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Kansas City Chiefs: Analyzing Andy Reid’s historic use of rookies

By Lyle Graversen

DAVIE, FLORIDA - JANUARY 30: Head Coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on during the Kansas City Chiefs practice prior to Super Bowl LIV at Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southern University on January 30, 2020 in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
DAVIE, FLORIDA - JANUARY 30: Head Coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on during the Kansas City Chiefs practice prior to Super Bowl LIV at Baptist Health Training Facility at Nova Southern University on January 30, 2020 in Davie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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TOLEDO, OH – OCTOBER 22: Running Back Kareem Hunt #3 of the Toledo Rockets is tackled by Central Michigan Chippewas Mike Danna #57 at Glass Bowl on October 22, 2016 in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images)
TOLEDO, OH – OCTOBER 22: Running Back Kareem Hunt #3 of the Toledo Rockets is tackled by Central Michigan Chippewas Mike Danna #57 at Glass Bowl on October 22, 2016 in Toledo, Ohio. (Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images) /

Mike Danna

The draft pick that left most Chiefs fans scratching their heads was the pick of Mike Danna in the fifth round. Danna spent time at both Central Michigan and Michigan as a defensive end. While Danna looked promising against lesser competition at Central Michigan, his production definitely dropped his final year when he moved to a power five conference. Over Andy Reid’s head coaching career he has only drafted defensive ends 14 times prior to Danna, and only two of those came in the 5th round.

Some important averages to consider.

  • Reid’s 5th round picks: 6.8 games active, 1.4 starts
  • Reid’s DE draft picks: 10.1 games active, 2.1 starts
  • Reid’s 5th round DE picks: 7.5 games active, 3.5 starts

The smaller sample size for defensive ends makes this one a little harder to predict. The 5th round averages come from just two players, one of which was a bust (Ricky Sapp) and one of which was a very productive player (Trent Cole). While it would be great to hope that Danna could have the rookie season or overall career success of Cole, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Cole was more of an explosive edge rusher and one of only a couple of hits that Reid had at defensive end in his career. We can certainly hope that Danna is more successful than Ricky Sapp, but if I had to choose which of those two former 5th round picks he is more likely to be, it would probably be Sapp. I certainly don’t think he is likely to get 7 starts, 46 tackles, and 5 sacks as a rookie like Cole did.

If you were looking for a decent former Reid defensive end draft pick that could possibly be a ceiling for Danna to aspire to, former 3rd round pick Derrick Burgess might be the only possibility. Burgess was similar in size to Danna and was a solid NFL player for a number of years and even hit double digit sacks a couple of times for the Oakland Raiders. I’m still not real hopeful for Danna to put up big numbers at any point in his career (let alone as a rookie), but that is the best I can do in terms of a positive comparison from Reid’s draft history.

Finally, let’s see what the past says to expect for K.C.’s final draft pick.

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