The Kansas Chiefs were exposed a bit in the Super Bowl when they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22. The team entered the offseason clearly needing help on the offensive line, especially now after trading away Joe Thuney. They also need more pass rushers to help out Chris Jones.
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In an article on ideal draft scenarios by Chad Reuter of NFL.com, he has the Chiefs addressing those needs with their first two picks, selecting Aireontae Ersery, an offensive lineman out of Minnesota, and defensive tackle Joshua Farmer, a defensive lineman out of Florida State.
Ersery has ideal size for a blocker on the outside, who would join incoming free-agent addition Jaylon Moore as part of an offensive line overhaul.
Patrick Mahomes normally looks like a superhuman at quarterback, but he looked very human last season and in the Super Bowl, making the offensive line arguably the top need of the team.
Adding Ersery with the 31st pick, or whoever is the best offensive lineman available at 31, makes a lot of sense for the Chiefs. If the Chiefs don’t love their options at offensive line at 31, a trade up or trade down also likely fits into an ideal draft scenario.
The next pick the Chiefs have is at 63, where defensive line is considered their ideal pick. In what is considered a deep defensive line class, grabbing the best one available at 63 seems like a good idea.
Farmer could provide a spark on the defensive interior and also could serve as a long-term replacement for 30-year-old Chris Jones if he takes time to develop, which is certainly possible as a late second-round pick.
A potential alternative at 63 would be possibly selecting a running back, another deep position group in this year’s class.
The team still has Isaiah Pacheco, but he didn’t look like the same player coming back from injury, leading to veteran running back Kareem Hunt to split touches with him, neither being all that effective down the stretch.
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Overall, the Chiefs have clear needs in the trenches on both sides of the ball, so it seems certain they will address both with their first two picks in the draft. It will be interesting to see how the draft board falls, as it could lead to the team reaching for a player, or possibly trading up or down.
The Chiefs will be an interesting team to watch come draft night given their clear needs and motivation to bounce back from a difficult loss last year.
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