2021 Chiefs mock draft 3.0

Much has changed for Kansas City since our Chiefs mock draft 2.0. They wisely used their first-round pick on an offensive lineman, albeit a few weeks before the draft and in a different manner than most saw coming. Although it was a bit shocking that two competing AFC contenders traded with each other in such a meaningful manner, the trade for the Chiefs to acquire Orlando Brown made sense for them and the Ravens.

Baltimore now owns two picks at the end of the first round, more than likely to address their needs at receiver and edge rusher and in exchange they trade away an elite right tackle who was not happy with his situation in Baltimore. Brown gets what he wants by finally moving over to left tackle, something he has been yearning for. In addition to their new left tackle, the Chiefs also now hold two late second round picks, the 58^th and 63^rd overall. 

With the 58^th pick in our Chiefs mock draft 3.0, we project them to select wide receiver Simi Fehoko.

They’ve addressed offensive line several times this offseason, including the signings of Kyle Long and Joe Thuney. Despite their offesnive prowess with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, their missing depth with their offensive weapons. They’re been hoping a solid second receiver would emege the past few years, but no one has. They let Sammy Watkins move on to Baltimore and once again are hoping Demarcus Robinson can step up into that role. If they lose Kelce or Hill, the offense becomes considerably weakened and the jury is out on whether they currently have the depth to survive a lengthy injury of either of those two weapons. They will obviously not be able to replace either, but they need the cumulative effect of their depth chart to be solid enough to help bridge the gap.

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Fehoko is becoming a very interesting name in this historically deep receiver draft class. He lacked a lot of playing time at Stanford but he’s a big, physical target that would complement Hill nicely. He did have some issues with drops; however, based upon further investigation it seems to be more of an issue with route running than with his hands. Many of his drops were within ten yards of the line of scrimmage, which suggests that its more of an issue with getting his head around on time when running routes. With his size and this offense, it’s very plausible that he doesn’t get many targets for less than ten yards anyway.

With the 63^rd pick in our Chiefs mock draft 3.0, we expect Kansas City to select edge rusher Patrick Jones II. 

The Chiefs lack depth at many key positions on their team, including edge rusher. This is a side effect of paying premier talent such as Frank Clark, Patrick Mahomes, Kelce, and Hill. This means that they need to focus on depth via the draft and they’re doing just that with both of these picks. With their offense, opposing teams will be relying on their passing game to keep up. The Chiefs will have ample opportunities for their pass rush to make an impact, but they need the depth to keep guys fresh during games and over what should be another long post season run. Jones is a high energy, pure pass rusher. He’s not as well rounded as others in his draft class and he’s not a Pro Day talent, but he produces and is exceptional at getting after the opposing quarterback. He’s a first round talent in that department and that’s exactly what the Chiefs need.