The Kansas City Chiefs have a significant need for another edge player on defense. Here are the top 20 prospects for them to consider in the NFL Draft.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions and are poised to be a contender again next season. While the Chiefs have most of their key pieces in place, the roster does still have some holes. One of K.C.’s needs is another starting-caliber edge player and, at this point, the 2023 NFL Draft is one of the last chances for them to find one.
The Chiefs are returning George Karlaftis and Mike Danna, but are looking to replace the key snaps and production of Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap who both remain free agents. Some of that production will be filled by key free agent addition Charles Omenihu. Omenihu is a perfect fit for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo who likes big powerful edges that can play all over the defensive line.
The guys over at KCSN have done a lot of research on what Spagnuolo’s preferences are (I highly recommend their draft guide). Spags prototypical defensive end is at least 6-foot-3, between 260-280 pounds, and has at least 33-inch arms. Not every one of his edge players meets all those thresholds, but he clearly has a type. So keep those three criteria in mind as we look at the edge prospects in this class.
Before we get started I’m going to give my personal opinion. The Chiefs have three key pieces of an edge rotation in Karlaftis, Omenihu, and Danna. All three are more power edges that can hold up against the run and can kick inside on passing downs. While that fits the Spags mold, they don’t really have anyone on the roster that has proven they can routinely win on the outside as a pass rusher. I don’t know if the Chiefs will consider going away from Spags’ preferred type just to get a pass rusher, but I don’t know if just adding another big power edge helps solve K.C.’s biggest need on the edge.
With that said, let’s look at the edge players in this class to see if there are some good targets for the Chiefs. Let’s start with the top prospects that are probably a long shot to make it to Kansas City.