Chiefs taking closer look at Kansas OL Hakeem Adeniji with private predraft workout
With the NFL Scouting Combine in the books, the Chiefs are officially full bloom into draft season.
As part of their draft evaluation process, the Chiefs had a representative attend Kansas State’s Pro Day workout in Manhattan on Wednesday, followed by Kansas’ Pro Day workout Thursday morning in Lawrence.
At least one of the prospects is now known to have drawn extra attention.
Following his Pro Day workout, which was attended by more than 20 NFL teams, Jayhawks offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji told The Star he currently has four predraft workouts scheduled, including one with the Chiefs.
Adeniji declined to go into specifics on time and date or identify the other three teams.
But the thought of potentially playing in the Chiefs’ offensive scheme, which is anchored by reigning Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, provided him some excitement about what could be.
“Man, their offense is explosive,” Adeniji said. “It involves a lot of pass protection and that’s definitely one of my strengths. So, coming in and protecting probably the best quarterback of this age that you see in the NFL, I think I could definitely do that better than a lot of people could. I’d definitely fit right in.”
The Chiefs are allowed to bring in 30 draft-eligible players to their facility ahead of the league’s annual three-day selection process, but a team is not allowed to put players through on-field drills or a workout.
Any private predraft workout, such as the one scheduled with Adeniji, needs to be done on the player’s campus, according to NFL rules.
The Chiefs taking an interest in Adeniji, who projects as a middle-round pick, makes sense when considering Kansas City projects to have a need on the offensive line.
Veteran guard Stefen Wisniewski is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent when the NFL’s new calendar year begins on March 18. Additionally, the Chiefs are not expected to exercise a club option on tackle Cam Erving, a source confirmed with The Star.
Adeniji, who measured 6-foot-4 and 302 pounds at the combine, started 48 consecutive games in college at tackle and was named a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2019.
But he possesses the versatility to play tackle or guard at the next level, and Adeniji pointed out Thursday that NFL teams he’s talked to like him at either position.
“There’s some teams that like me outside, some teams like me inside,” he said. “Some teams like the versatility, so just the fact that I can do both of those is really going to help me.”
In the meantime, the Chiefs will continue to look deeper in the coming weeks at all the players eligible for selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.
That the process begins with a school in the Chiefs’ backyard is perfectly fine for Adeniji, who has longed to make his mark in the league.
“I’m just taking it day by day,” he said. “Everything has been a blessing being able to do things that I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid. Now, it’s just about throughout the workouts and stuff, continue to put my best effort forward so I can improve my draft stock as much as possible.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 3:28 PM.
