NFL Mock Draft 2021: Patriots, Washington trade up in 3-round mock

2021 NFL Mock Draft: 31st pick

The Kansas City Chiefs know their bread and butter over the next decade plus is going to be on the offensive side of the ball.

They lost Sammy Watkins this offseason and while that doesn’t exactly necessitate a first-round pick to replace him, they would have the chance to get a really good player to insert into the offensive gameplan here at pick number 31 in Rashod Bateman.

At some point, the Chiefs will need to address the tackle positions, but if they feel that Mike Remmers and Lucas Niang and whatever combination of guys they want to use on the interior are good enough to keep Mahomes out of harm’s way.

Rashod Bateman has drawn some comparisons to a guy the Chiefs are quite familiar with — Keenan Allen of the Chargers.

Bateman (like seemingly everyone else) broke the 4.4 barrier in the 40-yard dash at the Minnesota pro day and showed off what makes him such a special talent at the receiver position.

Running in the 4.3’s is basically a prerequisite for playing receiver in the Chiefs’ offense these days.

All kidding aside, the Chiefs have an embarrassment of riches offensively but there’s reason to believe they might prioritize receiver. First and foremost, another round of players going off the board is going to thin the herd in a strong class.

Bateman is an instant contributor at the next level and a pretty great fit to play Sammy Watkins’ role in the offense.