Live NFL Draft updates: KC Chiefs trade up, pick UW corner No. 21, edge rusher No. 30
Welcome to one of the best nights of the year for NFL fans: the opening round of the NFL Draft.
This year’s draft is taking place in Las Vegas (next year it’s in Kansas City), with Round 1 on Thursday in prime-time, Rounds 2-3 on Friday (also in the evening) and Rounds 4-7 scheduled for midday on Saturday.
The entire thing will be broadcast live on TV and streamed, and we have all the info you need to pick up the telecast, sit back and watch as the KC Chiefs select 12 new players ... that is, unless they pull a trade or trades. In that case, they could wind up with more (or fewer) than a dozen.
We know Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is no wallflower when it comes to draft-day swaps. After all, that’s how the Chiefs moved up to select superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes No. 10 overall from Texas Tech in the 2017 draft (a move turned out pretty darned well).
Check back here all evening for updates from Chiefs headquarters at Arrowhead Stadium and, of course, draft HQ in Vegas.
Chiefs pick UW Huskies corner after trading up
General manager Brett Veach and the Chiefs pulled their big move Thursday night, trading up to No. 21 with the New England Patriots to select Washington Huskies cornerback Trent McDuffie.
The Chiefs held onto their other first-round pick, No. 30, and selected edge rush help in George Karlaftis of Purdue.
New England received the Chiefs’ 29th, 94th and 121st picks in the earlier deal. You can read more about the Chiefs’ first pick of the draft here.
Do you like the Chiefs’ first pick?
So how do you like the McDuffie pick at No. 21 by the Chiefs? You can vote in our poll about it here.
Here’s the running list of picks
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Travon Walker, linebacker from Georgia, with the No. 1 overall pick.
He’s the first UGA Bulldog taken first overall since quarterback Matthew Stafford went No. 1 to the Detroit Lions in 2009.
The Lions, coincidentally, picked next on Thursday night, selecting another edge rusher, Aidan Hutchinson from Michigan, No. 2 overall.
The Houston Texans took defensive back Derek Stingley Jr. from LSU at No. 3 and the New York Jets tabbed cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner from Cincinnati No. 4.
At No. 5, the New York Giants kept with the theme of defense in taking Kayvon Thibodeaux, a defensive end from Oregon.
And then, finally, came an offensive player: The Carolina Panthers, badly needing some better pass pro, went with tackle Ikem Ekwonu from nearby N.C. State at No. 6. That led to the selection of another tackle, Alabama’s Evan Neal, at No. 7 to the Giants.
The Atlanta Falcons, who will start Marcus Mariota at quarterback this coming season, picked up a new pass-catching target in USC wide receiver Drake London at No. 8.
The Seahawks’ pick of Mississippi State tackle Charles Cross at No. 9 is interesting because a) their starting QB this fall could be Lee’s Summit and Mizzou product Drew Lock (he has competition, but after being traded from Denver to Seattle this offseason he’s one of a couple of candidates to succeed Russell Wilson in that role), and b) Seattle’s offensive line was pretty leaky last season.
If it’s Lock under center in Seattle this fall, his protection now stands to be at least a little bit better.
Rounding out Thursday night’s Top 10, the Jets used their second Top 10 pick in this draft on receiver Garrett Wilson of Ohio State. Wilson was regarded by some as the top wideout in this year’s class.
Here’s more from the first round:
No. 11, New Orleans Saints: Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
No. 12, Detroit Lions: Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
No. 13, Philadelphia Eagles: Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia
No. 14, Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame
No. 15, Houston Texans: Kenyon Green, G, Texas A&M
No. 16, Washington Commanders: Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State
No. 17, Los Angeles Chargers: Zion Johnson, OL, Boston College
No. 18, Tennessee Titans: Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
No. 19, New Orleans Saints: Trevor Penning, T, Northern Iowa
No. 20, Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenny Pickett, QB, Pitt
No. 21, Kansas City Chiefs: Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington
No. 22, Green Bay Packers: Quay Walker, LB, Georgia
No. 23, Buffalo Bills: Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida
No. 24, Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Smith, OL, Tulsa
No. 25, Baltimore Ravens: Tyler Linderbaum, OL, Iowa
No. 26, New York Jets: Jermaine Johnson II, edge, Florida State
No. 27, Jacksonville Jaguars: Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah
No. 28, Green Bay Packers: Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia
No. 29, New England Patriots: Cole Strange, G, Chattanooga
No. 30, Kansas City Chiefs: George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue
No. 31, Cincinnati Bengals: Daxton Hill, S, Michigan
No. 32, Minnesota Vikings: Lewis Cine, S, Georgia
Kansas City preview
With the NFL Draft headed to Kansas City next year, Thursday night’s Sin City spectacle provided a glimpse of what we can expect when the draft takes place between Union Station and the Liberty Memorial in 2023.
A sprawling sea of humanity that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell described as “more than 100,000 fans” packed itself around the draft stage in Las Vegas for opening night. Ice Cube was there. So was Raiders QB Derek Carr (sporting some sort of fauxhawk-type hairstyle, which for a fairly conservative dude like Carr was, well, a little different).
It’s fair to say the Raiders probably won’t be prominently featured when the draft comes here 12 months from now. Know your audience, right?
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Oh wait, the details
OK, so we know the draft begins tonight and continues into Saturday. But on which channel will you find the broadcast? Where will it be streaming?
This should help you out — compiled by KC Star colleague Pete Grathoff, it also lays out when exactly the Chiefs are scheduled to pick in each round, some players to watch when the Chiefs are on the clock and more.
Some insider analyses
Now that we’ve covered the who/what/when/where of the 2022 NFL Draft, let’s take a look at how the Chiefs might deploy their wealth of picks.
Star sports columnist Sam McDowell wrote this morning that he still believes the Chiefs will be looking to deal one or both first-round selections (he was right!). Before the trade up, this was how he believed they might use them.
Herbie Teope, The Star’s Chiefs beat writer, has his own take. Over the past month, he’s come up with weekly mock drafts examining how the team might best utilize each of its selections. Here’s a link to his newest mock ...
Old-school lids
The NFL’s lineup of draft-day headwear includes a throwback look for the Chiefs that not everyone was loving on Thursday.
Lunch with us
We’re planning a livestream draft show at noon Friday at Kansascity.com. Join host Blair Kerkhoff, Teope, McDowell and Sam’s fellow columnist Vahe Gregorian to recap Round 1 and look forward to two more rounds Friday night.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 3:00 PM.