Draft Grade
 

Because I know it absolutely pisses people off here.

Overall Grade B

1-32 Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU - Grade A

Surrounding Mahomes with weapons is never a bad idea and Clydro will provide him a safety net underneath against zone coverage and he's a solid short-yardage runner that can extend drives. Obviously, I'm not a believer in taking a RB in round 1 but I think returning 20 starters gives the team some form of luxury. I had a higher grade on DE AJ Epenesa who went far later than I expected, so we'll see how that plays out over the next few years. One thing for certain, KC got an immediate contributor at a position that needed added talent.

2-63 Willie Gay, Jr., LB, Mississippi State - Grade D+

If I were grading on effort, the Chiefs would get a solid B but I just don't like the player. Logan Wilson, taken 2 picks later, was widely regarded the better prospect and it wasn't even a debate. Gay, to me personnally, was a guy you take in the late 4th or 5th round as a developmental traits-based guy, but Veach saw the traits and took him much earlier. I think this is a severe reach but if he pans out then Veach will make me look silly. I'm not sure I'm taking that chance this early, especially given the academic fraud and fight with his QB. I think this is a position KC needed an immediate player at and they took a guy I expect to take 2 years to develop, if he ever does. This isn't a F-level bomb job in my opinion but I can't really fathom Gay being the better player over Wilson, who comps favorably to SF stud MLB Fred Warner. Hopefully, I have an A grade on this in 3 years and not the D+ I have today. I'd rather look stupid than smart on this one.

3-96 Lucas Niang, OT, TCU - Grade A

Let me preface with saying Niang is a first-round caliber offensive tackle, no doubt about it. The fact he was a day 2 pick was because of his injury. The fact KC got him at 96 is almost mind-blowing. This is a player I thought KC would have to take at 63 if he even made it that far. This certainly offsets my feelings about the reach for Gay and the draft as a whole. If you told me post draft that it went 1 Niang, 2 Edwards-Helaire, and 3 Gay, I wouldn't have flinched, so that's a plus from a personal angle.

4-138 L'Jarius Sneed, CB/S, Louisiana Tech - Grade A

I really, really like Sneed's tape as a CB. I'm not super high on him as a safety though so the confirmation that KC was looking to play him at CB made me feel really good about this pick. He has speed for days, he's a guy that plays the ball, and he's physical through the route. He doesn't have the hips or the feet you want right out the gate but I think he's really similar to Charvarious Ward and will improve there. The Chiefs had to address defensive backs in this draft and they had me nervous waiting this long. I thought they'd take one early on, especially with Trevon Diggs sitting there as another long and physical guy in round 1.

5-177 Michael Danna, DE, Michigan - Grade C-

This wasn't a guy I was unfamiliar with. I live in Michigan plus I'm an Ohio State fan. I've seen the product at both Central and the U. I think there's some excitement as a physical specimen there but it's more power/explosion based. I think he's a tenancious player that's going to give you everything he can. I think if you leave him out on the edge and let him just do his thing, he's a better player than bumping him down inside at times. Certainly, he doesn't have much length and I don't know if he has enough athleticism to overcome what he lacks there. I think you always look at an initial grade on a player and then you look at what you would have taken instead, because that really backs it up. For me, there were three players sitting there I would have taken long before Danna in Wake Forest LB Justin Strnad to hedge my bets on Willie Gay and provide more on special teams, Michigan WR Donovan Peoples-Jones to plan for DRob and Sammy leaving after 2020, or Kansas OT Hakeem Adeniji who is a guy you plan to kick inside. With Niang on board, Adeniji has less appeal. Honestly, I think I would have opted for Peoples-Jones. I think that if you can unlock that potential he's going to be a really special player. He has the juice to be a Sammy Watkins.

7-237 Thakarius Keyes, CB, Tulane - Grade B+

Count me among those that were thrilled KC gave up a 2021 6th to jump back in and take this guy. He was on my list of late round favorites and I certainly think he has a future if he can prove that he can stay in phase with NFL receivers. I don't like his deep speed, I don't like his hips and feet right now, and I don't like that he opens up to routes too early, allowing receivers to get underneath him. That said, I like his length and his physicality and how he fits with Spags. I think he has some correctable aspects to his game. Pitt CB Dane Jackson went a couple picks later to Buffalo and I think he's just a tad better prospect, but I'm hopeful this kid turns out.

