I gave us an A for this years draft. An A+ would have required all the picks to be perfect and to make an instant impact, and that's not ever going to happen for any team. However, unlike many other fans I think this draft was great!!! Sure our O-line is in bad shape, but the rest of our team isn't in much better shape. Instead of getting hung up on the offensive line, Herm and Carl focused on the team as a whole. I think in a lot of drafts teams get hung up on one aspect of the team that they feel they need to address and they end up neglecting everything else. Had we drafted 5 or 6 offensive lineman it would have required all of our other pick to work out 100% or else our team would be in worse shape than it's in now, and that's not a realistic situation.
1. Glenn Dorsey - Who thought the best player in the draft would fall far enough for us to draft??? With him in the middle I have heard rumors that Herm wants to try Alfonso Boone or Turk McBride out at the strong side DE position. Either way, it should make the loss of Jared Allen a lot less noticeable, and Dorsey should instantly improve our run defense.
1. Branden Alberts - Has the potential to be a tackle or guard in the NFL. For our sake I hope he pans out as a LT, but a good guard that anchors the line is also more than acceptable. Look for the line to look a lot different this season, I will give my idea of the starting line up here in a bit.
2. Brandon Flowers - In my opinion, he was one of the top 3 CB in the nation with Jenkins and Crommartie. He has the ability to read plays, and plays both the pass and run exceptionally well. He is also a hard hitter which is something that I think everyone can appreciate. In fact, his tackling ability reminds me a little of Patrick Surtain (probably the best pure tackler on the team), although Flowers hits much harder.
3. Jamaal Charles - is definitely a steal in the third round. The guy put up some good numbers for Texas, and is one of the greats when it comes to collegiate track and field. Not sure what the plan is for him, whether it's a change of pace back, or if we are looking to do something with Larry Johnson in the form of a trade...
3. Brad Cottam - Is a bit of a risk with all of his previous injuries, but also has huge upside. I have read he is an amazing route runner, and definitely has the size to be a great TE in the NFL. A guy I know that writes for an NFL team that was at the NFL combine thought us getting this guy in the third round was a steal. His direct words were "Cottam is the best blocking TE in the draft, if he can stay healthy he will be one of the biggest additions to the Chiefs."
3. DaJuan Morgan - I, unlike many, love this pick here. This guy out of NC can do it all...play special teams, CB, FS, and SS. He has one of the best work ethics of any player that we drafted. He wants to learn and contribute to the team in any fashion that he can. I look for him to at least start on Special Teams, however, I really think Herm drafted him to give Bernard Pollard competition at the strong safety position. Pollard struggled last year, and unless he loses some weight to gain some speed and learns how to read the offense better he won't be starting come mid season b/c Morgan will have taken his spot on the field. (I truly believe that Pollard is more of a special teams player anyway).
4. Will Franklin - There is no hiding the fact that I love this pick, which I'm sure all of you know by now. His biggest weakness is his ability to learn and run routes due to a learning disability, however, Pinkel and cast helped him overcome it at MU so I'm sure the same can be done in KC. Don't listen to people like CLW who are still bitter because Alexander, Franklin, and Maclin all lit up their preciously over rated CB Talib at Arrowhead...Franklin doesn't have issues with catching the ball. In fact, many analysts have described him as having soft hands, which explains why he is the current career reception leader in Mizzou history. He is a speedy receiver that is a perfect compliment to a possession receiver like Dwayne Bowe.
5. Brandon Carr - I don't know anything about this guy more than he has the size and speed that NFL scouts look for in a CB, and Herm seems to love this kid. Maybe we found a good NB for this upcoming season...
6. Barry Richardson - His biggest knock is that he seems to have slow feet, and struggled with one of the speed drills for O-lineman at the combine. However, on field production speaks louder than combine scores, and from what I gather this guy is a beast on the inside of the line. He gets a good push, and doesn't seem to get beat all that often, which is saying something because Clemson doesn't play cupcake teams. Also, since LJ is more of an inside runner, his ability to pull and get to the edge faster isn't as big of an initial issue as some may think. His speed can be improved with the proper conditioning. Here is how I think our line will look if we started tomorrow: Albert (LT), Brian Waters (LG),Rudy Niswanger (C), Damion McIntosh (RG/RT), and Richardson (RG/RT).
6. Kevin Robinson - an obvious big play guy as he holds the highest average yards per play for any receiver to ever come out of college. He also seems to be a good returner which should help the worst special teams unit in the league from last season, and he might make an excellent slot receiver in the future.
7. Brian Johnston - Seems to have a lot of talent, but he comes form a DI-AA school which means he still has A LOT to learn before he is ready to go. He doesn't seem to be as big a project as most other 7th round picks usually are, and will probably make the team as a back up since we have little depth at the DE position.
7. Mike Merritt - played TE in college, but was used much more as a blocker. Either they drafted Cottam to be Tony Gonzalez's eventual successor and want Mike Merritt to step into Jason Dunn's spot, or they drafted Cottam to replace Dun and want Merritt to gain some weight and then shift him to the guard position like what was done with Waters years ago. I am leaning towards the latter and hope he at least makes the practice squad.
I know I didn't really add anything that most of you didn't already know, but I wanted to lay the entire draft out there so you could see how positive it really was. Do I wish we could have got some more O-lineman in the draft? Sure, but I don't think there is a single pick other than maybe the in the 7th round that I would change, and the 7th round is so hit and miss it really doesn't matter. I love that we are finally learning to take the best player available and not what we think we have to have. The Vikings had a good HB in Chestor Taylor and didn't need Adrian Peterson, but they took him because he was the best player available and look how that turned out. Even if we still have one weak spot on the O-line, its bound to be a better group than we had in there last year!!!
P.S. how would you guys feel about signing Adam Spieker? He is the C out of Mizzou that stands at 6'2" and weighs 308lbs, and is a great snapper. With Gailey calling the plays I think we will see Brodie in more shotgun sets, and since Spieker played in the spread all his college career is is very accurate when it comes to snapping the ball when the QB is 5-10 yards behind the center. Granted he may need to gain 10-20lbs, but the guy can block in the run and pass, long snap, and read blitzes. Thoughts...
