I am not a fan of Veach's "tier" approach.

[Direckshun]

The idea that he has players in layered tiers is not new, of course.

But here's the problem with it: in any tier you care to look at, the most valuable positions get drafted first, because of course they should. Quarterback, tackle, wide receiver, passrusher.

The last players to be chosen in any tier are going to be the lowest value players.

Running back. Linebacker. Interior offensive line.

And here we are. That's been the Chiefs last four picks in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the draft.

It's just not a great approach when you're always at the end of the round, which the Chiefs always will be under Reid and Mahomes. You need to be able to be more flexible.

The Chiefs selected a linebacker (which we do desperately need) and a center (which we kinda needed) when there were really good players in a lower tier still on the board.

How much better is Humphrey going to be than Blythe? Really?

Because remember that when we struggle to get a passrush in December, January, and February. Remember that in the Super Bowl when the Bucs run out the exact same coverage that blanketed us the first time and we still don't have a WR2 that can break free of 1 on 1 coverage. Remember that when, god forbid, one of our corners go down with injury in week 7 and we have to watch Rashad Fenton get raked for 8 weeks.

That being said, the Chiefs did get better this weekend. They just could have gotten a lot better this weekend, with how sexy the board looked when they were up to pick.

Pick by pick reviews.

LB Nick Bolton, Missouri -- The Chiefs probably have the best linebacking corps now that they've had in a decade. Hitchens finally seems to understand the system, Gay looked really solid all year and came on until his injury, and Bolton's going to be really good. He's a smart player with limited athleticism, so really a perfect Spags linebacker. But he may be a two-down player, and I see a lot of Kawika Mitchell in him -- neither of those are deserving of the 2nd round pick we spent. C-

C Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma -- I think Humphrey has Pro Bowl upside, and honestly the Chiefs track record on 2nd round centers is stellar with Mitch Morse and Rodney Hudson. I think he's going to be a starter here for 10 years. I'd had preferred other players, but this was a good get. A-

DE Joshua Kaindoh, Florida State -- I really don't like this pick, and only talked myself into it the day of the draft because we are so desperate at the position. Kaindoh has every bit of the size you need, but he just has no feel for the game. This is a Demetrius-Harris-sized project. Harris turned out to be pretty good, but it took us four years to get there. Kaindoh may yield the same returns at a different position. D+

TE Noah Gray, Duke -- I really hope the loss of Anthony Sherman didn't mess with our heads badly enough to take this guy, as the team later was communicating he could be a flex fullback. It's hard for me to get too worked up about Gray, however, one way or the other. I think he's fine, but a poor fit, but the 5th round on was just garbage in terms of options. C+

WR Cornell Powell, Clemson -- The questions with Powell entirely will be between the ears. He is already physically maxed out and is pretty great with the ball in his hands. I imagine he will peak out in a couple seaons as a WR3 in our offense, but if the Chiefs continue to fail to find a really good WR2, he could ascend to a shrug-WR2, someone to play the position non-pathetically until we find the next Sammy Watkins. I think his ceiling is Chris Conley, which is nothing to write home about, but that's a really great get in a draft this garbage. B+

OG Tre Smith, Tennessee -- Home run. No question. This is why you don't burn $80m on a guard, or draft one in the 2nd round. Dorsey made his living finding really good guards late in the draft, and Veach has finally done it himself. Smith will not crack the lineup this year, but he's going to be our starting RG in 2022 -- bank on it. I have no idea how Veach landed this, when it was late in the 6th round and teams were just taking long snappers because there was no talent left on the board. A+

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by Willie Lanier

So, I just want to make sure I'm understanding your logic, a late second round pick should equate to one of the best at their position in every draft?

You must be quite the draft guru...

I'm amazed Veach hasn't reached out for your input

Bolton was apparently a first round prospect that fell. He was high on some of these experts boards like Daniel Jeremiah.

So yeah there should be high expectations

[RunKC]

Despite any pre-draft issues I had with Bolton, he’s on our team now. I hope the best for him.

Hopefully he becomes an excellent backer for multiple contracts

[htismaqe]

I'm not a huge fan of the pick but the rational side of me sees the value and it's pretty high.