I give it an A-, would’ve been an A+ if they took Watkins or Peoples-Jones in the 5th.

I'm just hoping you're right about Willie Gay and I'm wrong. That's the lynchpin of the draft. They had to get a coverage WLB in this thing.

My grade: Long D

Because that's what the AFC is getting in their asses all year long.

I see no path forward for Danna on this roster. I will say that I will ride and die with Branden Daly and Daly seems to love the kid, but he’s not the right size, didn’t produce, and isn’t the athlete we need him to be.

He has no path forward for this team that makes sense. I think he’s cut in two years.

Every other pick made sense to me, and some were grand slams, like Clydro, who is basically Joseph Addai, and Gay, who I think is an athletic version of Burfict.

I wish they’d just keep Niang as a swing tackle — there’s value in that and it gives us the ability to plug him in there in a year or two for one of our tackles if need be. I don’t like the plan to play him at guard — kccrow, do you think he projects well there?

You were magnificent this draft season, kccrow. We don’t deserve you.

I cant believe you are so down on Gay. I thought that was our best pick of the whole draft.

B+

It will be an A if Niang is a good starting LG. It will be an A+ if Niang becomes a quality starting LT.

I'm super lazy and would be largely KCCrow (apart from the Willie Gay thing, though I believe some of his concerns do have merit, the talent is just unreal). So I shall teal his format and remove all analysis.

Overall Grade A-

1-32 Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU - Grade B+

A player + B positional value = B+ grade. Don't love the idea of RB in 1 but man does he fit nicely.

2-63 Willie Gay, Jr., LB, Mississippi State - Grade A-

I'm willing to gamble on the come here; unreal ability. Gotta get smarter and be put in the right places to succeed.

3-96 Lucas Niang, OT, TCU - Grade A-

Mentioned Niang as a viable 2nd round pick in the lead up to the mock. I worry about a should issue with an OL, but he could be a long-term starter at both G or even T. And if his warts remain, he's almost still going to be a damn nice pass-blocker. His strengths are where we need them to be. That's a spectacular pick in the late 3rd.

4-138 L'Jarius Sneed, CB/S, Louisiana Tech - Grade A-

"Here Spags, make this guy great..." -- I can live with that.

5-177 Michael Danna, DE, Michigan - Grade C-

I gave it a C because this is a pretty average 5th round pick but a guy who's an odd fit here to my eyes. And there were some guys on the board I'd have liked more.

7-237 Thakarius Keyes, CB, Tulane - Grade A-

Because the pick is so late it's hard to care much either way - the draft capital expended is deminimis. But like Sneed, this is a really toolsy kid and Veach trusts his staff.



All told I'm extremely happy with this draft. Just felt like I should ultimately end up on record somewhere so here it is.

I’m happy with the draft myself but Danna shows nothing that suggests he’s a viable guy for this team.

I don’t think that’s an average 5th round pick. I think that would be garbage for the 7th round. For the 5th round, it’s an F.

I do think this is the best defensive coaching staff we’ve ever had, but we had these same “hey that guy doesn’t have a clear fit!” questions with Speaks and DOD and they’ve both shown nothing so far. I suspect the same will be true with Danna.

That said, since I’m saying this again: I ride and die with this coaching staff, and Branden Daly specifically, and Daly seems to adore the kid. That bodes VERY well for him. But all other indicators that we typically rely on to figure out if a guy will stick tell us this guy won’t, and no amount of Mitch Holthus/BJ Kissel/Craig Stout whitewashing will change that. I want to see it on the field.

Spags and Daly see something in Danna. I'm wondering what Danna is really good at. Gotta be something . . . I trust Spags and Daly so I'm guessing that by the last quarter of the season we'll see what they saw in him.

