Chiefs: John Dorsey onto the next puzzle

For the Chiefs, the word fit takes on several meanings like, positional fit, draft board fit, need fit, scheme fit, value fit and cultural fit. Matt Verderame said recently in his piece called, “2016 NFL Draft: Five Positions Chiefs Must Consider” that,

"“… the line finally appears to be set from the left side to center with Fisher, Ben Grubbs and Mitch Morse. The issue is at right tackle, where Jah Reid and Donald Stephenson don’t exactly fit the bill.”"

I would add the Right Guard position to that. The Chiefs offensive line is again in a position of flux… and need.

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So, while offensive tackle or offensive guard may be positions of need the question is whether or not there might be an OT or and OG in the draft who would not only be available at picks 28 or 59, but who have the appropriate value and are worth picking at those spots.

Picks 25-33 have been traded 17 times in the past five NFL Drafts. So, there’s a fair chance that John Dorsey will use that pick to slide up or down to get the player he wants.  That allows the Chiefs to draft a prospect at the value that’s most appropriate for that player. If you’ve spent any time looking at the Chiefs cap space issues this offseason then you know how important it is to be maximizing the value of their selections.

6-foot-7, 317 lbs. OT Taylor Decker (pictured left) from Ohio State, is ranked the 13th best prospect by DraftTek, 19th by CBS Sports and 26th by Daniel Jeremiah (NFL.com), who I trust more than most ranking services. Decker was named the 2015 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year. Taylor Decker is a Senior team captain with 42 consecutive starts to his name.

6-foot-6, 318 lbs. OT Jack Conklin is from Michigan State and pictured at the top of this page. He is ranked the 32nd best prospect by DraftTek, the 24th by CBS Sports and the 25th best by Daniel Jeremiah. Jack Conklin is known for his fiery on-field temperament, excellent core strength and stunning hand jolts.

Daniel Jeremiah ranks only 4 offensive tackles in his top 50 prospects including…

1. Laremy Tunsil #1

2. Ronnie Stanley #15

3. Jack Conklin #25

4. Taylor Decker #26

… and once again it’s important to note that those are the only offensive tackles he has listed in his top 50. So, if the Chiefs are looking for an immediate “answer” along the offensive line coming from the draft, they better arrange to get one of these gentlemen, because the Chiefs haven’t gotten an “answer” like that since LT Branden Albert was drafted 15th overall in 2008.

Prior to Branden Albert, the last time the Chiefs chose an offensive tackle in the first round was John Tait, 14th overall, in 1999. Don’t you think it’s time to party like it’s 1999? My apologies to Prince.

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