The Kansas City Chiefs have a bevy of picks in the last day of the draft. Let’s see the best players available to them.
The top 100 or more picks have already been made, and with that, the assumption is that the best players for the Kansas City Chiefs (and every other team in the National Football League) are already claimed and accounted for in the 2023 NFL Draft. But that’s not necessarily the case.
Remember that some of your favorite players on the Chiefs have been day three selections over the last several years. Trey Smith is the team’s right guard and he was sitting there in the sixth round. L’Jarius Sneed is the best defender not named Chris Jones and yet he wasn’t taken until the end of the fourth round. Last year, the Chiefs struck gold in the seventh round with two picks in both running back Isiah Pacheco and cornerback Jaylen Watson.
So what will Day 3 hold for the Chiefs this year? We’re likely going to be surprised by a lot of the names and choices, but watch for these as the best players available for the Chiefs coming into the final day of the draft.
Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
If there’s a single player that has everyone shaking their heads on Day 3, it’s that cornerback Kelee Ringo is still there after three full rounds. Of course, it was also a corner in Joey Porter Jr. that was sitting there available after Round 1. For Ringo, the Chiefs are likely going to be out of range to get the Georgia product unless they make a power move up the draft order to get his prototypical blend of acceleration, speed, strength and size.
Jaren Hall, QB, BYU
Dane Brugler of the Athletic already noted that the Chiefs were enamored with Jaren Hall’s skill set coming into the draft and it might make sense for them to grab a developmental arm to compete with both Shane Buechele and the newly-signed Blaine Gabbert for the back-up quarterback role vacated by Chad Henne who retired earlier this year. He’s smart and instinctual with good arm strength and speed to hurt defenses with his feet.
Darius Rush, CB, South Carolina
A former wide receiver, Rush is a nice fluid cornerback with the sort of speed and acceleration that can keep up with anyone. The instincts aren’t quite there, but that’s not surprising for a player still growing into a full-time pass defender. Coaching him up could yield some incredible results with these raw tools, and the Chiefs have done it before with a South Carolinian in Rashad Fenton.
B.J. Thompson, Edge, Stephen F. Austin
B.J. Thompson is a small-school pass rusher who profiles as a rotational disruptor at the next level. While he’s too light at 240 lbs. to play early, the Chiefs would never be asking such a late-round pick to occupy a full-time role as it is. At this point, they have their presumed long-term starters and instead should be searching for complementary projects to take on. Thompson began his career at Baylor but transferred to an FCS school thereafter and found success. After whiffing on Joshua Kaindoh, it’s time to turn the page and bring on a new face to coach up.
Jeremy Banks, LB, Tennessee
Everything about Jeremy Banks will come down to the interviews he had with the Chiefs (as well as other franchises) before the draft. That’s because his tenure at Tennessee featured plenty of drama and even legal issues after he got into an altercation with a woman outside of a bar that led to his dismissal from the Vols. On the field, he’s not a finished product either, but his acceleration and aggression are a difference-making combination for a guy who could be Dave Toub’s favorite new player on special teams.