Breaking down the Chiefs’ NFL Draft haul: Projecting how each player fits + grades
With the 2020 NFL Draft in the books, the Chiefs now go about preparing to defend their Super Bowl LIV championship.
The team returns 20 of 22 starters from last year’s roster and used the draft to add some intriguing new faces.
“Certainly, we’re excited about how this draft unfolded,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said Sunday in a Zoom call. “Huge tip of my cap to my personnel staff. We stayed aggressive all weekend long even though we didn’t do trades in the first two days. But you guys knew I had to sneak one in there at the end. I’m really excited about our draft class.”
Veach has every right to feel that way. He added three potential Day 1 starters, quite a feat for a team coming off a Super Bowl title.
So, exactly how did the Chiefs do overall? Most NFL teams give a draft class at least three years for proper evaluation. Players often need time to develop and transition from college to the pros.
We’re not waiting that long. Below is The Star’s assessment of this year’s selections:
Round 1, 32nd overall: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, LSU
HOW HE FITS: The Chiefs added a dynamic weapon to one of the NFL’s top offenses, and he can do it all out of the backfield. Ignore his 5-foot-7, 207-pound stature because the Chiefs won’t expect him to be a rusher in the mold of Adrian Peterson or Leonard Fournette. In fact, bell cow running backs aren’t the rage in an Andy Reid offense; instead, he depends on versatile rushers who can contribute in all facets of his scheme.
While Edwards-Helaire joins a crowded backfield, his unique skill-set ensures he will get on the field early and often. His presence in passing situations supercharges the Chiefs’ matchup-nightmare offense: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson and now Edwards-Helaire? This is basically an unwinnable pick-your-poison situation for their opponents.
The bottom line here for anyone with lingering doubts about this pick: Reid, Veach, offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and running backs coach Deland McCullough all wanted him.
And quarterback Patrick Mahomes wanted him.
That should be more than good enough.
GRADE: A
QUOTABLE: “We certainly view this guy as a franchise-type running back.” — Veach
Round 2, 63rd overall: LB Willie Gay Jr., Mississippi St.
HOW HE FITS: The proper question should be how doesn’t Gay fit?
Of the Chiefs’ needs entering the draft, linebacker was arguably the biggest. Even with the free-agent departure of Reggie Ragland, who signed with the Detroit Lions, their defense needed an every-down linebacker with skills to drop in coverage and get after the quarterback.
Check all the boxes with this pick.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Gay, who possesses 4.46 speed, can play all three linebacker positions and easily projects as an immediate-impact player in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme.
He brings some red flags from college, which caused him to miss playing time, but the Chiefs did their due diligence on his background and were comfortable enough to draft him. More importantly, they are confident the locker-room culture among their defensive players, led by All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu, will underpin Gay’s maturation process.
GRADE: A
QUOTABLE: “Willie was one of the top guys on the board, period.” — Veach
Round 3, 96th overall: OL Lucas Niang, TCU
HOW HE FITS: The Chiefs love versatile offensive linemen, and they landed one with potential starting ability from the get-go.
Niang, who could start off competing at guard, gives the Chiefs a view to the future at their bookend positions: Mitchell Schwartz turns 31 on June 8 and Eric Fisher 30 after the 2020 regular season.
The Chiefs entered this year’s draft intent on bolstering their front five, and they accomplished the mission with a tremendous value pick in the third round.
Here’s a stat Mahomes will love: The 6-foot-7, 328-pound Niang closed out his college career at right tackle without allowing a sack in two straight seasons.
GRADE: A-
QUOTABLE: “You can only have a certain amount of offensive linemen, so I need to be versatile and I understand that.” — Niang
Round 4, 138th overall: DB L’Jarius Sneed, Louisiana Tech
HOW HE FITS: The Chiefs let three rounds go by before addressing their defensive secondary. But they grabbed a winner in Sneed, who lined up at both cornerback and safety in college.
In fact, this was the player the Chiefs targeted all along when Day 3 of the draft began.
“When Saturday started, that was our guy,” Veach said. “If we had the first pick in Round 4, it would’ve been Sneed. So we were certainly holding our breath there, and our guys did a good job of helping me be patient and work through this.”
Sneed’s natural position is cornerback, but the Chiefs actually filled two needs with one pick because he’s played safety, too. The 6-foot, 192-pound Sneed can fly, evidenced by a 4.37 time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. And that speed will be put to good use in press-man, off- or zone-coverage schemes.
While the Chiefs are set now with clear starters at cornerback and safety, Sneed should be viewed as a likely future starting corner: Bashaud Breeland and Antonio Hamilton will play the 2020 season on one-year deals.
