2018 NFL Draft: The good, the bad and the curious for the Kansas City Chiefs

THE CURIOUS: DORIAN O’DANIEL

The more I think and analyze this pick, the less and less I understand it. Dorian O’Daniel is a fine prospect and player, but it’s how he will be used that is curious. Perhaps his selection raises questions about other players and prospects. The fit here is just not obvious.

If they want him to be  a nickel back/pass coverage type backer, then either your best tackling linebacker in Ragland or nine million per Hitchens is coming off the field. As often as the team is in such subpackages, that’s often. If the played a more traditional 4-3 style defense, O’Daniel could possibly play OLB in the mold of current Falcons Deion Jones, who entering the league was a similar size.

If his job is to replace Sorensen, that’s fine, but why not draft an actual safety with more experience in coverage and playing in the box? A guy like perhaps Kyzir White, the West Virginia strong safety, would have made sense.

Perhaps you want O’Daniel to rush the passer, except you still have Houston and Ford along with last year’s linebacker experiment Kpassagnon to go along with this year’s draft experiment Speaks.

Special teams perhaps? Maybe except using a third round pick to simply play special teams is not getting much from the pick, especially when special teams play may become extinct.

CONCLUSION

The Chiefs traded away their best cover guy this offseason for below market value, signed an inside linebacker to a big money deal, doubled down on deep wide receivers, and continued their new trend in the draft of experimenting with players at new positions. What is the plan? We keep hearing the organization talk about Dee Ford as if he’s done something. He hasn’t and is a free agent after the season. Houston is possibly entering his last year with the team and becomes more expensive to keep than to let go.

Offensive tackle and tight end become positions that will need to be part of the discussion next off season as the Chiefs are aging at those positions. And yet, do we feel better about the pass rusher position today than we did last week? I certainly don’t. Do we believe that David Amerson can be that second corner after having issues in Oakland?

One thing we need to remember is that Patrick Mahomes is and should be a part of how we evaluate the draft class. Obviously not having a first round pick kept the Chiefs from having access to a top tier player. The QB is part of the equation.

We feel better about the defensive line. There is depth and strength now that wasn’t there before this past weekend. Anything beyond that…