John Dorsey praised the overall draft class of edge rushers on Friday during his press conference, saying there’s nice depth and talent.
With one (or more) of their first few selections in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs have a good opportunity to upgrade their pass rush. General manager John Dorsey says the team is pleased with the nucleus they have already on the roster, but he took time to praise the draft class, especially at edge rusher, at a press conference on Friday.
Dorsey has good reason to feel good about the talent already in house. When healthy, outside linebacker Justin Houston is an All-Pro player, an elite defender who can seal the edge against the run or disrupt the pocket better than most players. He makes the entire defense better, and the Chiefs made the investment they did at over $50 million guaranteed for good reason.
Beyond Houston, the Chiefs also have franchise great Tamba Hali, who remains a nice rotational pass rusher even in his mid-thirties, and Dee Ford, a former first round pick who came into his own just last season with 10 sacks, a career-high in his third season. While each player comes with some questions or concerns, including health, age and consistency, the reality is that the Chiefs do have a nice base to begin with.
"I think we have a good nucleus there, but I think in today’s football you can’t have enough, it’s getting to be one of those premium positions where you can’t have enough of those guys. Do I like the depth of this year’s class? I do. I think each one of them has some special traits that not only could help a 4-3 team, but also there’s a lot of those 4-3 ends that have actually shown that they have the ability to stand up and play a 3-4 outside linebacker and is athletic enough to drop in space when he’s called upon, but I do like the depth of the edge rushers this year."
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At No. 27 overall, it’s likely that the Chiefs will have plenty of players to select from, including Takk McKinley from UCLA, Tyus Bowser from Houston, T.J. Watt from Wisconsin, Jordan Willis from Kansas State and many more. A bit later in the draft, they might still find one of those players or someone like Tim Williams from Alabama.
While the Chiefs will also find talent at other positions, if they can walk away with a nice edge rusher to add to the mix, the Chiefs are going to be able to relax knowing there’s a legitimate pass rush to withstand their question marks.