The Kansas City Chiefs will soon head home from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Next in the pre-draft process, they’ll have scouts travel around the country attending Pro Day’s for players to gather more background information on draft prospects.
We’re still operating without the knowledge of what happens in free agency in this mock draft. We do have some idea of the positions that the Chiefs are prioritizing in the draft after player interviews at the combine.
Keep in mind that the draft order beyond the third round is not final yet. The NFL hasn’t announced compensatory picks, and while the Chiefs are not projected to receive any, they’ll pick later in the fourth and fifth round because of compensatory picks added to rounds prior.
Here’s what the draft could look like for Kansas City knowing what we know after the conclusion of the combine:
Round 1, Pick 32 – Utah CB Jaylon Johnson
The Kansas City Chiefs are doing a lot of homework on the cornerbacks in the 2020 NFL draft. They’ve had formal interviews with five players who are considered among the top in this draft class. Why are formal interviews significant? Well, under Brett Veach, the Chiefs have selected six players they had formal interviews with at the combine. Those are just the players that we know about, too.
Johnson is among the players that had a formal interview with the Chiefs at the combine. He had a good meeting with the defensive coaches Steve Spagnuolo and Sam Madison, where they broke down film together.
Utah CB Jaylon Johnson tells me had a formal interview with the #Chiefs. Said he sat down with Sam Madison, Steve Spagnuolo and broke down film during interview. Johnson said he thrives in press-man, also versatile to play inside and outside. pic.twitter.com/it31ofFCH7
— Herbie Teope (@HerbieTeope) February 28, 2020
Johnson put his toughness on display this season for the Utes, playing through a torn labrum that he suffered in September. He set career high’s in solo tackles and passes defended this season in spite of his injury. He participated in the combine and tested well, but he’ll need surgery to repair the injury afterward. That could see some players prioritized over Johnson early in the draft. NFL teams also are a lot higher on Johnson than the consensus of draftnik’s out there. They’ve seen significant improvement in each of his years at Utah, culminating in a gutsy 2019 season.
There’s a bit of an expectation that the run on cornerbacks will start late in the first round. In 2019, the run on corners started at the beginning of Day 2, well before the Chiefs had a chance to draft one. This time around Kansas City gets a corner early and doesn’t wait around hoping that one falls to them later in the draft.