Kansas City Chiefs receive mostly good NFL Draft grades from national writers
No one knows for certain how any of the 259 players selected in this year’s NFL Draft will perform as professionals.
Just look back at the criticism the Chiefs got for selecting Patrick Mahomes 10th overall in 2017. Or the low expectations for Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who was selected 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft.
But national NFL writers mostly think the Chiefs did well with their draft class this year. Here are the grades the Chiefs received from seven writers.
USA Today’s Nate Davis gave the Chiefs an A-minus.
Here is a piece of his story: “LB Nick Bolton and C Creed Humphrey, both late second-rounders who some thought would go earlier, seem likely to be starters no later than the midpoint of the 2021 season for a team with few job openings.”
Chad Reuter of NFL.com awarded the Chiefs an A.
This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “The Chiefs moved down from 31 to 58 as part of the trade for left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., in addition to sending third- and fourth-round picks to the Ravens (and swapping late-round picks). It’s not a cheap price, but given the results of Super Bowl LV, when Patrick Mahomes was running for his life, it is an understandable deal. Bolton’s the kind of attacking defender the Chiefs needed at the second level, though they could have used help at other spots. Humphrey was a steal at 63 to tighten up the middle of the line.”
The Ringer’s Danny Kelly also issued an A to the Chiefs.
Here is part of what he wrote: “If we account for the addition of offensive tackle Orlando Brown ― as Kansas City acquired him from the Ravens in exchange for its 2021 first-round pick ― then this draft class looks outstanding. But it’s a quality group even if we don’t.“
ESPN’s Mel Kiper gave the Chiefs a B.
This is a portion of what he wrote: “Give credit to Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, who took big steps to try to turn Kansas City’s weakness along the offensive line — Patrick Mahomes was running for his life in the Super Bowl LV loss — into a strength. Veach & Co. signed Joe Thuney, Kyle Long, and Austin Blythe in free agency and then traded for a left tackle in Orlando Brown Jr., who is likely to get a monster contract extension. The Chiefs also get back Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, who opted out of last season, and re-signed Mike Remmers.”
The Chiefs got a C from Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr.
Here is a snippet of what he wrote: “Nick Bolton was a necessity as teams rush to gobble up off-ball linebacking help, though devoting resources there prevented Kansas City from addressing the edge rusher position until the fourth round.”
Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports gave the Chiefs a B-plus.
Here is an excerpt from his story: “Bolton and Humphrey could start as rookies, and Brown was the tackle the Chiefs needed. (Joshua) Kaindoh’s pass rushing potential was worth investing at that stage of the draft, Smith can start in this league if his medical situation — two bouts of blood clots — doesn’t hold him back, and (Cornell) Powell flashed a little and gives the Chiefs the big receiver they couldn’t get earlier in the draft. Good group for Brett Veach and Andy Reid.”
Sheil Kapadia of the Athletic gave the Chiefs a B.
This is part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs didn’t have a first-round pick and selected just six players overall. Yet they very well might have come away with at least two immediate starters. That’s pretty good.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2021 at 9:36 AM.
