Analyzing the financial impact of the KC Chiefs draft class

Round 2 – Bryan Cook, safety
Round 7 – Nazeeh Johnson, safety

While we’re discussing the secondary, we might as well bring into the two safeties drafted at this stage to note the further savings (or hope for them) on the back end of the defense.

Coming into the offseason, the Chiefs were wondering just how much they’d spend on a safety knowing a decision was due on outgoing safety Tyrann Mathieu. While the Chiefs ultimately decided to let him walk, they ended up spending nearly as much on a younger version of him in Justin Reid—a three-year deal worth $30M.

This is what makes Bryan Cook such a nice long-term addition to the mix. For now, he’s the team’s third safety but he could slide in for Juan Thornhill, who is himself giving the Chiefs four years as a starter at the cost of a second-round rookie deal, starting next year as one of the two primary safeties on the team.

Either way, Cook is going to give the Chiefs an upgrade as a hard-hitting playmaker in the secondary with a contract worth $5.8M over the next four years—or approximately one-sixth of what Reid is making. That balances things out quite nicely.