Kansas City Chiefs: Five combine standouts that would fit the defense

Quenton Meeks – CB – Stanford

Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 209 pounds
Vertical Jump: 39″ (T-2nd amongst CBs)
Broad Jump: 128″ (3rd amongst CBs)
3 Cone Drill: 6.72 seconds (6th amongst CBs)

It’s no secret that the Kansas City Chiefs like to play man-to-man on the outside with their cornerbacks. It’s also no secret that their most highly scrutinized move of the offseason was trading away Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters. That leaves the Chiefs with some questions at the position. Newly signed corner David Amerson has the physical size to play press man outside but struggled in Oakland’s defense last season. The other two top options at corner are Steven Nelson and Kendall Fuller who the Chiefs acquired in the Alex Smith trade. Fuller looks like a potential Pro Bowler, but both he and Nelson are only listed a 5-foot-11 and under 200 pounds. While that doesn’t eliminate them from excelling outside in KC’s scheme it certainly wouldn’t hurt to add another quality corner with more size in the draft.

Enter Stanford’s Quenton Meeks.

At first glance it may seem like a stretch to put a guy on a list of combine standouts that didn’t run the 40 and only put up 11 bench press reps. However, if you actually watched the combine you would know that of the larger corners Meeks was probably the biggest standout. He has the size you want outside at 6-foot-1 and 209 pounds and beyond that he just looks really solid. He also showed outstanding athleticism with some of the best vertical and broad jumps and the fastest three cone drill time of the larger corners (and sixth overall amongst CBs). However, it was the field drills where I felt that Meeks really won me over. He just looks smooth and comfortable out there. Here’s his gauntlet run from the combine.

As good as I thought Meeks looked at the combine, I think his tape might be better. I don’t know if he’ll ever be a Pro Bowl shutdown corner but I think he’ll be a very good starting press man corner and that’s exactly what the Chiefs could use right now. Once again, its possible that other teams will like Meeks as much as I do and he could go off the board earlier in round two before the Chiefs get a shot at him. However, if the Chiefs do feel like they need to go corner early to help fill the void that trading Peters created I would love it if they took Quenton Meeks.

Finally, how about some depth at safety?