Top 3 players KC Chiefs should completely avoid in 2023 NFL Draft
By Matt Conner
Whatever the Kansas City Chiefs do in the 2023 NFL Draft, they would do well to completely steer clear of these prospects.
For all of the talk about the 2023 NFL Draft, most of the conversation stems on the players that we do want to see our favorite teams select in each round. Prospect names are thrown around as our preferred options and then debated in fun conversations and mock drafts. But what about players we don’t want?
For the Kansas City Chiefs, sometimes avoiding a player is not about a lack of ability but rather a bad fit or the wrong context. That’s certainly true of the players on this list. As we look at players the Chiefs should avoid in the draft, it’s mostly about the investments they should be making instead rather than a judgment against that player’s talents.
At least it is in most instances.
Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State
We know, we know! One look at Dawand Jones on the field and it’s hard not to immediately want to claim him for your side—since who wants to face him?
Jones is the biggest tackle prospect in this year’s draft at 6’8 and a whopping 374 lbs. He’s a brick wall who forces opposing pass rushers to work hard to even get around him, while his basketball background gives him the footwork and positioning to reset well. He’s also still growing into the position and has age on his side since he won’t turn 22 until training camp.
Jones might be a good or even great player in the NFL someday, but it just feels like the Chiefs are the wrong fit here. Jones already struggles with his weight and he refused to weigh in again at his pro day after being weighed at the NFL Combine. The Chiefs already went through some of the playing concerns with such a massive player when they had Orlando Brown Jr. on the left side. There are simply much better schemes for a player like Jones—including the Baltimore Ravens or Atlanta Falcons—than what the Chiefs ask of their linemen.
It’s important to note that Jones might be a good player on the Chiefs if they were to draft him and he’d be an upgrade at right tackle for sure. But if the Chiefs are going to invest early in a tackle, it feels off to think they would focus on Jones over other, more athletic options.