Fypp

Willie is another name for penis, and gay is gay. This pick is Raisin Bran for you. It's two scoops of gay, and you eat it up as a hearty breakfast every day to replenish your energy after a long night of ass play with Bruce.

This draft was a swing for the fences. With the exception of Danna, all of the players have extreme measurables.

FYP

On the Michael Danna thing...

Not every pick is a home run. Hell, not every pick is even going to be on the team at the start of the 2021 season.

You let guys like Veach swing for the fences. You let him have his WTF picks. Maybe once every 10 years you draft a long snapper and it ends up being Jared Allen. Totally worth it.

It didn't work out with Kahlil Mckenzie. It worked out for Rashad Fenton. At least Veach is saving those WTF picks for the ends of our draft (at the time, Danna was our last draft pick).

Each loud he busts probably has enough anti bodies to cure thousands from covid.

On a serious note the biggest knock on Gay could be the part of reading and diagnosing plays. Fair enough hes still far superior compared to any linebacker other than ODaniel who's more the size of a safety.

As far as Danna in the 5th round? Aside from being a 5th round pick he went from Central Michigan to Michigan. That school hasnt struggled in bringing in talent so its obvious he was a player in college. Now compare him to say AJ Espenza who some thought was a late round first are the measurables that much different?

One-upping the laziness and just quoting you and inserting my comments and grades.

I think this was a great draft. Veach really trending up well.

Particularly, I like Veach's seeming willingness to think outside the box and zag when others are zigging. He's creative in adding talent and I like the way he uses QUANTITY when taking shots on guys who have the tools. Between Sneed, Bopete, and the UDFA CBs they're bringing in, I'm confidente they get at least one starting-caliber CB out of this rookie class, and a few have star potential.

CEH will give them the depth and dependability at RB the team missed a little in 2019, and he gives them a weapon to lean on along with Kelce and Hill after Watkins leaves, which I thought was a MUST in this draft. It will give them more flexibility at WR after this season, because they won't need to match the playmaking threat of Watkins right away.

I'll also throw some love on Kalifa Lipscomb as an UDFA. The dude is a great route-runner and has good hands. He performed well in SEC play against some dynamic CBs, too. I see a potential future starter at the X.

I think Willie is a Ryan Shazier (pre-injury LMAO) type player in attitude and speed... I think you will be eating some KCCROW a year from now...:eek:

Look at the whole offseason in giving the Chiefs a grade. Look at the draft, UDFA, and free agent signings.

A - WRs – Renegotiated Sammy Watkins contract, re-signed Demarcus Robinson, and signed UDFAs Kalija Lipscomb, Cody White, Justice Shelton-Mosley, Andre Baccellia, Maurice Ffrench, and Aleva Hifo.
We are good for 2020 and we will see what 2021 brings.

B+ - CBs –Re-signed Bashaud Breeland, signed Antonio Hamilton, drafted L'Jarius Sneed, Thakarius Keyes, and signed UDFAs Javaris Davis, Lavert Hill, and Hakeem Bailey. KC lost Kendall Fuller to Washington Redskins.
I’d like to have another CB because of the uncertainty of Bashaud Breeland and rookie CBs

B - LB – Drafted Willie Gay, and signed UDFAs Omari Cobb, and Bryan Wright. KC lost Reggie Ragland to Detroit Lions.
I don’t think Willie Gay can fix KC’s LB corps and they need a little more.

A - OL – Released Cameron Erving, signed Mike Remmer, drafted Lucas Niang and signed UDFAs Yasir Durant, Darryl Williams, and Jovahn Fair. KC lost Sefen Wisniewski to Pittsburgh Steelers.

A - DL – Franchise tag Chris Jones, re-signed Mike Pennel, signed Taco Charlton, drafted Mike Danna, and signed UDFA Tershawn Wharton. KC lost Emmanuel Ogbah to Miami Dolphins.

A - RB/FB – Re-signed Anthony Sherman, signed DeAndre Washington, drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

A - QB – Re-signed Chad Henne, signed Jordan Ta’amu, placed on waivers Kyle Shurrmur, and signed UDFA Shea Patterson.

