2018 NFL Draft review: The Best, worst and biggest surprise picks for the Chiefs

THE WORST

Kahlil McKenzie
I don’t hate this pick, but think it’s a roll of the dice. Having a player switch from a defensive lineman in college to an offensive lineman in the NFL is essentially a shot in the dark. I’m not saying it can’t work, but it will at least take a few years for McKenzie to make an impact. Given their need at guard, they could have either taken an actual guard here or drafted one earlier. [Jordan Mannix]

It seems McKenzie will convert to guard. Generally, I am not a fan of drafting a player and having him switch to a completely different position. A couple late-round picks in the NFL each year have this happen to them. But we don’t often hear a lot of success behind these kinds of moves. Time will tell if McKenzie can exceed expectations. [Farzin Vousoughian]

This is the worst pick almost by default, as the other five players all fit needs and aren’t facing a major position change. I do have confidence in Reid and the Chiefs to help Mackenzie along with the transition, but I think it’s still a gamble. [Thomas Welte]

Tremon Smith
This is not to say I think Smith is a bad player, I just think the Chiefs waited too long to grab a corner. He has ideal size for the Chiefs at 6’0″ and 190 pounds, however, playing at Central Arkansas, you wonder the level of talent that Smith had to go up against. He will have trouble with NFL caliber receivers, as his footwork is shaky and gets beat on double moves quite often. The Chiefs should have used an earlier pick on a corner. [Kris Weeden]

Breeland Speaks
I am going to start this off by saying I do not think Breeland Speaks will be a bad player. My problem with this pick is that he seems to bring more questions about the defense than answers. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid started off his press conference by saying that Breeland will start out by playing OLB and then kick into DE on passing downs. Breeland is 280 pounds, I do not know what it is but the Chiefs seem to have fascination with oversized EDGE players. It also makes you wonder how Veach feels about last year’s second round pick Tanoh Kpassagnon.

Add in the fact that Veach openly admitted that the Chiefs had Breeland rated as a third-round pick but moved up in the second round to acquire him instead of waiting at the very least to draft him at 54. It seems like instead of being patient Veach got antsy and decided he need to reach a bit on a player he didn’t need to trade up for. Looking at this I cannot help but think that Veach didn’t play this part right. [Kody Latham]