Recapping The College Stars Who Were Drafted By The Super Bowl Hopeful Kansas City Chiefs
The 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone. The Kansas City Chiefs went into the affair as one of the more interesting teams as just about everyone was curious over how they would go about the business of picking college stars for their squad in the wake of their trading superstar wide receiver Treek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.
The Chiefs are among the favorites for Super Bowl glory this year and there should be plenty of punting on their futures, with BetMGM Kansas soon to provide yet another top option. Their drafting will go a long way into deciding how the season turns out and it has already been touted the latest class as the best by general manager Brett Veach to date.
Let's take a look at how the franchise took players off the board.
Round 1
Kansas went with cornerback Trent McDuffie out of Washington and defensive end George Kaelaftis out of Purdue. They certainly didn’t imagine the former would be available and wasted no time moving up to snag him with the 21st overall pick. While a bit undersized for a boundary CB, McDuffie is a remarkable athlete with a high IQ. He is a very willing tackler and there’s no cap on his potential.
As for Karlaftis, the Greece-born DE is one of the strongest in his position from this year’s class and is also a great athlete. He is expected to fit right into defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme.
Round 2
The second round saw the Chiefs select wide receiver Skyy Moore and safety Bryan Cook out of Western Michigan and Cincinnati respectively.
Moore boasts first-round quality and the Chiefs are pretty lucky to have gotten him in the second round. The Pennsylvania native is a terrific route runner who always manages to get himself in open space. He should be able to prove his worth as a top receiver in the NFL playing for a team like the Chiefs, who employ one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
Kansas picked Cook despite Nick Cross still being on the board at the time, which speaks to their belief in the player. The 22-year-old has the size and experience to play in the slot and as a safety but he might be deployed as an enforcer in the box.
Round 3
Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal was the selection in the third round. He isn’t the typical “let’s see how this turns out” player teams typically land after the first 100 have been picked, though.
In Chenal, Kansas have snatched a player who registered one of the best LB Relative Athletic Score measurements in over 30 years. He should be deployed as a strong-side LB in the Chiefs’ defense, freeing Willie Gray Jr. up for weak-side duties. He might not see that many snaps based on how teams defend in sub-packages but will still have his opportunities to be effective.
Round 4
Joshua Williams joined the chiefs in the fourth round. Coming out of Fayetteville State, he is an athletic, able-bodied cornerback who could go on to be a favorite in Kansas. Spagnuolo is known to welcome long corners and purge the foibles out of their game.
Williams might not get a lot of action as a first-year player as he faces lots of competition but he is a pick that should have left the Chiefs feeling proud of their work up until that point of the NFL Draft.
Round 5
Offensive tackle Darian Kinnard was drafted out of Kentucky. The player had a huge slide down the board this year, but not enough to convince the Chiefs they should pick someone else and they even traded up in order to get him.
Unlike the players above, Kinnard isn’t that great athletically but has good size and has a nasty side to his game that should work very well for him in the NFL. He should also see lots of action too, given Lucas Niang’s injury issues.
Round 7
The Chiefs brought three players in from the seventh round of the draft, picking cornerback Jaylen Watson, running back Isiah Pacheco, and safety Nazeeh Johnson.
Watson has lots of length and is also pretty athletic but will have to put in lots of work to become a factor. Pacheco impressed at the NFL Combine and should be a great fit with the team’s other running backs while Johnson is a mobile DB who will have the opportunity to prove his worth in training camp.
