Kansas City Chiefs Select Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis Live 2012 NFL Draft Grade

With the 11th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

Here is our scouting report on Poe:

Thoughts

Poe is not a name a casual draft follower will not be onto yet, but as soon as the pre-draft process rolls around everyone will know who this massive specimen of a man is. Poe is absolutely huge and has good athleticism to boot. He has an intriguing blend of size, strength, and athleticism. He is not going to make a ton of plays at the N.F.L. level, but he’s going to open up a lot of room for other players to make plays. His potential to play nose tackle also greatly boosts his draft stock. I project  Poe as a 1st or second round pick more because of the position he plays and his upside, more so than his ability right now today. He has a lot of technical work to do to play with better leverage and learn how to beat double teams most consistently

His draft stock will depend a lot on the pre-draft process because he doesnt play a heavy slate of top competition. He’s competing with players like Josh Chapman and Alameada Ta’amu to be the first nose tackle taken off the board (my favorite of the three prospects is Te’amu)

NFLmocks preseason bio

Poe has the ability to be a dominant defensive tackle in the NFL, but what is the knock on most of these giant, 6’5″ 350 pound kids nowadays? They sometimes take plays off. That may be the case with Poe, but he is still a top ten defensive tackle heading into this year after two very productive years with the Memphis Tigers. Started all 12 games last year and finished the season with 41 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks to follow up a freshman season where he had seven tackles for loss, and two more sacks. He has already forced six fumbles in his Memphis career, and he should be one of the best defensive tackles coming out this year should he choose to do so. He is a massive gap clogger whose size indicates he is a perfect fit to play nose guard at the next level, but I think he is athletic enough to play in any scheme.

Live 2012 Draft Grade: B-

This pick fits a need for the Chiefs, but Poe is extremely raw. He has a ton of talent and has been compared to Haloti Ngata. If this pick is a hit, the Chiefs have the makings of a dominant defense.