Don’t sleep on Martinas Rankin’s potential with KC Chiefs
By Grant Tuttle
Bill O’Brien has made some questionable personnel decisions and the Cardinals are not the only beneficiary. The Chiefs, too, may have snagged a starter.
With the 2020 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, the Kansas City Chiefs and the other 31 NFL teams will consider their needs and select accordingly. At one point in our dark history, predicting who the Chiefs would pick was easier than today. Bad teams have glaring needs and good ones look for players that have high ceilings.
After winning the Super Bowl, it is not perfectly clear where the Chiefs will turn with their draft picks. Analysts have mocked, wide receivers, running backs, linebackers, defensive ends, cornerbacks, safeties, and offensive linemen to the Chiefs. Analysts who expect the Chiefs to use an early pick on an interior offensive lineman seem to have forgotten about Martinas Rankin.
While Rankin did not come into Kansas City as an instant starter, it was apparent to Brett Veach that he had a high ceiling and was worthy of a roster spot. Perhaps Rankin was always supposed to be a backup on this roster. Or perhaps Brett Veach saw incredible potential in Rankin and finagled him away from Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien for a measly running back (Carlos Hyde)—similar to what happened in the monumentally awful trade in which O’Brien traded away DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals.
While the trade of Rankin was not as obviously awful as the decision to acquire an overpriced running back (David Johnson) in exchange for one of the best receivers in football, it was questionable at best. At the time of the trade, the Texans were known for having a very poor offensive line. It was also clear that the Chiefs would likely be moving on from Carlos Hyde. Instead of trading away a player with Rankin’s potential, the Texans could have simply waited for the Chiefs to release Hyde. He would have likely signed with them anyway due to their need at running back. Instead, they decided to give the Chiefs another cog in a powerful machine.