2019 NFL Draft: A comprehensive preview and predictions for the Kansas City Chiefs

We are less than a week away from the 2019 NFL Draft, so let’s take one final look at where the Chiefs are picking, potential targets, and strategies for each pick.

The time is almost here. The 2019 NFL Draft opens at 5:00 p.m. on April 25th and, for those of us who love draft season, the next few days are likely to tick by at a snail’s pace. While mock drafts are aplenty, it is a different task to attempt to get inside the mind of an NFL general manager and break down their approach to the draft. That is exactly what we’ll be trying to do here.

We will take a look at each of the Chiefs picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, discuss the strategy for that pick, a backup plan, the main prospect target and back up targets for each pick. Additionally, we will discuss the possibility of trades at each spot and what picks may be given up as Brett Veach moves up and down the draft board.

First, a few caveats about this approach. The players listed as options will be players who have, at some point in the NFL Draft process, had a meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs. Looking at this list of 2018 visits, you see several names of players that heard their names called by Chiefs Kingdom last year. It is possible that the Chiefs draft someone they have not met with, or more likely, that the Chiefs select a prospect that we have not heard about their contact with. Overall, Veach and his staff have shown that they are going to do their homework on the players they select, so we’ll stick to the names that have been connected to the Chiefs this offseason.

Secondly, Brett Veach has shown that he is aggressive in getting in position to draft the players he wants. It is likely that the first option for each pick will require a trade or for that prospect to fall. Predicting trades is impossible, but we will indicate if a prospect is unlikely to be available at Kansas City’s original pick and will require a trade up.

Finally, we should set the table for understanding the needs of the Chiefs. The team needs here are prioritized by the number of visits at each position that the Chiefs have (reportedly) had so far. This is not an exact science but should give us an idea of where the Chiefs priorities lie. The team needs (and the number of visits at that position) are as follows:
1. EDGE (15)
2. CB (11)
3. RB (10)
4. OL (10)
5. S (8)
6. DT (5)
7. TE (5)
8. WR (4)