KC Chiefs 7-round mock draft: Fixing Kansas City’s defense

1.30: Kingsley Enagbare, EDGE, South Carolina

With the 30th overall pick in this 2022 NFL mock draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select: Kingsley Enagbare, an edge rusher from South Carolina.

Those are the words that every Chiefs fan should be hoping for. Maybe my scouting doesn’t mean much to you, but I hope you reconsider. With the right opportunity, this guy could be a future star in the league.

Measurables

Height: 6’3″ 3/4

Weight: 261 lbs.

Hand Size: 10 1/4 inches

Arm Length: 35 inches

Wingspan: 83 5/8 inches

Strengths

Enagbare is a top-tier edge rusher when you consider everything that he offers.

When you see a guy who is 6’3″ and 270 lbs. you don’t expect him to be an athletic freak. Enagbare shows consistency with his ability to beat tackles using his God-given traits.  The one thing you are unable to teach anyone is athleticism, and that is no problem for Enagbare. However, there is more to it than just that.

Enagbare not only shows just an elite level of athleticism on film, but he uses his athleticism in various ways. Some of the ways he uses his athleticism are his speed and strength off the edge. He is one of the fastest players in his position. With elite burst after he beats the tackles, he puts his speed on full display. After disengaging from the block he is able to use his speed to get to the football quickly.

See the following for a live showing.

Furthermore, Enagbare is just nothing short of an animal on the field. I mean watching him just reminds me of a player like Joey Bosa, Nick Bosa, or a player along those lines. He is a complete player.

When you look at some of the pass rushers in the NFL, you notice that not many of them are able to combine their speed to create strength and vice versa. Enagbare can do just that. With the ability to move the opposition off the first step, he can pretty much man-handle anyone who tries to block him.

One of the most important traits for an edge rusher is hand usage. You can have some of the pass-rushing traits, but if you can’t disengage from a blocker, you won’t ever be able to amount to anything. Enagbare knows that.

If you look at the following clip, you’ll notice that he combines every trait that I’ve mentioned so far in order to get to the quarterback. That’s how you know you’d be getting a special player. If the Kansas City Chiefs have the ability to draft him with pick 30, they should take it and never look back.

Weaknesses

Run stopping is arguably one of the hardest things to grade for an edge rusher. Unfortunately, Enagbare struggles with this as well. It’s one of the main drawbacks of his game. Making the decision rather to play for a run or play for a pass, it’s not easy by any stretch. That’s why generally teams will rotate guys early and late.

On early downs, they are primarily looking for a run attempt. Moreover, if you look at a late down defensive line, they will probably get more pressure on the quarterback because they are playing for the pass.

Now, there is no question that he is in fact an elite pass rusher and a pretty good run stopper. However, most of his run stops happen on failed blocking attempts. With his speed and strength, he usually makes a misdirection to beat the tackle and make his way into the backfield. Once he does that, it’s just a matter of finishing the play. However, where he struggles is making the tackle on outside zone runs.

Enagbare is a truly great pass rusher, but his football IQ part is, far and away, the worst part of his game. With obvious problems when diagnosing run plays, he always thinks pass and adjusts to the run. Now, you can’t say he doesn’t make up for his mistakes given his effort, but he does have problems reading certain plays.

Final Grade: 85.5/100; First-round Grade

How He Fits With the Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs’ weakest point on the defensive side of the ball has to be their pass rush. Not specifically the edge rusher position, but the defensive line, in general, has underperformed the last couple of seasons.

There are a lot of things that you could blame, but at the end of the day, you have to think it’s as simple as the lack of talent. Between Frank Clark, Mike Danna, Alex Okafor, and Joshua Kaindoh, there just isn’t enough firepower for the Kansas City Chiefs.

With the limited cap space that the Kansas City Chiefs have, they will need to make sure they obtain a day one starting edge rusher.  Enagbare meets every requirement that the Chiefs could want from a potential pass rusher. He has the athleticism, speed, strength, hand usage, motor, and explosiveness that makes him a threat. He will be a great pick for the Kansas City Chiefs.