He's going to play this year and he's going to replace Hitchens next year. His floor is probably higher than Hitchens' talent level right now, so it will be an upgrade, even if it's only modest, and save us almost $10M.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Bolton was apparently a first round prospect that fell. He was high on some of these experts boards like Daniel Jeremiah.

So yeah there should be high expectations

That’s not how this works.

If he was taken high than he has high expectations. Just because he was higher on some boards....doesn’t mean shit.

[kcbubb]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Ronnie Perkins.

And, yeah, Basham.

The pick of Bolton tells you that the chiefs liked taco and danna more than perkins and basham. Or liked Bolton better than hitchens in comparison with Perkins or basham vs taco and danna. The chiefs just didn’t like basham or Perkins. Kaindoh has a higher ceiling than either player. He’s huge and long and has an elite 10 yard split. He’s a project but they picked him earlier than anticipated so maybe they see something there. They clearly liked kaindoh in the 4th better than basham or Perkins in the 2nd. Kaindoh is also more of a spags fit.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by kcbubb

The pick of Bolton tells you that the chiefs liked taco and danna more than perkins and basham. Or liked Bolton better than hitchens in comparison with Perkins or basham vs taco and danna. The chiefs just didn’t like basham or Perkins. Kaindoh has a higher ceiling than either player. He’s huge and long and has an elite 10 yard split. He’s a project but they picked him earlier than anticipated so maybe they see something there. They clearly liked kaindoh in the 4th better than basham or Perkins in the 2nd. Kaindoh is also more of a spags fit.

I don't think it tells you any of that.

They may have liked Perkins and Basham better than anyone on the roster and any other edge rushers remaining but didn't have them valued as high as Bolton and Humphrey. It's not like LB and OC weren't also future needs at a minimum.

I personally valued both over Bolton but not over Humphrey, albeit Perkins was a fringe fit here. I'd have likely taken Humphrey over any of them at 58 which takes Basham out of play regardless. If it came to Bolton vs Perkins, that would have been an awfully rough choice to make but I likely would have gone Perkins. It's easy for me to look in retrospect and say Basham and Humphrey but the draft doesn't run that way and you have to think who you would have taken first. Hopefully, Veach comes out the smart one and we all look back and think he made great choices.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I don't think it tells you any of that.

They may have liked Perkins and Basham better than anyone on the roster and any other edge rushers remaining but didn't have them valued as high as Bolton and Humphrey. It's not like LB and OC weren't also future needs at a minimum.

I personally valued both over Bolton but not over Humphrey, albeit Perkins was a fringe fit here. I'd have likely taken Humphrey over any of them at 58 which takes Basham out of play regardless. If it came to Bolton vs Perkins, that would have been an awfully rough choice to make but I likely would have gone Perkins. It's easy for me to look in retrospect and say Basham and Humphrey but the draft doesn't run that way and you have to think who you would have taken first. Hopefully, Veach comes out the smart one and we all look back and think he made great choices.

Listen, I like Perkins too, but he's not a great fit as a 4-3 DE. No real length, no real beef. He's a 3-4 rushbacker. Here in KC, he'd have been a situational pass rusher, and that's not a great value fit. You have to keep the situation in mind as well as you're looking at players and not just fall in love with the kid regardless of scheme fit.

I like Basham alright, but in all honesty, I see him as a high floor, low ceiling player. I seriously doubt he's ever a difference maker type, but will likely be a solid if unspectacular DE. I don't mind rolling the dice later on a guy like Kaindoh, who COULD be a monster player OR could be selling insurance in three years. We've got enough Mike Dannas.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I don't think it tells you any of that.

They may have liked Perkins and Basham better than anyone on the roster and any other edge rushers remaining but didn't have them valued as high as Bolton and Humphrey. It's not like LB and OC weren't also future needs at a minimum.

I personally valued both over Bolton but not over Humphrey, albeit Perkins was a fringe fit here. I'd have likely taken Humphrey over any of them at 58 which takes Basham out of play regardless. If it came to Bolton vs Perkins, that would have been an awfully rough choice to make but I likely would have gone Perkins. It's easy for me to look in retrospect and say Basham and Humphrey but the draft doesn't run that way and you have to think who you would have taken first. Hopefully, Veach comes out the smart one and we all look back and think he made great choices.

