Kansas City Chiefs
QB: Ryan Nassib, Matt Hasselbeck
RB: Marshawn Lynch, Ryan Williams
FB: Bruce Miller
WR: Torrey Smith, Emmanuel Sanders, A.J. Jenkins
TE: Martellus Bennett, Vance McDonald, Niles Paul
OT: Jared Veldheer, Phil Loadholt, Marcus Cannon
OG: Kevin Boothe, Uche Nwaneri, Charie Johnson
C: Fernando Velasco
DE: Calais Campbell, Brandon Graham, Andre Branch, Quentin Groves
DT: Marcell Dareus, Sharrif Floyd, Aubrayo Franklin, Kendall Langford, Stephen Bowen
OLB: Jameel McClain, Brooks Reed
MLB: Dannell Ellerbe, Akeem Dent
CB: Richard Sherman, Tarell Brown, Corey Graham, Joselio Hanson
S: Ed Reed, Glover Quin Jr., Jim Leonhard
K: Dan Bailey
P: Pat McAfee
With the 25th pick, I knew I wasn't going to land a franchise QB and therefore wouldn't be an immediate contender. This format gives teams with a franchise QB a huge advantage because the third round reversal simply doesn't do enough to equalize things for the later teams. Therefore, my goal was to build a really young defensive core and an environment that would allow a rookie QB to come in and succeed. I feel like I accomplished my goal overall and I actually think my draft for the Chiefs was better than the Saints.
Offense:
Without an elite franchise QB currently, my offense isn't pretty. I do believe though that I have a team where a quarterback can step in immediately and be successful. I hope Nassib is that player; he is the biggest factor of the team's success. For the first year, I'll live and die by him. I'm okay taking this gamble because of how late I took him. Lots of draft pundits rate Nassib as the best quarterback in this draft class, including Gruden, Cosell, and Lande. He was taken in the fourth round though so I wouldn't be surprised if he never makes a real impact. If Nassib plays well, the Chiefs could be a surprise playoff team. If not, then I would aggressively move up next year to draft Bridgewater or any other QBs my scouts feel are franchise QBs. I can't see this team being mediocre. Either Nassib will do well or he flops and I have a top 5 pick.
My offensive line is full of maulers who will provide a good push in the run game. Most of them aren't stars in pass protection but my offense is built around the run and play action Excluding Adrian Peterson, Lynch might be the best pure runner in the league. Bruce Miller is a good lead blocker. Martellus Bennett is a balanced tight end who can block like a lineman and attack the seam. Vance McDonald is another potential threat at tight end and could enable a lot of 2 TE sets.
Wide receiver is a position I'm not particularly happy with but I'm not really worried about it either. Torrey Smith is a good deep threat but his game isn't very refined. He is still only 24 though and should continue to improve his technique and route running as he gains more experience. Sanders is a crafty second receiver who the Patriots were willing to give up a third rounder for. Jenkins was just a first round pick who has the skillset to be successful in the NFL.
Defense:
Marcell Dareus, Calais Campbell, Sharrif Floyd, Brandon Graham... that's a helluva line that is extremely young. I plan on using multiple fronts and feel like a Seahawks-esque defense is optimal if Floyd is as good as advertised. I envision Floyd as the 3-tech, Graham as the LEO, Dareus as the NT, and Campbell as the bigger DE. Even if Floyd's game doesn't transition as well as I'm hoping, I think Bowen and Langford can create a nice rotation there. DL is probably the biggest strength of the Chiefs.
My defensive backfield is centered around Richard Sherman. Sherman won't be asked to track the other team's top receiver and will stick to his side. Sherman is probably the best cover corner in the league and I'll be relying on him shutting down an entire half of the field. Tarell Brown and Corey Graham have been very good also in their team's respective playoff runs. Cornerback is definitely a strength of this team. Ed Reed is Ed Reed. He's getting older and losing his range, but his instincts are still unbelievably good. Quin Jr. is a versatile safety who can do everything well. In Dime, he will man one of the slot positions, with Graham in the other.
Realistically, looking at my LBs in isolation, they are probably only average. I do think they will look better than they actually are because of my defensive line and secondary. Ellerbe was an effective blitzer and good against the run during the Raven's super bowl run. McClain is Ray Lewis's heir on the Ravens and is another solid player downhill. Brooks Reed is a young, developing player who I like to continue to grow as a player.
Special Teams:
Bailey is good and young. You can't do much better than him. McAfee is one of the best punters in the league and is a good tackler as an added bonus. Niles Paul will serve as the main returner. Sanders would be my ideal returner but he is too important to the offense to risk injury. If Jenkins takes over as WR2, I would feel comfortable with Sanders returning.
Overall, I feel like this draft was better than the draft that the Saints had and I have good talent across the board. However, at best, I feel like the current Chiefs are a wildcard team while it is likely we end up with a top 5-10 pick next year. The Saints on the other hand are a top team in this league and highlights the advantage of getting to start with a franchise QB. I do feel like I have superior, young talent at the non-QB, cornerstone positions. My pass rushers, corners, and offensive tackles are strengths of this team and should be for a long time. I don't have a clue if Nassib is the franchise QB I need or not but I'll give him a shot. Besides QB, the only gaping need I foresee in the immediate future is at FS when Reed retires. I should be set everywhere else for a while.
this is actually kind of exciting for me. I'm pretty surprised that many of the teams that did well weren't the ones with the elite QBs.
