The Kansas City Chiefs are the defending NFL champions thanks to their victory in Super Bowl LVII over the Eagles. A significant reason why Kansas City won their title was because of their outstanding rookie class. In the AFC Championship Game, four rookies played at least 25 defensive snaps in the secondary alone, plus two other rookies saw at least 25 snaps in the win over the Bengals.
Brett Veach and his crew drafted ten players in total, including three players on offense and seven on defense, and all but one saw game action in the regular season and playoffs. Seven of those rookies played at least 350 offensive/defensive snaps and two of the three that didn’t were key contributors on special teams.
In the days after the 2022 NFL Draft, our crew gave the 2022 class high marks, but little did we know that those great expectations would be exceeded. Even though we’re only a year removed from the 2022 NFL Draft, the 2023 Draft is just days away. In honor of the one-year anniversary, let’s go ahead and re-grade the awesome 2022 Kansas City Chiefs draft class.
Trent McDuffie, Cornerback, Round 1, Pick 21
As the first pick in the most anticipated Chiefs draft class in years, there was a lot of pressure on Trent McDuffie to have a strong rookie season, especially considering the team traded up eight spots to get him.
His season got off to a rough start as he left the opening game due to a hamstring injury and ended up missing six games. Once he returned, he hit the ground running as he played like the starting caliber cornerback that he was drafted to be. Although his season wasn’t as strong as many fans believe, especially considering he surrendered 173 yards in three postseason games, the team should have zero regrets about the pick. He has the tools to be a star in the making and will be a prime candidate to break out in 2023.
The Grade in 2022: A-
The 2023 Grade: A-