The Kansas City Chiefs own the 31st pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and a large majority of draft analysts think that the Chiefs are destined to take an offensive lineman with that pick. This makes sense considering how badly the Chiefs o-line got butchered during Super Bowl LIX.
K.C. signed Jaylon Moore in free agency but the former 49er only started 12 games in four years. That means there's a very small sample size as far as what he can do as a starter. The Chiefs put a lot of eggs into the Moore panning out basket but drafting an offensive lineman could alleviate some of the pressure there.
Not everyone is on board with the idea of Kansas City spending its first-round pick on an offensive lineman, however. Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame is confident that the Chiefs won't draft an o-lineman in the first round, stating as such and noting that he'll put his reputation on the line with these comments. "They're NOT taking an offensive lineman in the first round," he said to Tucker Franklin of KC Sports Network.
"I've talked to a million people about this around the team, around the league, like the offensive tackle class is generally seen as brutal," Verderame said. "There's a reason that Jaylon Moore was announced the second free agency opened up. The Chiefs were like, 'Got him! Got him! He's ours!' All these people are like, 'They're gonna draft a tackle', and play him where? Where the hell's he playing? They didn't give Jaylon Moore two years and $30 million to be a swing tackle."
Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame is confident that Chiefs won't draft first-round OL
Verderame seemed very sure that the Chiefs won't be going in the direction everyone thinks they're going in during the first round, which is taking an offensive lineman. He points to the Moore signing as the reason why, as he says the contract given to Moore is reason enough for them to avoid spending their first round pick at the position.
The point he made too about the class being pretty weak is also something to consider here. Verderame made solid points with his argument and the Chiefs do tend to do what they want to do with their picks rather than what the fans and talking heads want them to do (which is typically a good thing, since Brett Veach makes a lot of money to make those decisions).
All of this being said, it still wouldn't surprise me if the Chiefs still went after a tackle in round one. They have their tackles under contract for this season but they can get out of Moore's deal after one year if it doesn't work out and Jawaan Taylor is another player they'll be able to part ways with financially after 2025. That means they'll desperately need tackles a year from so drafting one now in preparation for the future isn't a crazy thought.
We're one week away from finding out if Verderame will be right with his prediction or not.