NFL Draft: Early options for the Kansas City Chiefs

The 2016 NFL Draft is a scant 36 days away. The Kansas City Chiefs are heading into this year’s draft with one of the most complete rosters I can recall. There are only a few glaring holes on the team, but there are a couple of key areas where they could use an influx of talent. As it currently stands, Kansas City needs help at guard, cornerback, and safety. With added depth and more competition at those positions, I believe this team can take another step forward.

Now that the first wave of free agency is all but over, today’s a good time for us to start talking turkey with the draft forthcoming. The “experts” will tell you that Kansas City’s first-round pick is all but decided. Most of the talking heads around the league believe the Chiefs are locked in on a cornerback with the 28th selection.

The departure of Sean Smith leaves Kansas City with a major concern opposite of Defensive Rookie of the Year Marcus Peters. Phillip Gaines is set to return from injury, but it’s too early to tell if he’ll immediately return to form. No one in the Kingdom will be surprised if the team selects a cornerback with its top pick, but for the purposes of today’s column, I’d like to look elsewhere.

There are two specific players that I have my eye on in round one of this year’s draft — both of them offensive players (Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman and Kansas State guard Cody Whitehair). It can be tough to find Day 1 contributors so deep into the first round, but I think these two players fit what Kansas City does schematically better than the other players I’ve seen mocked to them.

One of John Dorsey’s primary objectives over the next three years will be to add young talent while maintaining the core of the football team. Hitting on draft picks in the early rounds could be make or break a team entering it’s Super Bowl contention window.

Let’s take a closer look at Coleman and Whitehair.

Next: Assessing Coleman...