Round 4, pick 144, Missouri Safety Tyree Gillespie
Some may not be a fan of taking a defensive back or a safety in particular a this spot, but I’m a really big fan of adding defensive back depth regardless if they’re listed as a safety or a corner. Upgrading the third safety role from Dan Sorensen who is aging a little bit would be ideal. Make no mistake, I like Sorensen, but Gillespie is the athlete the Chiefs need to eventually take the spot.
Tyree Gillespie from Missouri would be a great pick at 144 for Kansas City as a big-hitting safety who runs a 4.3 40-yard dash and has tons of upside. Gillespie has all the physical tools to be a good safety in the NFL and stood out on a Mizzou defense that suffered greatly from COVID and opt-outs in 2020.
Gillespie has also proven to be effective against good competition in the SEC throughout his college career. Just in 2020, he put together multiple good drives against Florida and Alabama, closing hard on his tackles and forcing incompletions while going up against big names like DeVonta Smith and Kyle Pitts. He’ll need to learn to be more patient in coverage and playing deep zones but he could certainly come up in the box and make plays as a rookie.
Gillespie would give defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo another talented defensive back to work with and Gillespie would be walking into an ideal situation for his development.