Another week, another mock draft, Addicts. We’re closing in on the 2016 NFL Draft, and I am closing in on my ultimate prediction for this year’s Chiefs draft class.
As I do this, there is one thought that keeps coming back to me…I truly believe that the Chiefs are in an excellent position to make a trade. Many teams drafting at the beginning of the round look to jump back into the 1st to add talented players they have targeted. The Chiefs phone should absolutely be ringing, and I feel they can take advantage of a team trying to move up.
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In last week’s mock draft, Addict JonGia made a comment about most trade proposals seeming to be about recouping the loss of our third round pick. A reasonable conclusion given that’s what most trade proposals (including my own thus far) have resulted in. However, I do want to dispel the belief that this is the purpose of these trade proposals. That is not the case at all.
Unless otherwise notated, the trade options I suggest are about strengthening the Chiefs roster. In this particular, the 2016 draft class is considered to be especially strong in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. With the Chiefs picking at the back end of the round, trading back and adding picks in the 2nd or 3rd makes a lot of sense. It is a proposal I would be making this year regardless of the tampering ordeal. That’s really just a coincidence.
If the Chiefs get their third round pick back, I hope they still work to trade back (unless there is a top tier prospect still available) and get additional picks in the top 100 spots. It’s a sound drafting strategy that has worked very well for a number of teams that are consistently drafting at the end of the round.
A team’s roster isn’t defined by it’s 1st round picks, it’s defined by what it does in the meat of the draft. That’s especially true for teams that aren’t picking in the top 15. The truth there is that there are usually only around 10-20 players truly worth a first round pick…but there are still 32 (31 this year) picks in the round.
For those of you looking to do your own research, here are some excellent resources, including a site where you can run your own mock draft simulation:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/2016/all
http://fanspeak.com/ontheclock/
I invite everyone to offer up their opinions own mocks in the comments section. Mock drafts are meant for interaction and discussion. There are still plenty of players I need to study up on, so I’m sure I have missed more than a few that other people are interested in.
Next: Onto the draft...