2023 mock draft has odd results for Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are going to have a bit of extra fun next year for the 2023 NFL Draft due to the fact that the entire three-day event is going to be held on the team’s home turf as K.C. hosts the festivities. Because of that, we’re likely going to stay interested in what the draft could look like, even in far-too-early mock drafts, for how the Chiefs could be improved.

The Chiefs have a whopping 12 picks projected for them in next year’s draft, thanks to compensatory picks and trades, but the new two-round mock from the Pro Football Network is stealing a bit of our joy for the affair given the picks involved.

Ian Cummings has the Chiefs selecting at No. 30 overall, which would mean a predicted fall to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, and with their first-round pick, they grab defensive tackle Gervon Dexter out of the University of Florida.

The latest two-round mock from Pro Football Network has mixed results from the 2023 NFL Draft for the KC Chiefs.

The idea of a defensive tackle is actually an excellent selection for the Chiefs that early in the draft, and it will mean that they went defensive line in two consecutive first rounds. Given the tremendous need up front, it’s a great positional value alone, regardless of what Dexter brings himself.

Dexter is a mammoth athletic specimen at 6’6, 303 lbs. but his production is now going to have to match—or begin to resemble—his projections. The Chiefs can ill afford to take on too great of a project when the line is likely still in great need next offseason. Dexter’s arrival would also be interesting timing for an offseason in which Chris Jones’ contract is going to be a major question.

Where the results really go off the rails quite early for the Chiefs is with the very next selection. In this mock draft, Cummings has the Chiefs grabbing Jahmyr Gibbs, a running back out of Alabama. The Chiefs will still have a first-round pick on the books at the position in Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the return of seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco.

The Chiefs will likely invest there again given that Jerick McKinnon and Ronald Jones are both set to be free agents next spring, but do the Chiefs really need to invest their second overall pick in the draft at such an easily replaceable spot?

Gibbs should be a showboat for the Crimson Tide this fall as a former Georgia Tech transfer with a proven penchant for making big gains. He’s a solid pass-catcher to go with his pro-ready athleticism and speed. He would be an undeniable asset for the Chiefs, but the selection of someone like Gibbs over other areas of need, including receiver and edge rusher, would be a frustrating pick overall.