two picks in the third round this year if Albert is classified as a third round compensation pick. If so, then we should just all go ahead and assume that whomever Dorsey picks in this round is going to turn into a really good player.

We don’t have a history with Dorsey in the second round yet, so we this theory isn’t completely tested, but the third round seems to be where Dorsey starts attacking the ‘best available players’ idea.

Dorsey’s first two first round picks with the Chiefs have been need based. Eric Fisher was selected known Albert was getting ready to walk and the roster didn’t feature a future viable left tackle. Dee Ford was selected because Hali is on his last legs and Houston’s contract situation. One can assume an offensive lineman or pass rusher will be selected in the first round this year because of need and contract issues.

The third round is where things get random. Travis Kelce was drafted with the first pick in third round in 2013 after the Chiefs had just spent millions on Anthony Fasano. Initial reaction to his selection was one of confusion because of the perceived other needs on the roster and the Fasano signing. Davis met with similar confusion given Jamaal Charles and other roster needs.

Gaines was the Chiefs’ third round pick last year and seemed a bit out of place because of the obvious wide receiver need the Chiefs had on their roster. (John Brown and Donte Moncrief were selected shortly after the Gaines pick.) Some would have also liked to see the Chiefs take an offensive lineman there, too. Yet Dorsey went a bit rouge with the Gaines selection.

The third through fifth rounds where a team can find free money. This is the area where Russell Wilson was taken, for example. These are players, who if you hit on them, can bring an insane amount of value to your team.

Some of the Chiefs’ best players from the last six or seven years have been found in this zone. Justin Houston and Jamaal Charles are the two headliners in this area. Brandon Carr, Allen Bailey, Kelce, and De’Anthony Thomas are all money rounds guys.

Obviously hitting on first and second round guys are important, there’s no rocket science needed to figuring out that idea. What separates general managers is their ability to constantly find early impact guys in the third through fifth round. This is truly where we find out how good Dorsey was at building his draft board. Considering his current trend in these rounds, things are looking up for Dorsey.

Don’t anticipate the Chiefs filling needs in these rounds. This isn’t the area of the draft where you want to be drafting for need. But if the Chiefs are tied between two players on their board, it would be surprising to see an offensive lineman or inside linebacker winning out over the other player here. Add safety to that mix as well.

Kansas City has a problem when it comes to Derrick Johnson and Eric Berry. Both will be in the final year of their deals in 2015, neither are likely to be very productive for the Chiefs in 2015 on the field due to health problems, and neither are likely to extend their contracts between now and the middle of next season because of those said health problems. Those two potential holes do not have potential replacements for them on the roster pre-free agency.

It would make the most sense for those positions to be addressed in these rounds but it doesn’t seem like Dorsey’s tendencies are to draft for need here. But if you’re looking to solve these problems in the draft, this would be the place to do it.

Next: Fliers and Changeups