It’s 2021, and the NFL draft is nigh. Ever since the Kansas City Chiefs’ blunder back in Super Bowl 55 against the Tampa Buccaneers, the critical thing on the front office’s mind was to rebuild the offensive line. It first started with the signing of guard Joe Thuney, and then, a blockbuster trade occurred for the Chiefs to land Orlando Brown Jr. from the Baltimore Ravens.
The Chiefs traded their 2021 1st round, 3rd round, and 4th round picks and their 2022 5th round pick in exchange for Brown, a 2021 2nd round pick (58th), and a 2022 6th round pick.
It has been almost a year since that trade occurred. Now, it’s time to grade and see how the deal worked out for both sides (for what we can grade right now). (Note: all 2022 picks are excluded from this grading as we don’t know what is to come of them yet.)
Kansas City Chiefs Results
Orlando Brown
Overall, Brown had a good season. In terms of run blocking, Brown was an absolute tank; he had an 81% run block win rate, which was the second-highest in the league per ESPN. Additionally, he didn’t start strong in pass blocking, but he did develop into a good pass blocker, netting an overall 75.2 PFF grade. While he did allow four sacks (T-27th among NFL tackles), most of this came in the early season; once he adjusted, he played spectacularly, aiding the Chiefs into making one of the best offensive lines this season. He also had a Pro Bowl nod.
Brown’s postseason play, however, brings down his grade a bit. In 210 offensive snaps, Brown did allow two sacks, which was tied second amongst the tackles that played that post-season. His PFF grade also dropped to 68.7 as well.
Now, Brown has time to improve and is still in his prime years. I feel like he could be a first-team (most definitely second-team) All-Pro tackle if he enhances his pass blocking mechanics and continues to improve within the Chiefs’ offensive system. As stated earlier, he’s already a tank in run-blocking. Some will highly judge upon the mistakes he made this season, but he was still a top-five left tackle when it’s all said and done.
Grade: B+
58th pick: Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri
Nick Bolton was an absolute steal of a pick by Brett Veach and co. and showed to be one of the best rookie linebackers this past season. Let’s see, Bolton tallied 112 combined tackles (led all rookies), 11 tackles for a loss, three QB hits, three pass deflections, and an 86-yard fumble recovery touchdown.
Additionally, per PFF, Bolton had the highest tackle efficiency among LBs when lined up anywhere other than the off-ball (mainly coverage LB) spot at 26.9%. Oh, and he did this all on just 60% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps; imagine what he can do with more than 70% or 80% of them. He was an absolute terror in run defense, stuffing dominant running backs like Derrick Henry behind the line of scrimmage.
Yes, he did lack in coverage, but he has time to improve upon that. I’m sure Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and outside linebackers coach Ken Flajole will work heavily on that this offseason.
This was without a doubt a win for the Chiefs. They indeed found someone to build around their young linebacking core with.
Grade: A