Think Kansas City will definitely grab a wide receiver? Think again.
The Kansas City Chiefs are on the prowl for a third straight Super Bowl, but they’ve got to address a couple of big gaps left on the roster. There’s no better time to do that than the NFL Draft.
The conventional wisdom in the lead-up to the draft has been that KC will use the No. 32 overall pick to get Patrick Mahomes some more help. He was already working with a weak receiving corps and now Rashee Rice is in trouble with the law. The team’s best returning WR could be facing a multi-game suspension.
But there are rumblings that could be pointing in a different direction. That’s because the Chiefs also need help on the offensive line and the window to address that need is narrow.
NFL Draft rumor mill suggests Chiefs could take Kingsley Suamataia
Benjamin Albright’s most recent mock draft has the Chiefs going with offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia out of BYU with the final pick of the first round. Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News also projects that selection.
It’s not just prognostications from Albright and Iyer that have us thinking Suamataia could be the pick. There’s tons of talk out there about a run on offensive tackles in the first round.
“I think at least seven, and maybe eight…tackles go in the first round. I also think that could wind up knocking the second tier of receivers down the board a little on the premise that teams that need both, and there are a few, stand a way better chance of finding a really good receiver on Day 2 than they do a tackle,” Albert Breer wrote for Sports Illustrated.
The Chiefs are one of those teams that need both. So it could come down to a calculated choice.
Brett Veach even hinted at it during his pre-draft press conference.
“I think once you get past like pick 35 or 40, most of those guys [elite OTs] are gone,” Veach said. “So if you’re picking in the top 10, it’s a great offensive line class; if you’re picking in the top 15, it’s a great offensive class; if you’re picking 32 and 64, you got a shot maybe here or there.”
He also said the Chiefs have strong grades on a “large group of receivers” that could be available in the top 50. And remember, Breer mused that WRs could drop because so many teams will chase offensive linemen instead.
If Veach wants to get the best of both worlds, he may have to prioritize OT over WR, at least in the first.
