Chiefs gained in both upside and value in the 2024 NFL Draft
The Chiefs swung for the fences by utilizing marginal trade-ups for WR Xavier Worthy and LT Kingsley Suamataia, but let the value come to them the rest of the way.
The Kansas City Chiefs had quite the NFL Draft haul, especially when you consider the consensus NFL Draft big board. Not only did they lock in two potential starters at their two biggest positional needs, but they were able to select nearly all of their rookies below their projected slots.
NFL Mock Draft Database compiles the average of 211 big boards, 1,507 first-round mock drafts and 1,371 team-based mock drafts. They do not include all of the mock drafts and big boards but rather the ones closest to the draft start date. Check out how much value the Chiefs gained in their draft, as well as how young each prospect is.
Round one, pick 28: WR, Xavier Worthy, 21, from Texas (Consensus: 32)
Round two, pick 63: LT, Kingsley Suamataia, 21, from BYU (Consensus: 44)
Round four, pick 131: TE, Jared Wiley, 23, from TCU (Consensus: 122)
Round four, pick 133: S, Jaden Hicks, 21, from Washington State (Consensus: 69)
Round five, pick 159: IOL, Hunter Nourzad, 23, from Peen State (Consensus: 139)
Round six, pick 211: CB, Kamal Hadden, 23, from Tennessee (Consensus: 226)
Round seven, pick 248: IOL, C.J. Hanson, 23, from Holy Cross (Consensus: 292)
So, in four of the Chiefs' seven draft picks, they managed to find value and considerable value in the cases of Suamataia, Hicks and Nourzad. Even in the other cases, with Worthy it was just a four-pick reach at a position that was considered the highest position of need, other than possibly left tackle. In three of the picks, they will be 25 years old when their first NFL contract is up. With Hadden, his consensus might be significantly higher if not for a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023. He was a top 10 cornerback in overall PFF grade in all of college football last season, but he did not test terribly well.
As for Hanson, the interior offensive lineman position was a very underrated position of need for the Chiefs. The Chiefs nabbed two of them here with the reason being that they lost their backup to all three interior spots with Nick Allegretti signing a good deal with the Washington Commanders. Not only that but looking ahead to 2025, center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith are not under contract and the Chiefs can save $16 million in cap room by releasing Joe Thuney. Nourzad has legitimate experience all across the offensive line, including center, while Hanson is naturally a guard. Kansas City now has options along the offensive line after adding three rookies to the room in this draft.
While Nourzad and Hanson were brought in as backups for the 2024 season, Suamataia was brought in to compete with 2023 third-round offensive tackle Wanya Morris. Time will tell if they also feel the need to bring back incumbent left tackle Donovan Smith, who remains a free agent. For now, it looks like the two young left tackles will be duking it out to protect Mahomes blind side.
Worthy will likely simply be a plug-and-play wide receiver, especially considering the assumed Rashee Rice suspension. Unless the Chiefs bring in a veteran, it will be Worthy, Brown and either Skyy Moore or Justin Watson starting until Rice comes back. Worthy is bringing more than just 4.21 speed to the roster. He tallied 2,755 yards over the past three seasons with him. Only Rome Odunze and Malik Nabers had more over that period.
How Wiley will impact the roster will be interesting. The Chiefs brought in Irv Smith Jr. at the start of free agency. With those two, along with Travis Kelce and Noah Gray, that makes four. The Chiefs have carried four before, but they did not in 2023 after deciding to carry three running backs and seven receivers. Wiley adds to the room both in blocking and playmaking after leading college football in touchdowns last season for a tight end and racking up over 500 yards. Wiley is very similar to Kelce in both speed and size, standing at six-foot-six, 249 pounds. Wiley ran a 4.62 40 with a 37-inch broad jump and a 7.19 three-cone drill, while Kelce posted a 4.61, 35-inch and a 7.09 in those same drills.
The Chiefs got an absolute steal selecting Jaden Hicks in the first round, being that he was the number one safety on Dane Brugler's big board. Hicks profiles as a big, thumping box safety and possibly even Justin Reid’s future replacement, given that he is also in a contract season. Safeties drafted by general manager Brett Veach naturally find their way onto the field and I am sure Hicks will be no different. He also has ball skills, hauling in five interceptions over the past two seasons.
Last but not least, there is Kamal Hadden. He is the annual Veach cornerback gem, potentially. He has defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s desired size and length at the position. His size and measurables are oddly comparable to L’Jarius Sneed as well. He plays physically and his athleticism jumps off the TV when watching him. He is touted as an outside corner who can now compete with Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams and Nic Jones, allowing Trent McDuffie, Nazhee Johnson and Ekow Boye-Doe to stay playing inside if the Chiefs so choose.
Perhaps the most puzzling part of the draft was that they did not address the running back position. Currently the Chiefs roster Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Keaontay Ingram, Deneric Prince, Louis Rees-Zammit and Hassan Hall. That is not the most inspiring bunch.
The same can be said for the interior defensive line position, which the Chiefs also failed to address. They did not address the defensive line at all, actually. While Chris Jones and Tershawn Wharton currently occupy the three-tech, Derrick Nnadi, Mike Pennel, Neil Farrell and Isaiah Buggs occupy the nose tackle position.
They also had chances to double up at receiver and did not draft a linebacker, but the Chiefs filled many of these needs by signing undrafted free agents. Kansas City signed several running backs, but the ones that stood out were very productive college players, TCU’s Emani Bailey and UCLA’s Carson Steele. Bailey racked up over 1,200 yards last season, while Steele ran for 847 after rushing for over 1,500 with Ball State in 2022. Some boards had Steele listed as a fullback, which could signal something head coach Andy Reid is interested in going back to or it is at least interesting if Steele can be versatile in that way. He could be a potential third-down-back, too.
The Chiefs also signed Penn State’s all-big-ten linebacker Curtis Jacobs, adding to their deep linebacker depth. At wide receiver, they managed to nab a 2023 honorable mention all-American in James Madison’s Reggie Brown.
The other three UDFAs that stood out were defensive end Eyabi Okie-Anoma, Utah State cornerback Miles Battle and Florida State’s interior defensive lineman Fabian Lovett Sr. Okie-Anoma spent time in Alabama, Houston, Tennessee-Martin, Michigan and Charlotte. He is a former five-star recruit, is a Spgnuolo prototype and had 16 sacks over the last three seasons. Lovett Sr. was a projected sixth-round pick in the KCSN draft guide and is six-foot-four, 314 pounds, profiling as a long and well-built nose tackle. Battle was not overly productive at Utah and has technical issues but tested freakishly on his Utah pro day. He posted a 4.37 40 at six-foot-three 196 pounds.
Overall, the Chiefs filled a ton of holes this weekend while taking some big swings all at the same time. It is one of the more, if not the most, complete rosters in the Andy Reid era. Later this week I will go over more in-depth on how each new Chief fits on the roster in 2024 and moving forward.
