The Kansas City Chiefs need a bully at right tackle

As the Kansas City Chiefs head into the 2015 NFL Draft, they have several roster spots to address. You can give valid reasons for why KC should be looking for a wide receiver, center, inside linebacker, cornerback and probably countless other positions with some of their early round draft picks. That said, I’m not going to talk about any of those positions. No, today I’m going to talk about the position I personally want to see addressed more than any other on the roster. That position is right tackle.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking….

“Lyle, we have a couple of veteran guys in Donald Stephenson and Jeff Allen competing for that spot. We have bigger needs in other areas.”

While I respect your right to feel that way, I simply don’t agree. I should probably confess at this point that this piece will not be in any way objective. This is all about my desire to have an offensive line that dominates the line of scrimmage. I don’t want an offensive line that gets by. I don’t want an athletic offensive line that is full of guys with fast 40 times but that get manhandled at the point of attack.

No, I want an offensive line that bullies people. I want an offensive line that can run the ball down the throat of an opposing defense even when the defense knows that is coming. I want an offensive line that makes a pass rusher worried that if he hits the QB on one play that he might find himself with five very large, very strong men looking for retribution on the next play.

Save me your arguments about how, in today’s pass-happy NFL, the top OT trait is the “athleticism” to pick up edge rushers. Eric Fisher is athletic. Donald Stephenson is athletic. Jeff Allen is athletic. You know what that has got them? Pushed around and bullied by stronger defenders. I’m tired of it. I want to win in the trenches. I want to be the bully.

Throughout the history of the NFL, the teams that have had dominant and physical offensive lines have had powerful RTs. Obviously, they have to have the ability to pass protect too, but the idea of having a RT that can’t get a dominant push in the run game does not appeal to me, not even a little.

So as the NFL draft draws closer, I’ve spent a lot of time looking over the offensive tackle prospects. I’ve watched hours of game film and read every scouting report I can find. At this point I have now divided the top prospects onto one of two lists. The guys that look like potential bullies are on my “want” list. The guys that don’t look like possible bullies are on my “pass” list.

I highly encourage you to watch any and all of them for yourself at www.draftbreakdown.com. It’s by far the easiest place to go to watch draft prospects in action. I should also clarify that I’m not saying the guys on my “pass” list aren’t going to be good or that the guys on my “want” list may all end up great players. I’m strictly looking for guys that possess the physical makeup to be the “bully” I so desperately want at the RT spot.

To support my case for each prospect’s “bully status,” I will provide quotes from two of my favorite draft sources. One is the scouting reports provided by Lance Zierlein at NFL.com. The other is Dane Brugler’s 2015 NFL Draft Guide. Brugler is a draft analyst for CBS and if you love reading up on draft prospects and haven’t purchased his guide for the ridiculously cheap cost of $6.99, you should get on that right now at this LINK.

Let’s get started…..