A - P - Released Dustin Colquitt, signed Tyler Newsome, and signed UDFA Tommy Townsend.

B+ - TE – Signed Ricky Seals-Jones, placed on waivers Alize Mack. KC lost Blake Bell to Dallas Cowboys.
I would still like 1 more good quality backup TE.

A - S – Signed UDFAs Rodney Clemons and Jalen Julius. KC lost Jordan Lucas to Chicago Bears.
I think a player from CB group will be playing some safety.

But probably an overall grade of A on Kansas City Chiefs offseason moves.

“ Logan Wilson, taken 2 picks later, was widely regarded the better prospect and it wasn't even a debate.”

I’d say there’s considerable room for debate.

It's really hard not to swap out the ol' screen name to something like "Gay's Willie" or something equally graphic and off-putting...

But he's not even a starter yet and man, you don't **** with a winning streak.

No, there really wasn't. Most evaluators had Wilson as the most complete LB in the draft, including the popular TV guys like Jeremiah. Nobody had much to say about Gay except for he had exciting measurables. Gay wasn't even a day 2 consideration by many boards and especially wasn't more than a late day 3 consideration before the combine. Wilson was in the top 60-65 on most boards throughout.

I'm desperately hoping Veach didn't blow this pick but history isn't exactly on his side, and neither were evaluations. He has a long way to go to turn that athleticism into a meaningful contribution for an NFL team looking at him coming in. Let us hope the clay is easily moldable.

https://i.imgur.com/KGQvqbc.jpg

Many people had Gay above Wilson. I don’t know where you get that from. Did most have Wilson higher? Probably, but it shouldn’t have been a shocker that Gay went before him. Dude is a legit top 20 talent and you continue to ignore that. Also, don’t you think Matt House knows what he wants at LB? I honestly don’t get the pessimism at all given his upside and the coaching he will receive.

I think Willie Gay will help at LB but we need some depth. If one of the starters goes down we would be in trouble unless someone that did not play last year really steps up.

I'll repeat that absolutely nobody had Gay anywhere near Wilson before the Combine. I said this the first and second time. Some boards he wasn't on, most he was in the 5th to 7th range. He shot up boards because of the combine. Combine warriors are dangerous and you know that.

Is he a legit top 20 talent? We'll find out won't we, because he wasn't available to be that in college and he made plenty of mistakes on the field when he was. He needs coaching, good coaching. He needs to finally commit to being available.

If you want to quote Jeremiah, here's what he said about Wilson when he was picked: "I think you're gonna look back five years from now and we're gonna talk about this being one of the best picks in this year's draft class," NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said during ESPN's draft broadcast. "This kid reminds me so much of (San Francisco 49ers linebacker) Fred Warner. ... He's just got phenomenal cover-ability - his ability to be an athlete, move in space, match up, range sideline to sideline. ... There's no hesitation to his game whatsoever. And when you're in a division with Lamar Jackson and company, you better be able to play sideline to sideline and make plays. That's what Logan Wilson does. I love this pick for the Cincinnati Bengals."

Do I trust Matt House? No, not especially. Not yet. He's never been anywhere to show a continuous trend of development of players at the position. I think he's always gone to situations where he inherited some talent. You look at his one year he got to spend in Carolina with Thomas Davis and Landon Johnson. He went to be a piece at the beginning of James Laurinaitis' career in St. Louis, the best LB perhaps to ever play at Ohio State. Then he bounced around in the college game with a year or two here and there. His 3 years in Kentucky, he had Josh Allen, which helps a ton. Did he develop Allen? Hard to say because he stepped in Allen's Sophomore year. He certainly put Allen in a position to succeed along with Mike Edwards. In any event, I'll give House credit when I see the development of LBs here in KC. He has a GOLDEN opportunity with Gay and O'Daniel to do that. I didn't see much change or improvement in Hitchens last year, so pardon me if I come off a bit jaded when it comes to House's abilities so far.

Overall, I'm as intrigued as I am worried about the pick. The potential with Gay is obviously higher but the floor is also incredibly lower. I'd have went the "safer" avenue, and that safer avenue is pretty highly touted.

