Kansas City Chiefs: A Final 2015 NFL Draft Wish List
Jul 20, 2014; Greensboro, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets offensive guard Shaquille Mason addresses the media during the ACC football media day at the Grandover Resort. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Center
First off, I like Eric Kush and I think there is a chance he turns out to be a good NFL starting center. However, I’m not willing to bank on that fact. Alex Smith is not a quarterback that you want having pressure come right up the middle at him on every pass play. Smith needs a safe pocket to stand in to alleviate his “jitters” and that starts with a dependable center. If Kush turns out to be that guy, fantastic, but I’d like the Chiefs to draft him some competition.
1. Ali Marpet – Hobart College – 6’4″ 307 lbs
Would you believe the top prospect on my center wish list is a division three offensive tackle? Makes sense, right? Well, let’s just say that Marpet is a very atypical small college prospect. First off, he’s as physically impressive as any power conference interior line prospect in the draft. Those familiar with the SPARQ score that measures a players’ athleticism based off their combine results, will be happy to know that Marpet finished with the highest score of all the NFL linemen at the combine. Second, the guy is also impressive as a person. If you read up on him it seems he is blowing people away in the interview process as well with a killer work ethic and football smarts. The interview I heard with him from the Senior Bowl (where he dominated some big school competition) at footballgameplan.com impressed me. He seems like a guy that’s ready to bring his lunch pail every day and go to work.
2. Shaq Mason – Georgia Tech – 6’1″ 310 lbs
So after having a division three tackle as the top center on my wish list you would think I’d follow up with a more traditional option, right? Well, not exactly, I’m going with a guy that played guard in such a run heavy offense that he has minimal pass blocking experience coming out of college. Okay, so that doesn’t exactly make him sound like a great option, but it takes about thirty seconds of watching Shaq Mason play to fall in love with the guy. The guy is like a cross between a bulldozer and the Tasmanian Devil. He’s always getting a physical push forward….always. He also goes 100 MPH, he’s always looking to get to the second level and hit somebody else, when he pulls he sprints out to lead block like he’s on a mission. I LOVE THIS GUY. If you don’t want to take my word for it, go check out THIS video on draftbreakdown.com. His lack of height and pass protection experience will keep him from being a top prospect, but at center his height won’t be an issue (in fact it would be a benefit) and if a team (cough..Chiefs..cough) believes that their coaching staff can coach him up at the position I think this guy could be a future All Pro. Plus, if Eric Kush turns out to be a good starting center, Mason’s experience at guard would give him an added chance to make an impact on the roster. Shaq Mason is hands down my favorite mid round prospect in the 2015 draft.
3. B.J. Finney – Kansas State – 6’4″ 318 lbs
Local center prospect B.J. Finney isn’t flashy. He doesn’t have any one dominant trait that he can rely on to excel at the next level. He isn’t terribly athletic or terribly powerful, but you just get the feeling he’s one of those workman type guys that is going to have a ten year career in the NFL. I watched Finney go head to head with potential first round pick Jordan Phillips from Oklahoma and down after down Finney held his own. Naturally, Finney is a former walk-on at K-State and by the time he graduated he was named co-offensive lineman of the year in the Big 12. I have a feeling that Finney will have a longer and more successful career than many of the players drafted in front of him. He probably won’t be a Pro Bowler, but every team needs dependable starters that aren’t stars and I think that will be Finney.
Not Making My Wish List:
Cameron Erving – Florida State – 6’5″ 313 lbs
Everybody and their mother has Erving at the top of their center prospect list, but unless he somehow falls to the second round I’d rather the Chiefs pass on the former FSU stand out. It’s not that I don’t think Erving is a solid prospect, I do. I just don’t think you draft a “solid” center in the first round. First round centers should be guys that you think will dominate the position. I think of Alex Mack coming out of college when I think of a guy that I really wanted on my team. Erving is solid in both the run and pass game I just don’t ever see him being a dominant player. You can find dependable starters at center in the mid rounds of the draft. You don’t need to draft one in the first round when there are impact players at harder to find positions available.
Next: Click Here To See My Wide Receiver Wish List