Why the Chiefs should reach for Henry Ruggs III (or another elite wide receiver)

Strengthening a Strength

Okay, big deal. The Chiefs could use an insurance policy at wide receiver and the defense’s weaknesses aren’t quite as glaring as some may have thought. Isn’t it still a better idea to strengthen a weakness than strengthen a strength?

Under normal circumstances, if a team were focused on taking the next step from perennial playoff power to Super Bowl champion, I’d absolutely advocate for this line of reasoning. That’s not the case here, because the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions. What’s more, they’re returning 20 of 22 starters from that team. Starters aren’t all that matters when it comes to championship rosters, but that is significant.

Since the Kansas City Chiefs ended the season as the best team in football and return the vast core of that team, they’re in a very unique position to target virtually any value position they want with their first pick. I say value, because the value has to be there. If it’s not, they’re better off trading back and garnering extra picks.

The argument here is simple. The Kansas City Chiefs defense will undoubtedly improve in year two of Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme, even without an infusion of top-tier talent. They were incredible to end the season, and they should be even better in 2020. If the front office takes a flier on a superior offensive talent in the first round and the offense improves, even marginally, who is beating the Chiefs in 2020?

The moral of the story is, this team doesn’t really have significant weaknesses that prevent them from repeating in 2020. They’re in a position they frankly have never been in. They can choose to pick the best player they see available and it will likely improve the team just as much or more than drafting for need. If that’s a receiver, and if that receiver happens to be Henry Ruggs III, the rest of NFL defenses better watch out in 2020.