The Kansas City Chiefs finally made their first selection of the draft by taking Breeland Speaks in the second round on Friday night.
The Kansas City Chiefs finally joined the 2018 NFL Draft by making their first overall selection in the second round on Friday night when they submitted a draft card reading defensive lineman Breeland Speaks. The pick is the 46th overall in the NFL Draft.
The Chiefs traded up with the Cincinnati Bengals to move up 8 total spots from No. 54 overall to No. 46, a move that was predicted for much of draft weekend that Brett Veach would want to move up in some way.
#Bengals trading with Kansas City. Cincinnati gives up 46 and 100 in return for 54 and 78.
— Marisa Contipelli (@BengalsMarisa) April 28, 2018
Speaks is a 6’3, 283 lb. defensive lineman out of Ole Miss. Speaks had 61 tackles as a junior last season with 8 tackles for a loss and 7 total sacks, by far a breakout season after registering only 2 sacks during his first two seasons. You can read his NFL.com draft breakdown here.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, Mel Kiper Jr. recently said he was the most underrated defensive player in the draft. He just broke out at Ole Miss and his best is likely yet to come.
The move gives the Chiefs more youth and strength along the defensive line that will include newcomer Xavier Williams, Chris Jones, Allen Bailey, Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Jarvis Jenkins. Suddenly the Chiefs have some serious beef up front and some nice competition for reps at defensive end, which is likely where he Speaks will be featured.
Next: How the draft changed the AFC West
The Chiefs officially have seven more selections in this year’s draft, including two more on Friday night in the upcoming third round at 86 and 100 overall.