NFL Mock Draft: Predicting Round 1 surprises for KC Chiefs
By Matt Conner
Selecting a first-round running back (again)
Let’s be honest: is there a single more surprising scenario that Brett Veach could throw at Chiefs Kingdom than this one? The answer is no.
For the sake of review, it was only three years ago that Veach tried to grab a luxury pick to round out the offense and scare the entire AFC on draft night with the selection of a well-rounded back out of LSU named Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The idea was to replace Kareem Hunt with another dynamic performer out of the backfield to keep defenses on their heels and the offense producing at historic levels. Even Patrick Mahomes “signed off” on it.
Three years later, Edwards-Helaire is a healthy scratch on game day and is sitting under a flashing neon sign outside Arrowhead that reads “Trade Block.” The fit wasn’t good and it turns out “well-rounded” can also mean “not super at anything.” These days it’s seventh-round rookies and low-level free agent signings that rule the roost in the backfield.
So how could this happen again? Everyone is positively bursting to say good things about Texas RB Bijan Robinson, and that might be for good reason. Projections could have him going early to the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half of the first round, but it’s also possible that analytics have made front offices into smarter shoppers than before, which could penalize Robinson just because he’s a running back.
What if Veach could pick the first RB in the draft once again? What if this could make up for last time? Yours truly would hate to see it, but it’s certainly a surprise that could happen on draft night.