The 2024 NFL Draft is approaching, and the past six weeks have been suffused with shop talk about prospects, draft metrics, and mock drafts. Much of that, in this corner of the woods, has centered around what the Kansas City Chiefs will do with the 32nd pick, and overall with their full draft class.
The two-time defending world champions have a solid roster heading into the draft, but there are a few important positions that demand reinforcements. For the next several minutes, we'll dig into a few offensive prospects I like for Kansas City.
Depending on who you ask, there are three to five offensive positions where Kansas City could realistically invest draft capital. Their most pressing needs are at wide receiver, left tackle, running back, and offensive guard.
An argument can be made that tight end could reasonably be added to that list. Travis Kelce will be 35 years old come October, Noah Gray is in the final year of his contract, and newcomer Irv Smith, Jr. was only brought on for the 2024 season.
For the sake of brevity, we'll focus on wide receiver, running back, and left tackle.
Xavier Legette, Wide Receiver, South Carolina
Draft Projection: Round 1-2
The 2023 season revealed that wide receiver is one of the weakest position groups on the team's roster. As it stands, second-year man Rashee Rice is likely facing a suspension, veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling is on the open market, and Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney have raised more questions than they've answered. Free agency brought the talented Marquise "Hollywood" Brown to Kansas City. His addition creates a stronger receiving corps than this time a year ago, but there's still room for the Chiefs to go back to the well.
South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette is one of my favorite prospects in this 2024 class. Listed at 6-foot-1, 217 pounds, Legette has a rare combination of size and speed. His ability to win in contested catch and 50/50 ball situations is intriguing. Justyn Ross might be the only Chiefs player who can reliably thrive in those situations, but he hasn't had much opportunity to demonstrate that it in live-game action.
Legette is impressive with the ball in hand and can create chunk plays after the catch. Xavier Legette doesn't have the elite 40-time some of his counterparts boast, but he did record the fastest ballcarrier speed of the college season at 22.3 miles per hour. To put that in perspective, that was the fastest time recorded in either the NFL or the NCAA in 2023.
To be fair, Legette will occasionally have a concentration drop and only had significant production in his final season at South Carolina. He may be more of a project as a Top-75 pick than some would like, but the way the room is presently constructed, I think he's worth the gamble for Kansas City. I see a lot of Rashee Rice in him, with even more physicality and the ability to climb the ladder and take the ball away from a defender.
Two Games to Watch:
South Carolina vs. North Carolina
South Carolina vs. Mississippi State
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Ray Davis, Running back, Kentucky
Draft Projection: Round 3-4
With the departure of veteran back Jerick McKinnon, the Chiefs have a need for another body in the backfield. Isiah Pacheco is the clear-cut starter, Clyde Edwards-Helaire was brought back on a one-year deal, but the rest of the room is uncertain. The Chiefs did snare Deneric Prince as an undrafted free agent a year ago, but he spent much of the season on the team's taxi squad.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating: running back is the easiest position in the NFL to backfill. That said, it'd be wise for the team to consider an investment here given the injury history to both Pacheco and Edwards-Helaire. Enter Kentucky running back Ray Davis.
Davis began his collegiate career at Temple and later transferred and spent two years at Vanderbilt. He eventually moved on again and spent the 2023 season in Kentucky. He's older than most prospects in this class. Davis will be 25 midway through the 2024 NFL season. The silver lining is that he's as battle-tested a prospect as you'll find with 44 games logged in the NCAA.
Davis is a low-4.5 guy in the 40, but fortunately for him, he plays fast. On tape, it's not often that's caught from behind when he gets a full head of steam in the open field. The former Wildcat is patient in the backfield, but will need to keep his feet moving at the next level as he needs time to get to top speed. For my money, Davis is mostly a north-south runner. At the next level, I'm not convinced he has the burst to consistently challenge the edge.
The good news is that he operates well in congested areas and can "get skinny" through the hole. In Kansas City, one shortcut to the field as a running back is the ability to pass block. Davis is rock solid in pass protection, and that's one area where the Chiefs could stand another body with that skill set. Pacheco has grown considerably in that area, but McKinnon was the most reliable in that regard. It also helps that Davis had solid production as a pass-catcher. Overall, I think he's a good fit in Kansas City and would help to raise the floor of the running back room.
Two games to watch:
Kentucky vs. Florida
Kentucky vs. Louisville
Amarius Mims, Left Tackle, Georgia
Draft Projection: Round 1
Amarius Mims is an intriguing tackle option for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he only makes this list on the condition that they re-sign veteran Donovan Smith. In his collegiate career, Mims played just 803 total snaps. Under normal circumstances, I would never suggest drafting a player in the first round with such limited experience, but Mims is a unique prospect. With time, and the right coaching, he can be a special player at left tackle. As luck would have it for Kansas City, they have as decorated an offensive line coach as you'll find in Andy Heck.
At 6-foot-8, 340 pounds Mims is a mountain of a man with coveted physical tools. He's got long arms and powerful mitts that make it difficult for defenders to disengage. One thing that consistently showed up on film was his patience in pass protection snaps. He rarely overcommits with his punch and has a smooth kick slide to keep himself squared up with his man. With that in mind, Mims does occasionally get a bit high with his pad level and can be stood up by larger edge defenders.
The nuances of left tackle in the NFL will be a challenge for Mims, but with a veteran in front of him and solid coaching to maximize his potential, I like him as a long-term option at left tackle. Mims' lack of experience and injury history are areas of concern that might make him a riskier pick than others at the bottom of Round 1, but his ceiling might be too high to pass up at 32.
Two Games to Watch:
Georgia vs. Tennessee
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech
The Kansas City Chiefs have a stellar core of young defensive players and as such, can focus their attention on bolstering the offensive side of the football in this draft. If they can identify just one contributor at a skill position in the 2024 class, the offense should be significantly better this year. Identifying the right receiver prospect is the obvious choice for the position that most needs another contributor. Fortunately for the Chiefs, this is a deep receiver class.
The defense is the clear strength of the team in roster terms so we focused on offense in this piece. Next time, we'll take a look at three defensive players I'm keeping a close eye on for Kansas City.