Kansas City Chiefs among favorites to land Sam Beal in NFL Supplemental Draft

The latest rumors surrounding the 2018 NFL Supplemental Draft have the Kansas City Chiefs emerging as favorites for Sam Beal.

It’s been a long offseason for Kansas City Chiefs fans who are concerned with the state of the secondary. The first few waves of free agency came and went without a considerable acquisition to shore up the spot. The NFL Draft also passed by with only a sixth round choice, Tremon Smith, devoted to the position. For a team with answers on both outside roles, the concern is understandable.

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report says help might be on the way, however, in the form of a rare asset: a useful pick in the NFL’s supplemental draft. Most years, there’s not even a single player picked in the annual mid-summer draft, but this year, a few defensive backs are not only eligible but they’re turning heads with Western Michigan’s Sam Beal being the prized lot of them all.

Miller himself believes Beal is not only a legitimate prospect but perhaps the best supplemental draft talent to come along in several years. Given the Chiefs’ needs, he believes that the team is in a prime position to take Beal with a potential second round choice.

"Could the Chiefs replace Peters with Beal in the supplemental draft? Many front office people say Beal is the right fit for their scheme and falls in line with the type of aggressive moves general manager Brett Veach has been making."

The Chiefs are considered among the favorites for a few key reasons:

1. The team owns two second round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft already due to the Marcus Peters trade with the Rams, so now the Chiefs have their own pick as well as that of Los Angeles. If they had to use a second round pick to claim Beal in the supplemental draft, they would still have a pick in every early round to work with next spring. The Chiefs could add a prized corner in Beal and still have a full draft class in 2019.
2. The need is definitely there. Brett Veach has talked up Will Redmond and Keith Reaser during the offseason, but those guys have been available for any team to claim on multiple occasions. The idea that the Chiefs would rely on both to fill key role slots, especially when they rely so heavily on sub packages in which those defensive backs are used often, makes zero sense. Beal would add depth for the present situation in which even the starters aren’t sure things.
3. The future of the position looks bleaker than the present, and at some point the Chiefs will have to invest significantly at cornerback. Kendall Fuller is the only player locked up for the long-term who is expected to be a major player. Both David Amerson and Steven Nelson are free agents after this year, which could mean the only Chiefs on the depth chart in 2019 would be Fuller, Tremon Smith and fringe roster players.

It might take a considerable draft asset, but if Beal is as good as advertised, the Chiefs could shore up a major area of concern for the present and the future with the right move. It’s all down to how much Brett Veach believes in the product.