What team’s boards and link your sources.

Exactly. To be fair, I’m pretty sure that crow is talking about guys in the media, but that’s irrelevant.

Teams have a good idea what guys that are going to go to the combine will test like. Just because he wasn’t really on everybody in the media’s radar before the combine, doesn’t mean that teams weren’t already high on him.

I mean it’s not like you can’t see the athleticism and upside on tape.

Also, this team is usually going to gamble on the HR as opposed to the safe pick. It’s our identity as a front office.

And I don’t see how anybody care argue with that approach given how well it’s worked out for them.

I would have been happy with Wilson or Gay. It just so happened that Gay was the most athletic/measured LB at the combine not named Isaiah Simmons and he made big plays in the best conference in college football.

It was easy to see why they liked him so much, and as everyone has been saying...we needed speed badly at LB. The Super Bowl really exposed that glaring weakness.

Douchebag response as expected knowing original boards were altered 97 times in the process. I'll appease your douchebagedness (yes that's a new CP word now), however and this is at the END of the process.

But here's one that still had Gay below Wilson...
http://www.thehuddlereport.com/valueboard.shtml

Another with Gay as the 11th ranked OLB and slightly lower round range
http://www.draftscout.com/players.ph...XPos&order=ASC
than Wilson as 3rd ranked ILB
http://www.draftscout.com/players.ph...XPos&order=ASC

Or NFL.com with a 6.33 rating on Wilson and a 6.13 on Gay
https://www.nfl.com/draft/tracker/pr...=ALL&year=2020

Who have they really gambled on that was a huge risk versus reward type?

I'd argue the other athletics traits guys they've went for haven't really worked out. Kpass and Ford are the big ones that come to mind for me.

Reek was a 5th rounder, so not exactly a big risk there.

I'd caution against tossing the 'combine warrior' tag on Gay for one reason only - in this case I think the combine did what it is supposed to do - send teams back to the tape.

Very few guys really explode up real team's draft boards because of the combine anymore. Oh sure, media guys fall in love with them, but that means precisely dick. I know how much you read about this shit and you know as well as I do, the overwhelming majority of teams use the combine to give them a chance to re-consider a guy's tape. Even if they crush the combine, a team's just gonna go back to the tape because of that and if the guy can't play, the combine performance won't do anything other than turn them into a 3rd day flyer when they may have otherwise gone undrafted. It rarely moves you into day 2.

Gay - admittedly for reasons of his own making - just didn't have that much tape. He had less of an opportunity to show out on film and that made him a little more prone to falling under some radars. Then when he went out there and torched the combine, teams went back and made a concerted effort to see what he put on tape.

And yes, he showed those wasted steps, occasional over-aggressiveness and tendency towards being a little raw in his reads. But man, he also showed fantastic coverage tools. Not just on a stopwatch but on a football field. He showed a downhill, hitters mentality. When you made a point to watch him, sure you noticed some flaws, but you also noticed some MAJOR strengths.

I don't think the Chiefs drafted him in the 2nd because of his combine. I think they drafted him because his combine got them to give his tape a 2nd (and 3rd, and probably 4th) look.

I think time will tell us that the Chiefs used the combine exactly as it SHOULD be used in honing in on Gay.

I’m not talking just about athleticism and I’m also not necessarily talking about risk/reward. I’m talking about upside in general.

Gay, Jones, Kpass, Mahomes, Kelce, Tyreek, Thornhill, Peters, Ford, Hardman, Sneed, Saunders, etc.

All of those guys were/are upside picks, for one reason or another. Some based purely on athleticism, some based on traits, etc.

How can you argue that this team doesn’t clearly draft for upside (not saying you are)?

So what you’re telling me is that you have no clue how teams actually rated these two.

I think it's one thing to armchair GM if you have a shit team, or a demonstrably shit GM.

It's another thing when you're kind of a middle of the pack-almost there type team, which we've been for years.

And it's yet another thing when your young GM has built a Super Bowl winner, completely remaking the defensive side of the ball on the fly.

