2017 NFL Draft: Inside linebacker targets for the Chiefs to consider

The Kansas City Chiefs already have a very good roster in place as the 2017 offseason gets underway. Compared to other teams around the NFL, they have less roster holes to fill. However, one of the positions where most fans would agree that they need to add a starting caliber player via the NFL Draft is at inside linebacker.

For years, that position has been lead by one of the all time great Chiefs defenders, Derrick Johnson. Unfortunately, the time has finally come that Johnson’s reliability simply cannot be taken for granted. DJ is now 34-years-old and is in the process of trying to come back from his second Achilles tendon tear in three years.

That sounds bad enough, but when you factor in that he tore his Achilles late in the season it definitely puts his status for 2017 in question. Even if Johnson is miraculously healthy for week one of next season, will he still be effective? With the run defense being arguably the biggest weakness of the defense, the Chiefs can’t afford to cross their fingers and hope for the “old DJ” to return. The Chiefs must look to add a playmaker at linebacker this offseason.

With limited money to spend in free agency the easiest place to find a new talented inside linebacker would be to draft one in the early rounds of the 2017 draft. Lucky for the Chiefs, there are some potential playmakers to be had at the position and KC could be in prime position to scoop one up with where they are selecting. Much like I did the past two weeks with the quarterback and running back positions, this week I’ll give you a basic profile of the main inside linebacker prospects that the Chiefs could consider early in this draft.

Before we get started, let me just briefly mention the best inside linebacker in this class, Alabama’s Reuben Foster. Foster in an absolute stud and if the Chiefs somehow lucked into him being on the board at pick number twenty-seven they should run to the podium and call his name. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Foster is one of the rare inside linebackers that gets selected in the top ten picks. He’s that good. Because of that, I’m not going to take time to profile him in this piece since I just don’t see him being an option for the Chiefs.

I’ll also mention that there could be some solid options in the third and fourth rounds like LSU’s Kendell Beckwith and Northwestern’s Anthony Walker Jr. While I like both of those guys as long term prospects, I don’t know that I’d classify them as day one impact players. If the Chiefs want one of those I think it will need to be one of the following four players.

Let’s start with a guy that has actually drawn comparisons to Derrick Johnson.