Chiefs got ‘steal of first round’ and high draft grades from most of national media
For the first time since 2015, the Kansas City Chiefs used a first-round pick in the NFL Draft on a defensive player.
And for the first time in franchise history, the Chiefs had two first-round selections and they didn’t use at least one of them on an offensive player.
National NFL media members were impressed with the Chiefs draft for most part.
Here’s what was written about the Chiefs taking Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie with the 21st pick and Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis at No. 30.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco gave the Chiefs a B-minus for selecting McDuffie and an A for the Karlaftis pick.
Here is what Prisco wrote about KC drafting Karlaftis: “I love this pick by the Chiefs. They needed to get pass rush help and this kid can help. He is a player who plays hard all the time. If they are to beat the Bills and the great passers in the AFC West, they have to get more pressure. This is a good pick.”
Chad Reuter of NFL.com handed the Chiefs an A for selecting the two defensive players.
This is a snippet from his story: “The Chiefs traded up eight spots to select McDuffie. While there was a lot of discussion about whether he had adequate arm length to be an NFL corner, McDuffie’s simply a versatile, tough and intelligent defender outside and inside, filling a big roster need for Kansas City.”
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski gave the Chiefs a B for picking McDuffie and an A for taking Karlaftis.
This is an excerpt from that story: “Kansas City’s defense completely changed after the team acquired Melvin Ingram III in a midseason trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Karlaftis can do the same for the scheme. Chris Jones can work primarily from the interior, while Karlaftis can primarily work off the edge opposite Frank Clark.”
The Chiefs were given a B-plus for both picks from Yahoo Sports’ Eric Edholm.
Here is what he wrote about McDuffie: “This is not the Washington corner we thought it would end up with, but McDuffie is a hyper-competitive, fast, man-cover corner with a compact frame and ball skills. A pass rusher or receiver appeared to be on the docket, but how can we argue with the trade up here to get one of our favorite players? McDuffie brings a Tyrann Mathieu-caliber energy, which will work in Kansas City.”
NBC Sports’ Chris Simms called Karlaftis an “awesome” pick.
The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer handed the Chiefs a B for the McDuffie selection and an A for Karlaftis.
This is what he wrote about the latter: “The Chiefs, like the Packers, avoid reaching on a wide receiver and get the best player available in Karlaftis, a different kind of ‘Greek freak.’ He has some special natural qualities in getting after the quarterback and gives the team some flexibility. It can now keep Chris Jones inside and get at least good situational production opposite fading Frank Clark. The Chiefs rebounded well on pass defense with Karlaftis complementing new corner Trent McDuffie.”
The Chiefs got a C-minus for picking McDuffie and a B or Karlaftis from the Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia.
Here is part of what he wrote about McDuffie: “I don’t love the Chiefs’ process here. Their key to success is offensive efficiency. Here, they trade for an undersized corner with limited ball production and limited man coverage reps. McDuffie can cover and tackle. He could turn out to be a fine player. But I don’t think I would have been this aggressive to land him here.”
Pro Football Focus gave the Chiefs a “very good” mark for choosing McDuffie and an “elite” grade for taking Karlaftis.
This is what they wrote about Karlaftis: “Karlaftis’ slide ends with the Chiefs at 30th overall, making him the biggest steal of Round 1. He turned in a 90.6 pass-rush grade as one of the few game-wreckers in college football last season. Also known as the college football Greek Freak, the 6-foot-4, 266-pounder boasts some of the best hand usage in the class and plays with big-time power and an impressive get-off. Karlaftis turned in the fourth-best win rate in the Power Five on true pass-rushes this past season despite being consistently chipped, doubled and cut.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 9:31 AM.
