The Chiefs need edge rushers. These NFL draft prospects have talked with KC, Andy Reid
Auburn edge rusher Derick Hall had a formal interview with the Kansas City Chiefs at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine.
And to hear him tell it ... he enjoyed trying to impress the reigning Super Bowl champions.
“I loved sitting down with Andy Reid and the guys in that room,” Hall said. “Really just showing what I can do, get up on the board, draw up a lot of different things.”
Hall — projected to the Chiefs with the 31st pick in ESPN’s Matt Miller’s recent mock draft — is one prospect who could fit with the Chiefs if they choose to select an edge rusher with the 31st pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
The 6-foot-3, 256-pound senior, said Wednesday he’d also met formally with Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle and Dallas. One goal, he said, was to show his football IQ to potential future employers.
KC’s meet-up was no different.
“Really trying to process the dynamics of the game of the NFL, and getting thrown into the fire. You have the head (Chiefs) guys, the upper chain of command there. So really trying to process that and get it down was the biggest thing for me,” Hall said. “But I loved every second of it, showing what I can do, and they enjoyed it as well.”
KC, based on its current roster situation, certainly seems in line to address edge rusher in April’s draft.
The Chiefs took George Karlaftis in the first round last year but relied on veterans Frank Clark and Carlos Dunlap for many of the remaining snaps. KC has a looming decision on Clark given his contract situation, while Dunlap, 34, is an unrestricted free agent.
There are other draft possibilities too. Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith said he’d recently met with Chiefs staff, admitting that he was a bit starstruck before his interview with Reid and also Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
“Coach Reid, what he did on offense at Philly, what he’s doing with the Chiefs now, he’s affected the game. Those people (Reid and Tomlin) have affected our game. You just have to tell them that,” Smith said. “You just can’t walk in, ‘Oh yes sir, this, that.’ They’re coaches. They’re people too. And I just want to let them know how much they affected my life as a football player.”
Smith, projected to the Chiefs at 31st in Daniel Jeremiah’s recent NFL.com mock draft, is a 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior once ranked the nation’s top high-school player by 247sports.
“I’m an explosive guy. I’ve got a good first step, and I really love ball,” Smith said. “I’ve been playing it since I was 4, and I really watch (Buffalo’s) Von Miller and see how he does things. He’s like poetry in motion to me.”
LSU’s BJ Ojulari is another prospect that could fit into the Chiefs’ plans at 31. Ojulari — USA Today’s mock draft this week had him as KC’s first-round pick — is a 6-3, 250-pound junior named first-team All-SEC.
He was asked Wednesday what he hoped NFL personnel would learn about him this week at the Combine.
“I just want them to know that when they’re drafting me, they’re gonna get a leader, a great teammate, a person who’s going to be accountable and doing their job,” Ojulari said. “And my teammates can trust me to do my job.”
Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey — another projected late-first-round-type player — also told reporters Wednesday he had met with the Chiefs at the Combine.
