Kansas City Chiefs
Key Draft Needs: WR, QB, DE
Record: 10-4
Wide Receiver – The Chiefs’ leading receiver this year is their tight end, Travis Kelce, with 65 receptions for 815 yards and three scores. He has 90 targets on the season, and second highest amount of targets seen is 62 by the 5’10” receiver Tyreek Hill. Hill, Jeremy Maclin, Albert Wilson, and Chris Conley round out the Chiefs’ receiving corp.
They need to upgrade and get a receiver who creates a legitimate explosive play threat every time they touch the ball. They could use a big play threat like John Ross III from Washington, or a big boundary target like Juju Smith-Schuster. With a late first round pick, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them take a receiver.
Kansas City’s receivers are not the strong point of their team, and with a stellar defense, and good running game it shouldn’t be farfetched to see them take a talented receiver. There was a time when their receivers didn’t score a touchdown for over a calendar year, stockpiling talent can ensure that won’t happen again.
Quarterback – Alex Smith is enjoying a good year, completing 67.4% of his passes for 2,567 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four interceptions. However, at 32 years old, and with a history of head injuries it’s time to start considering how much time Smith has left. But, not just how much time he has left, how much time he has left in which he can play effectively. Smith’s not a top-tier quarterback, and his contract expires after 2018.
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The Chiefs won’t be able to draft a top quarterback this year given the success they’re enjoying, however, there are some mid-round talents, like Iowa’s C.J. Beathard who fit their scheme. Beathard or a Zach Terrell could be interesting developmental projects, and depth builders.
Look for the Chiefs to add a quarterback in the draft, or sign one as a UDFA once the draft ends. Their team is at a point where they need a top flight quarterback to put them over the top, and barring a trade up, they won’t be able to land one.
Defensive End – The Chiefs are currently deploying Chris Jones and Rakeem Nunez-Roches at defensive end, they could use a younger player in the mix to add depth and talent. Nunez-Roches’ contract expires in 2018, and they’d be wise to add defensive talent in this year’s deep draft.
Some players they can explore in the late first round include Stanford’s Solomon Thomas and Auburn’s Carl Lawson. There are also some talents they can add later like Dawuane Smoot and Harold Landry later on. It also never hurts to add young lineman to build controllable depth in the trenches. The Chiefs defense is very talented already, and their needs are mostly offensive, but it would be useful to upgrade at end in a draft that’s loaded with them. Andy Reid’s defense can only go up from here, why not add talent to make it sustainable in the long-term.