Reach’s Mock Draft for the Kansas City Chiefs, Version 1.0 (Part I)

All is quiet on the free agency front. With roughly four weeks to go until NFL hopefuls, dignitaries and media members pile into Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, it appears that the focus of everyone at One Arrowhead Drive has shifted to the 2015 NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs are loaded for bear and stocked with ten picks in this year’s draft. By now, I’m sure you’ve been inundated with mock drafts in the blogosphere. Twitter’s a virtual wasteland of draft prognostication right now. I’m not convinced any of us has the stomach for yet another mock, but I’d be doing you a disservice not to throw my hat in the ring.

Fanspeak.com is an excellent resource for mock drafts this time of the year. If you’ve never played with their “On the Clock” Draft Simulator, do yourself the favor. You can draft anywhere between 1-7 rounds, for any of the 32 teams in the league. For today’s exercise, I’ve obviously chosen the Kansas City Chiefs.

I’m alone in the War Room today and I’m prepared to stay put until all seven rounds of the draft are complete! Don’t worry, a moderately decisive person can complete the simulation in about 15 minutes. Unlike the real thing, you’re not under any time constraints so you won’t forfeit a pick for taking too long to get your card to the podium. The site gives you the option of thirteen different player ranking sites to choose from. I’m partial to DraftCountdown so I’ll be selecting their big board to complete this process. If all hearts and minds are clear, let’s begin with the first five picks! We’ll cover the back half of Kansas City’s picks next Tuesday.

Round 1: Pick 18 | DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville

I’m faced with quite the conundrum right off the bat. On the left side of the screen, you’ll find a tracker of all the recent picks made by other teams. On the right, we have a partial list of the best players available unsorted by position. I’m torn between upgrading the secondary and giving Phillip Gaines competition at the cornerback spot opposite of Sean Smith (Trae Waynes) or finding a complement to Jeremy Maclin at wide receiver (DeVante Parker). It’s a tough call, but I’m going with Parker here. The No. 2 receiver spot is one of the few positions where there are no clear options available. Parker’s one of the three best wideouts in this draft class. Since 2012, he’s credited with just three drops.

Round 2: Pick 49 | Benardrick McKinney, ILB, Mississippi State

I don’t envy you, John Dorsey. I’ve got another dilemma in the second round. There are a cluster of players available here that can help shore up the Chiefs roster — particularly with regard to the future. The names that immediately get my attention are Quinten Rollins (Miami-OH), Cedric Ogbuehi (Texas A&M), Benardrick McKinney (Mississippi State), and Paul Dawson (TCU). I’m still not quite ready to pull the trigger on a corner so I’m going with McKinney here. I believe he’s better suited to the 3-4 than Dawson and has the physique to be the thumper the Chiefs need in the middle of the defense.

Follow the jump to continue to the last page.