The Chiefs Reloaded Brilliantly In The Draft, And It Helped Them Reach Another Super Bowl
This group also might help deliver a title.
Maintaining dominance over a conference is not easy, no matter how skewed our view of that is (thanks Patriots). The Kansas City Chiefs have hosted five straight AFC Championships, and have reached three Super Bowls in four seasons. The latest of which, a tilt against the Eagles on Sunday, could end as one of the more impressive runs in recent memory.
There were questions about the Chiefs in the offseason after a loss to the Bengals in the AFC title game. The Bills were rounding into Super Bowl contenders. Cincinnati was bringing back a strong core. The Chargers also looked good on paper, and some picked them to win the AFC West.
Combine all that above with the fact that the Chiefs traded away Tyreek Hill, and it didn’t look great. Not to mention, they lost to the Bills and Bengals during the season.
Yet, the Chiefs are still standing. Patrick Mahomes is playing unbelievable football right now, perhaps the best of his young career. But what stands out underneath the play of Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones, is the contributions from a phenomenal rookie class.
Armed with extra capital from the Hill trade, the Chiefs were aggressive moving up eight spots to select Washington corner Trent McDuffie. He was labeled a bit undersized for the position in terms of height (33rd percentile) and arm length (5th percentile), but at 5’10 3/4” and 193 pounds, McDuffie is big enough to handle playing on the perimeter and had the versatility to kick inside thanks to good technique, route recognition, and quick transitions.
The Chiefs have kept McDuffie on the perimeter, and often lined up in press alignments. McDuffie stays physical attacking in press looks without getting too far over his skis, and he disrupts while also sticking in the receiver’s hip pocket. Even in zone, in cover-2 looks, McDuffie disrupts and gets his eyes on the quarterback immediately. In a Steve Spagnuolo defense, McDuffie has become crucial, and he’s clearly not been hampered by the measurements that led many to believe he would.
Kansas City stuck at pick 30 and selected Purdue edge rusher George Karlaftis. There was discourse around Karlaftis as an NFL Draft prospect. Many pointed to the clip against Jeremy Ruckert, where he was handled in pass protection. There were questions about the ability to win around the top side, if he could, even as a strong athlete in testing, have enough juice in terms of functional athleticism to create pressure as a consistent pass rusher.
He’s answered the call. Karlaftis is second among rookies this season with 49 total pressures. The pop in his hands and functional strength gets tackles off balance on initial strike, and once that happens, it’s over. He did just this against Bengals right tackle Hakeem Adeniji in the AFC title game, and worked off a spin counter to sack Joe Burrow. In a game that’s going to rely heavily on pressuring Jalen Hurts, Karlaftis could make an even bigger statement on the biggest stage.
It hasn’t been the year many (including myself) expected from Skyy Moore, a smaller school receiver with a diverse release package to keep corners on their toes, above average acceleration, and reliable hands.
It hasn’t translated too much this year. Yes, he’s made a couple big plays, especially his win against Derwin James on a third down crosser. Moore will make his money in the middle of the field and in the quick game as a separator. He’s working on the finer points of the position and still acclimating to this Andy Reid offense.
Moore has been on punt return duty for a lot of the season, based on his quick twitch lateral skills and straight line speed/acceleration. But, he’s struggled to track the ball, and has fumbled numerous times. But, the Chiefs stuck with him, and he delivered, giving the Chiefs a short field to set up the game winning field goal against the Bengals.
The safety class in the 2022 NFL Draft was thought to be a pretty deep one, and players like Bryan Cook were lauded on day two. Cook didn’t register testing numbers, and wasn’t thought of to be the most tremendous athlete in terms of quicks and range on the roof of a defense. But, when you have a bit of straight line speed, and tremendous recognition skills, that extra bit of recognition can act as a range buffer.
Cook’s recognition skills have helped him, from crashing downhill to working across the field, as it shows below. His ability to consistently wrap up in space and limit yards after the catch is what makes him an important part of the Chiefs secondary.
The linebacker class was headlined by Nakobe Dean and Devin Lloyd early. Chad Muma grabbed some hype, and Quay Walker was drafted in round one. Somehow, a fantastic athlete and downhill thumper in Leo Chenal didn’t go until pick 103. It was a head-scratcher at the time, but it is even more now.
Kansas City already has a pair of solid linebackers in tow (Nick Bolton and Willie Gay), but Leo Chenal gives them another very good one to add to the rotation.
Chenal does most of his work near the line of scrimmage, where his cognitive processing gives way to splash plays in the run game. He can take on pullers with strong hands and handle things as the end man on the line of scrimmage. He stuns offensive linemen and tight ends with immense power, and does a great job with hand placement and technique to get off of guys to make tackles. This rare power doesn’t leave him at a disadvantage, and his athleticism gives him the ability to run and chase to the perimeter as well.
Rookie defensive backs rarely have easy sledding. Even for McDuffie, it hasn’t always been easy sledding. So for two day three picks in Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson, expectations aren’t very high.
Yet here they are, getting a hefty amount of snaps in the secondary down the stretch in difficult games.
Williams made noise down at the Senior Bowl last year, staying physical in press in 1v1s, and preventing receivers from getting any early leverage and putting their plans to get open in the paper shredder. That physicality, and more importantly, refined technique, has showed up in the NFL. The fit was seamless for Kansas City, and Spagnuolo clearly trusts Williams in that look. Williams had a key interception in the AFC title game with a little help from Cook, and he’s been a sound tackler when needed in open space. He’s acclimating quickly in terms of recognizing when to get depth and when to close in zone coverage as well.
Watson has made a few key interceptions as a rookie. His 99-yard pick six on Justin Herbert in week two was impressive, and he sealed the deal for the Chiefs against the Jaguars with a one-handed snag. He also turned and found the football to pick off Burrow. In zone coverage, he has a great read on things, but just needs to commit more and trust what he’s seeing.
Then we come to Isaih Pacheco, a seventh round pick at running back with quite a hill to climb. He had the speed though, evidenced by a 4.37 in the forty yard dash. Pacheco has been a bell cow when called upon, with improving cognitive skills to anticipate opening running lanes. When he’s given a runway, look out. That speed creates a plethora of opportunities for explosive runs, something the Chiefs have gotten better with, especially on early downs. Pacheco also can drop the hammer to pick up yardage after contact. For those who were on the pick, saying watch for early production, a hat tip to you.
For the Kansas City Chiefs to secure another title in the Mahomes/Reid era, the rookies will play a major part of it. They’ll have to win in press situations, and likely create a couple turnovers to get it done. Getting pressure with the front seven will also be important, and Karlaftis and Chenal trying to help contain a multi-faceted running game will be entertaining.
Succeeding on early down runs against a middling run defense will be crucial on the other side of the ball with Pacheco, and maybe Moore can come up with a big catch or two. Win or not though, we’ll likely look back on this class as one of Brett Veach’s best, and it’ll be fun to see the ceiling they can reach.