I agree with this.

We got Humphrey at 63 which nobody thought could happen. If they would have taken Humphrey at 58, Basham was gone.

I think they got good value and that's what they cared about. Not that they're in love with the guys already on the roster.

[The Franchise]

If they take Humphrey at 58 then I don’t think Bolton is there at 63.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Chris Meck

Listen, I like Perkins too, but he's not a great fit as a 4-3 DE. No real length, no real beef. He's a 3-4 rushbacker. Here in KC, he'd have been a situational pass rusher, and that's not a great value fit. You have to keep the situation in mind as well as you're looking at players and not just fall in love with the kid regardless of scheme fit.

I like Basham alright, but in all honesty, I see him as a high floor, low ceiling player. I seriously doubt he's ever a difference maker type, but will likely be a solid if unspectacular DE. I don't mind rolling the dice later on a guy like Kaindoh, who COULD be a monster player OR could be selling insurance in three years. We've got enough Mike Dannas.

One could argue that Bolton is a similar high floor, low ceiling type player.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by O.city

One could argue that Bolton is a similar high floor, low ceiling type player.

That's a bigger thing at MLB than it is at edge. When you're drafting in the 2nd round and are trying to replace Anthony Hitchens, high floor is something you want.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

That's a bigger thing at MLB than it is at edge. When you're drafting in the 2nd round and are trying to replace Anthony Hitchens, high floor is something you want.

Exactly.

Kaindoh might not have Basham’s high floor, but he definitely has more upside. You can’t find a LB like that in the 4th.

The thing people are missing about Basham is that he’s a guy that you would have to slide inside on passing downs to get the most out of his pass rush abilities.

We don’t need that. We have Jones, Reed, and Wharton. We need a true edge rusher.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by O.city

One could argue that Bolton is a similar high floor, low ceiling type player.

I think Spags was sick and tired of putting Neimann and Sorenson at LB. In our 2 losses to the Raiders and Bucs we got our shit pushed in at the 2nd level.

In the SB we didn’t have Willie Gay, and to their credit Wilson (goal line stop) and Hitchens (forced incompletion in end zone) made plays but if you watch the 2nd half of the SB Brady literally went to the line and audibled.

Is Sorenson in as a LB? Okay we’re running.
Is Neimann in but with Sorenson to put 8 in the box? Okay we’re doing play action.

We had nothing in the middle of the field. It was by far our biggest weakness heading into the draft. They just could not expose Ben Neimann and/or Sorenson at LB anymore.

Add that our biggest competition for a ring requires us to defend the middle of the field and the run. Browns, Ravens and Bucs.

I wasn’t a big Bolton fan but I completely understand the pick

[The Franchise]

Bills signed second-round DE Carlos Basham to a four-year contract.
Basham (6'5/285) received a three-star ranking by all three major scouting outlets before taking a redshirt season in 2016. The well built Roanoke, VA product didn’t flourish until 2018 when he recorded a robust 52 pressures, 64 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a 80.4 overall defensive grade from PFF. “Boogie” didn’t stop there, as he actually increased his production to 60 pressures, 57 tackles, 11.0 sacks and three forced fumbles while boasting first team All-ACC honors in 2019. He has a well developed set of pass rush moves and tends to rely on playing angles rather than overwhelming opponents with his bull rush, and has deceptive agility for his size and often wins with technique. Basham wasn’t quite as productive in 2020, but he showed up ready for his pro day workout, recording a big time 4.64 forty-yard dash along with an excellent 4.25 shuttle to propel his profile to an exceptional 9.54 RAS. Basham has shown the ability to anchor against the run game and deploy an arsenal of pass rush moves over his four years at Wake Forest. He figures to move to the three-technique in Buffalo's 4-3 scheme.

If this is what happens....then I can see why they didn’t take Basham.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by The Franchise

If this is what happens....then I can see why they didn’t take Basham.

He's essentially going to play the same position as Chris Jones. So yeah, no wonder they didn't take him.