I'll say there are some picks there that I don't understand, like Danna. I'm not sure what they're thinking there. They're thinking something, and I assume at some point I'll see it.

But I wouldn't even try at this point to assume that I know more about it than Veach, Spags, or Daly.

They have earned the right to show me without my second-guessing.

My favorite picks of the draft: Clyde and Niang. I expect both to be studs.

Biggest HR swing: Gay. If he refines his game, he'll be a force.

What the **** does that have to do with anything you reeruned ****wit?

I'm going to shit all over this place the entire ****ing offseason next year as you reeruns prognosticate and then prance around your little half-baked mock draft.

****ing stupid statement. That's what this entire forum is based upon.

And then I’ll just ban your dumbass from the draft forum.

Loved the Edwards-Helaire pick. Having your pick of the RB litter while filling a large hole is tremendous value. Veach played it well as Swift, Taylor, Akers, Dobbins, and Dillon all went before KC’s pick in round 2.

Gay was a bit of surprise in round 2 with such limited play in college. I’m not worried about the cheating scandal. More worried about punching his starting QB going into a Bowl game. That brings red flags for me. However, when on the field, you can see what Veach loves. He’s athletic, physical, nasty. He’ll play early.

Niang looks like a steal in round 3. Could be the future at RT. Could play early at Guard. Provides great depth in the meantime.

This is where the draft went a little sideways for me. I would have loved Bryce Hall in the 4th. Maybe there is more to his injury than we know. But the idea of he and Thornhill would have been fun. Instead, they take Sneed who was arguably the second best CB on a LA Tech team that moved him to safety. Not sold. Danna is a head-scratcher. Small school guy who didn’t get a ton of playing time after transferring to Michigan. Also doesn’t look the part of a Spags DE. Took a late flyer on Keyes...neither high or low on him.

Really impressed with their UDFA haul. I think Lavert Hill could not only make the team, but play before Sneed or Keyes. They scored their new punter/holder in Townsend, and added a few WR’s that had draftable grades. Add Williams and Jarvaris Davis, and it makes the back of the draft look even better.

:facepalm:

Do it. Put him out of his misery once and for all.

Willie Gay looks like what we needed for this defense. I think some on here get tunnel vision for certain players in the draft, and when the Chiefs pick someone different- they take it out on the drafted player.

We saw this with the Watson crowd. And now with CEH and Gay.

I'm fine with anybody who liked Watson or even wanted to draft him, but once we took Mahomes, if people said, "We drafted the wrong QB!" they're butt****ing morons.

:D

We got a C- for the Mahomes draft, but I think it has worked out pretty well so far.

My optimism for this draft is rooted in seeing Andy, and Veech giddy over getting CEH.

They seemed pretty pumped to be able to plug Gay in the middle of this defense as well. Hard to believe that they are so far off the mark that these guys will be bust. It looks like they addressed two major weaknesses with this team.

We are better on paper than last year- looking forward to see if it is real.

Oh, bow down before he who waves the mighty stick undeservedly.

I'm certainly guilty of tunnel vision on certain players but Wilson isn't the entire reason behind the grade and overall for my worry with the Gay pick. I've had a hard-on for others that have flamed out and been worried about some that panned out so it's absolutely imperfect science.

The Chiefs swung for the fences with Kpass and he's just becoming a serviceable reserve. They swung on Breeland Speaks, misused him, and he's a flame-out or so it appears. I championed that pick so yay me... perfect example. They swung on Hardman and he looks to be a solid player and I didn't particularly love the pick. I was much higher on Parris Campbell and Terry McLaurin but chalked it up as maybe being too much of an OSU homer.

The "safe" guys they took in 2 like Jones and Thornhill have been or look to be home runs. Hell, my opinion was Thornhill was a 1st rounder. He played like one.

Gay worries me a ton, and for a 2nd round pick heading into the Mahomes' contract era I don't like that feeling. As I said, hopefully I'm wrong and Veach and Co are right. I'd rather eat crow on a stud than boast about being right about a flop.