Kansas City Chiefs mock draft: Final edition
By Nick Floyd
Jaylon Smith, OLB, Notre Dame
Ok, this was kind of shocking. One of the potential best outside linebackers in the draft fell to me at 28, and I just had to snatch him up. For the draft I used Matt Miller, from Bleacher Report’s big draft board.
Smith is big, with great speed and can cover north and south with that explosive speed. Racking up 115 tackles in 2015, nine of which were for a loss, Smith has the potential to replace current Chiefs superstar Derrick Johnson. Incidentally thanks to NFL.com draft profile that is who the All-American was compared to coming out of the combine.
Now the bad about him, is that is tore both his MCL and ACL in the bowl game this year. Making him what could be the most expensive “red shirt” rookie. Recovering from that type of injury is hard for any pro athlete, and current Chiefs Jamaal Charles, Phillip Gaines, and Justin Houston are in the process of returning from those. Another downfall is that once that ACL is tore, you are twice as likely to do it again, and it can even happen in the opposite knee.
Smith is a great talent for sure, and even with the injury, I thought it important to find Johnson’s replacement early. If Smith can pan out and recover, he could be an even bigger steal in the draft than Marcus Peters was in 2015.
Next: Alex Smith replacement?