GRADE: A-
QUOTABLE: “I have to practice against a Super Bowl quarterback, which is going to help me develop my skills.” — Sneed
Round 5, 177th overall: DE Mike Danna, Michigan
HOW HE FITS: Of the Chiefs’ six picks, this one raised the most eyebrows. It remains to be seen exactly how the Chiefs view the 6-foot-2, 261-pound Danna, but he likely projects as a rotational edge rusher, given his knack for getting after the quarterback.
Danna will need time to develop, which is perfectly fine for a fifth-round pick. And he could carve out a niche as a core special teams contributor to start off his career while he learns the pro game.
GRADE: C
QUOTABLE: “He’s just going to work his tail off.” — Chiefs area scout Pat Sperduto
Round 7, 237th overall: CB Thakarius ‘BoPete’ Keyes, Tulane
HOW HE FITS: By trading into the seventh round, the Chiefs clearly liked Keyes and didn’t want to risk getting in a bidding war and losing him to another team in the undrafted free-agent signing frenzy after the draft.
The 6-foot-1, 202-pound Keyes is a hard-nosed tackler. He was a late bloomer at Tulane and didn’t crack the starting lineup until his junior season. But he made up for lost time by finishing his career as an honorable mention all-conference selection.
Late-round picks are often looked upon as developmental players, and here the Chiefs landed one with high upside for depth. He also could contribute on special teams.
GRADE: A
QUOTABLE: “We weren’t getting this kid in free agency.” — Chiefs area scout Willie Davis
OVERALL GRADE
This is easy. The Chiefs added well to a championship-caliber roster. The Chiefs like their draft, and so does The Star: A-.
CURRENT ROSTER (does not include undrafted free agents)
Quarterbacks (4): Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne, Kyle Shurmur, Jordan Ta’amu
Running backs/fullbacks (10): Damien Williams, Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson, Elijah McGuire, Mike Weber, Marcus Marshall, DeAndre Washington, Anthony Sherman, John Lovett, Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Wide receivers (8): Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, Jordy Fortson, Gehrig Dieter, Felton Davis
Tight ends (5): Travis Kelce, Deon Yelder, Nick Keizer, Ricky Seals-Jones, Alize Mack
Offensive line (12): Mitchell Schwartz, Eric Fisher, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Austin Reiter, Martinas Rankin, Mike Remmers, Andrew Wylie, Nick Allegretti, Greg Senat, Jackson Barton, Ryan Hunter, Lucas Niang
Defensive line (14): Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Mike Pennel, Alex Okafor, Derrick Nnadi, Khalen Saunders, Breeland Speaks, Demone Harris, Braxton Hoyett, Devaroe Lawrence, Anthony Lanier, Tim Ward, Mike Danna
Linebackers (7): Anthony Hitchens, Damien Wilson, Ben Niemann, Dorian O’Daniel, Emmanuel Smith, Darius Harris, Willie Gay Jr.
Defensive backs (12): Tyrann Mathieu, Charvarius Ward, Bashaud Breeland, Juan Thornhill, Rashad Fenton, Antonio Hamilton, Daniel Sorensen, Armani Watts, Alex Brown, Chris Lammons, L’Jarius Sneed, BoPete Keyes
Specialists (4): P Dustin Colquitt, K Harrison Butker, LS James Winchester, P Tyler Newsome
Eighteen added after draft
The Chiefs have also brought aboard 18 undrafted rookie free agents; all were signed after the draft concluded:
- WR Andre Baccellia, Washington
- WR Maurice French, Pittsburgh
- WR Aleva Hifo, BYU (previously reported by The Star)
- WR Kalija Libscomb, Vanderbilt (previously reported by The Star)
- WR Justice Shelton-Mosley, Vanderbilt
- WR Cody White, Michigan State (previously reported by The Star)
- T Yasir Durant, Missouri
- G Jovahn Fair, Temple
- C Darryl Williams, Mississippi State (previously reported by The Star)
- DT Tershawn Wharton, Missouri S&T
- LB Omari Cobb, Marshall (previously reported by The Star)
- LB Bryan Wright, Cincinnati
- S Rodney Clemons, SMU (previously reported by The Star)
- S Jalen Julius, Mississippi
- CB Hakeem Bailey, West Virginia (previously reported by The Star)
- CB Jarvaris Davis, Auburn
- CB Lavert Hill, Michigan
- P Tommy Townsend, Florida
This story was originally published April 26, 2020 at 3:57 PM.
