2018 NFL mock draft: Chiefs pick Florida State cornerback in 2nd round
By Matt Conner
Matt Miller’s first two-round mock draft is out at Bleacher Report and he has the Kansas City Chiefs taking a cornerback with their first overall pick.
This year’s NFL Draft is going to be an interesting one for the Kansas City Chiefs. The team lacks a first round pick after trading up for Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft, but now they have one of the best trade assets on the market in veteran quarterback Alex Smith. Is it enough to recoup a first round pick? If not, just how high can they add another selection.
For now, mock drafters will only have a second round choice to work with for the Chiefs, and Matt Miller of Bleacher Report has the team bolstering their secondary with their first overall selection at No. 54 overall.
The Chiefs would do well to focus on cornerback so early in the draft, whether or not it is McFadden, given the lack of starting options across from Marcus Peters. The team was hopeful entering 2017 with plenty of wild card options, but not a single one worked out in a worst case scenario. Kenneth Acker was never comfortable on the outside. Steven Nelson is better covering the slot. Terrance Mitchell is a ballhawk, with 4 interceptions last season, but is too inconsistent for the role.
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The Chiefs ultimately resorted to signing Darrelle Revis off the street for the final month or more of the season but he didn’t flash enough to merit bringing him back for the previously agreed upon $10 million for a second year.
Bringing in a player like McFadden, who is certainly long and physical at 6’2, 205 lbs. would be a boon for the secondary. Not only will the Chiefs get Eric Berry back among the safeties, but adding McFadden to Peters on the outside would then give the team’s pass defense plenty of depth to go with top-ceiling talent.
McFadden is an early entry into the draft despite coming off of a subpar year statistically speaking, as a corner who had zero interceptions on the season. That said, teams know exactly what he can bring with such a physical skill set and the turnovers will come if teams want to challenge him, as illustrated by last year’s total of 8.