Chiefs targets in first round of 2016 NFL Draft

Cornerback

Sean Smith was arguably the Chiefs’ biggest free agency loss, and there’s a lot uncertainty for the starting cornerback job opposite Marcus Peters with the health of Phillip Gaines and Steven Nelson’s development. John Dorsey may be forced to select a first round cornerback in consecutive years depending on how the draft shakes out. There could potentially be a few nice options at corner for the Chiefs to draft, and fellow Addict Ben Almquist provided breakdowns of several cornerbacks in the draft so here I’ll just give a brief description of the first round guys.

Mackensie Alexander – Clemson – 5’10”, 190 lbs

Alexander is a confident and intelligent corner who excelled in man coverage at Clemson. There are some concerns about his size and overall athleticism but his competitiveness and knowledge seem to make up for it. Paired with Marcus Peters, the duo would form one of the most promising and confident pair of corners in the league and would allow Phillip Gaines to play nickle corner.

Eli Apple – Ohio State – 6’1″, 199 lbs

Apple is a big, physical corner who has all the potential in the world. He’ll have a bit of a learning curve while learning better technique and how to be less ‘grabby’, but he has all the tools that defensive coordinators want now a days in their corners.

William Jackson III – Houston – 6’0″, 189 lbs

Very similar to Phillip Gaines as a prospect, Jackson III is a guy with tremendous length and athleticism who could benefit from adding some bulk to his frame in order to handle bigger receivers. He may not be ready for a starting job right away, but he has a lot of potential and probably could contribute immediately in nickle packages.

Xavien Howard – Baylor – 6’0″, 201 lbs

Another height, weight, speed guy who looks the part of a shutdown man corner. Howard reminds me of Sean Smith in the way he can absolutely maul a receiver and take him out of the play. He may have a tough adjustment with the NFL rules early on, but could end up being a very nice replacement for Smith.

Next: Safety