Kansas City Chiefs 2017 draft class largely remains a mystery
By Matt Conner
Ukeme Eligwe, LB, Ga. Southern
Round selected: 5th
What we learned in 2017: Eligwe was going to be a developmental project from the outset, which meant Chiefs coaches weren’t expected to give the former Georgia Southern star very many reps outside of special teams. Eligwe ended up playing in 14 games and even made a single start in the process. He had a single sack in 2017, but only 65 total defensive snaps failed to reveal much moving forward.
What to expect moving forward: Eligwe was always blessed with exceptional athleticism and physical gifts, as illustrated by him being a one-time highly touted recruit for Florida State before heading to the Sun Belt after being dismissed from the Seminoles. It helps that Andy Reid even mentioned him by name to reporters during his opening media session to kick off voluntary spring workouts.
As a developmental prospect, we’re only now entering the window where anyone could have any real expectations for Eligwe. At the very least, he has 14 games of special teams experience and he’s excelled in college there before. Even if a fifth round pick became nothing but a nice special teams player, that’s a nice win. But Eligwe has the natural foundation to become something more.
Having a full offseason with the Chiefs training staff and coaches will be paramount to his development. Eligwe needed greater bulk, greater technique, greater anticipation. All of those can only come with time and experience.