Would the KC Chiefs really pass over an offensive tackle in the first round?

With the 2021 NFL Draft now less than a week away, mock drafts and prospect breakdowns are sparse. We’ve all done our mock drafts on various sites and had fun with wild moves such as trading picks and taking a receiver or an edge at No. 31 overall. But does anyone seriously think the K.C. Chiefs come out of the first round with anything other than a starting left tackle?

You see, as I was conducting a few mocks last night with a friend of mine, I noticed that if you don’t take a tackle at 31, things become a little bit tricky for a few reasons. We ended up getting guys like wide receiver Terrace Marshall and linebacker Jabril Cox with the first two picks, both of whom could start from day one at their respective positions, but we came out of the draft having to double-up at left tackle with… Spencer Brown and Walker Little. Two guys with big question marks.

Brown projects as a right tackle in the NFL and Little has potential but also has massive concerns about availability. Is that really a situation the Chiefs want at left tackle heading into the year?

Let’s break down what things may look like if the Chiefs don’t take a tackle at 31. Many consider this year’s draft class at tackle to be pretty deep, and it is, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there are many guys beyond the top 4-5 tackles who can actually be an above average starter starter for the Chiefs from day one. That’s why it’s important they get someone sooner rather than later unless they get a veteran. However, based on the way free agency has gone, it doesn’t seem like the Chiefs are too high on most of their free agent left tackles.

KC Chiefs will face some real issues if they don’t address tackle early in the NFL Draft.

When doing your own mock drafts, it’s fun to take prospects who aren’t left tackles. I get it. Once you take Liam Eichenberg or Sam Cosmi for the 50th time, you start to break away but there is a lot of risk involved when you do that. I had someone ask me last night after my mock draft, “Would you be comfortable taking so and so with the first two picks and then targeting Stone Forsythe or a Jalen Mayfield later on?” In theory, that would be an ideal situation to have if you don’t take a tackle at 31, but that’s what I did and both of those guys were gone. I had to settle for guys like Brown and Little and that can very easily happen in the actual draft as well, which could spell disaster for the Chiefs. Besides, even if you are able to get Forsythe or a Jackson Carman in the 3rd or 4th round, are either of those guys going to get the job done? It’s a tough call.

I’ve also talked about before how it appears that Brett Veach may want the most sure thing at tackle considering he tried his absolute hardest to land the most sure thing at tackle in free agency in Trent Williams. You have to think about how he was willing to maximize cap space to pay Williams over $100 million if that’s what it took to protect Mahomes. That said, why would he then just settle for X prospect in the mid-rounds? It’s not unreasonable to think Brett Veach could trade up for a top tackle.

Basically, what it comes down to is which situation do fans prefer: Would you rather have a handful of impact starters at the skill positions and alike but a sketchy tackle situation, or would you prefer a steady tackle situation but sacrifice a potential starter at multiple positions of need? For some it is an easy answer because the Chiefs can most likely survive without getting a sure thing at linebacker or wide receiver, but they really can’t survive without a serviceable left tackle.