5th Round – Pick 165
Tyreek Hill – WR – West Alabama
AA Grade: D
My thoughts: This is where things turned a little ugly. With a relatively valuable fifth round draft pick the Chiefs selected a return specialist that might be able to contribute as a slot receiver as well. If that sounds familiar its because he profiles to basically be the same player as DeAnthony Thomas who is still currently on the Chiefs roster. There are questions about Thomas after he basically refused to return last season despite being cleared by team doctors to do so. While that may not speak well for DAT’s future in KC, you know what it isn’t? Domestic Violence. Tyreek Hill pleaded guilty to choking and punching (in her stomach) his pregnant girlfriend. Do I need to say more?
If you simply look at Hill on the field I still don’t know that I can justify this pick. Yes, Hill has olympic type track speed (he reportedly ran a 4.24 forty) and is an established return specialist. Dave Toub commented that he could be a Devin Hester type returner. However, Hill doesn’t have the production on offense that DAT did and again, DAT is still on the roster.
So you use a fifth round pick on a guy just to return kicks when you have a return specialist on your roster? That’s sketchy as is and then when you factor in the incredibly troubling domestic violence issue this is a hard pick to swallow, especially given the spotlight that Ray Rice and Greg Hardy have shown on this issue recently.
Everyone deserves a second chance and I truly hope Hill learned from what he did. I just wish my favorite team wasn’t the one giving him that chance and using a fifth round pick on him in the process. It will be interesting to see if Kansas City gets behind him if Toub really does turn him into the next Devin Hester.
Next: Find out the grade for D.J. White