The latest mock draft at SB Nation links the Kansas City Chiefs to a brand new cornerback prospect in Amani Oruwariye.
Reading through any number of mock drafts will inevitably link the Kansas City Chiefs with some help at cornerback in the early going, typically even in the first round or with one of the team’s two second round picks. However, a new mock draft from SB Nation has a brand new name we’ve not yet heard in Amani Oruwariye out of Penn State.
Dan Kadar has a good read on the Chiefs biggest need given that Steven Nelson will be an unrestricted free agent, leaving Kendall Fuller as the only reliable talent in the mix. Orlando Scandrick is also a free agent who was benched as the season wore on. Charvarius Ward is a promising young talent but he’s also still largely inexperienced, and it would be foolish for the team to hand him a starting spot at this point. If he earns it, that’s great.
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What’s clear is that even if the best projections on Ward are clear, the Chiefs still lack both high-ceiling talent and overall depth. Tremon Smith is slotted at cornerback, but he’s primarily a special teams ace. Enter Oruwariye, a new name to Chiefs draftniks but certainly a talented prospect all the same. Kadar writes:
"If Oruwariye has a decent NFL Scouting Combine later this month, he could easily find himself in the first-round mix. He’s a physical corner with good size and hands. But there are some concerns about his playing speed. If he times well, his stock will be on the rise."
Oruwariye is listed at 6’1, 203 lbs. per his alma mater, and he had 8 career interceptions for the Nittany Lions. Last season, he had 50 tackles, 11 passes defended, 1 sack and 3 interceptions and earned a first-team All Big Ten honor in the process.
Here are some key statements from various scouting reports. Here’s what Kyle Crabbs from the Draft Network had to say:
"Amani Oruwariye is a starting cornerback at the NFL level … Also effective in run support, Oruwariye has ample qualities that should prove to be an asset for almost any team in the NFL."
Then there’s Joe Marino, also of TDN:
"Oruwariye has the upside to start early in his career on the boundary and emerge as a productive playmaker with his ability to make game-changing plays on the football."
Over at NFL.com, Lance Zierlein writes:
"When all factors are considered, he’ll be considered a scheme fit for zone-heavy teams who covet physicality in press."
Taken together, it’s clear that most draft analysts feel pretty strongly about Oruwariye’s ability to not only play successfully at the NFL level but to do so very early in his career. For a team starved for talent and depth at this very position, the potential addition of Oruwariye would make sense and provide Steve Spagnuolo’s defense with some much needed security in the secondary.