After the Kansas City Chiefs' impressive win over the Miami Dolphins, they head into Week 11 ready to take on the Philadelphia Eagles following a Week 10 bye.
As the landscape of college football shifts week by week, we'll address some of the Chiefs' largest needs heading into 2024. For this exercise, we will be simulating the Chiefs' first three draft picks using PFF's mock draft simulator. We will rotate simulators week to week to yield different scenarios.
With the projected 31st pick, the Chiefs have several needs to fill. The best way to address these needs might be a trade down the draft board. General Manager Brett Veach has only traded down once during his tenure and that was for Skyy Moore and Darian Kinnard. While the results were underwhelming, we can agree that the Chiefs' best drafts have come when they have more picks—especially on day two of the draft.
For this scenario the Chiefs sent pick 31 and 159 (628 draft value points) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for picks 43 and and 75 (685 draft value points). In this scenario we assume the Bucs are trading back into the first to get their quarterback of the future Jayden Daniels or Bo Nix. A very realistic scenario for top heavy QB class loaded with talent at other key positions.
Let's look at the Round 2 picks first.
Round 2 (43): Troy Fautanu, Offensive Tackle, Washington
Last week we highlighted Troy Fautanu on our weekend prospect watchlist. He's a high-upside tackle whose strength in pass protection makes him an ideal target for an offense like the Chiefs. Physically he straddles the line of athlete or mauler, which is why some teams might not think of him as a first-rounder. He's not quite nimble enough to label him as an explosive athlete but not quite big enough to be a brick house tackle. But he does everything well in an offense that leaves him on an island regularly.
How he fits: The Washington Husky would be an ideal candidate to start at left tackle next year. He could compete with a veteran like Donovan Smith or give the Chiefs two cheap options coupled with Wanya Morris while Jawaan Taylor remains on the right side.
Shades of: Christian Darrisaw
Troy Fautanu has the foot quickness, lateral agility, & power you want in a starting OL.
— Full-Time Dame 💰 (@DP_NFL) November 10, 2023
He passes off twists/stunts well, protects the outside arc, & has a nasty snatch trap! Depending on his arm length, he’ll probably get kicked in a OG & thrive. pic.twitter.com/ljYQyhVLku