The Kansas City Chiefs have added an experienced interior offensive lineman with their final pick in the 2019 NFL Draft with Illinois OL Nick Allegretti.
The Kansas City Chiefs have enjoyed great success with late round linemen ever since Andy Reid joined the team in 2013 as head coach, and now the Chiefs hope to strike gold again with Illinois offensive lineman Nick Allegretti.
The Chiefs selected Allegretti as their sixth and final selection in the 2019 NFL Draft (barring a surprise move). Allegretti was the second pick in the seventh round of the draft and represents another late round offensive lineman for a team that’s picked guys in the trenches like clockwork around this exact spot.
Allegretti comes with plenty of experience and a good frame at 6’4, 310 pounds. He joins the Chiefs with experience in 48 games, but he’s made 36 consecutive starts at guard and center at Illinois.
The Chiefs have some nice opportunities for young guys who want to make an impression for a backup spot on the active roster. Jordan Devey left to join the Oakland Raiders in free agency, and he backed up center Mitch Morse who left to start for the Buffalo Bills as the NFL’s highest paid player at the position. The Chiefs are now turning to Austin Reiter in the middle, who was a waiver claim from last September, with undrafted free agent Jimmy Murray from Holy Cross as the likely backup.
Allegretti now gives the Chiefs a bit more competition along the interior as they reload and hope to help turn current developmental guys, including last year’s sixth round pick Kahlil McKenzie, into future starters like former sixth rounders Zach Fulton (now with the Texans) and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.