Chiefs draft 2017: Analyzing the 4 trades made by John Dorsey
By Matt Conner
The Kareem Hunt Deal
Kansas City Chiefs receive:
2017 3rd round pick (No. 86): Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo
Minnesota Vikings receive:
2017 3rd round pick (No. 104): C.J. Beathard, QB, Iowa (traded to 49ers)
2017 4th round pick (No. 132): Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego St. (traded to Eagles)
2017 7th round pick (No. 245): Jack Tocho, CB, N.C. State
When Dorsey uncharacteristically jumped up to get his quarterback in the first round, the Chiefs still had 8 picks left in their arsenal in this draft. It was safe to assume that Dorsey and company could go back to waiting on each round, being patient with their draft board while making whatever minor adjustments they saw fit. Yet the same version of Dorsey that showed up on Thursday night was in charge the entire weekend, as the Chiefs moved another three selections for the sake of moving up a mere 18 spots in the third round to get their running back.
Why the Chiefs did it:
Dorsey mentioned in the press conference after Day 2 that the front office had identified Kareem Hunt as the best second-tier running back in the draft, so moving up to get him makes all kinds of sense, given the hole at the position even after signing C.J. Spiller. Now the Chiefs have youth, depth and some real competition up and down the depth chart here.
Why the Vikings did it:
In a draft as deep as this one, each round’s picks can be rounded down. In other words, a third round pick this year is likely a second round pick in any other “normal” year. For their patience to move down 18 spots, the Vikings landed two extra draft assets in the fourth and seventh rounds respectively. At least with the mid-round pick, that’s another potential starter or important contributor.
In the end, the Vikings kept flipping picks (see another deal with Chiefs later on) to amass an incredible 11 overall selections in a draft where they came in without a first round pick due to the Sam Bradford deal from a year ago. They relied on lots of late round picks to get their guys, but ended up with some promising values including K-State LB Elijah Lee and Virginia Tech TE Bucky Hodges.