KC Chiefs add developmental talent with seventh round picks

The seventh-round gave the Kansas City Chiefs a chance to add some developmental talent to their rookie pool.

The Kansas City Chiefs added some young developmental talent to their rookie class in the 2022 NFL Draft on Saturday. Coming into the seventh, they had three more picks to make in the final round of the three-day event after trading one away to move up in the fifth. They came away with

With their first pick in the seventh round at No. 243 overall, the Chiefs selected cornerback Jaylen Watson out of Washington State. Watson profiles as another long, lean cornerback prospect for the Chiefs to add to the competition in a rebuilt secondary. Watson, who has a background as a successful receiver, has only two years of experience for Washington State but was productive for the Cougars last year with 31 tackles, 3 passes deflected, 2 interceptions, and 4 fumble recoveries.

Watson will join first-round pick Trent McDuffie and fourth-round pick Joshua Williams as new additions to the list of competitors at corner and that doesn’t include new second-round safety Bryan Cook out of Cincinnati. Watson’s physical nature should help him win a spot with the Chiefs, but either way, things should be interesting in training camp in the defensive backfield.

With the second pick in the round, at No. 251, the Chiefs added some depth at running back with the selection of Rutgers prospect Isiah Pacheco. He joins the Chiefs after putting up 647 yards and 5 touchdowns on 167 carries last season. Pacheco ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 4.37 seconds and could make noise as a runner, but he’s never caught more than 19 catches in a season, so he’ll need to work on rounding out his game to catch on with the active roster.

The Chiefs have Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the lead back coming into the 2022 season with free agent signing Ronald Jones as the most likely tandem threat. Derrick Gore is also on the roster, but there’s a pretty clear path to some reps is Pacheco can show off in minicamp and the preseason.

With the 259th selection in the draft, the Chiefs wrapped up their weekend with the pick of safety Nazeeh Johnson out of Marshall. Johnson was honorable mention in Conference USA last year with 67 tackles, 5 passes deflected, and 2 interceptions. Should be a special teams ace with great speed and likely dropped as an older prospect.