The Kansas City Chiefs still have a very clear need for offensive tackle help and it looks like they’ll be addressing it in the 2021 NFL draft.
In the latest first-round mock draft from Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, the Chiefs get a bit aggressive in order to address their biggest need. Farrar has Brett Veach trading up six spots with the Jacksonville Jaguars in order to draft their left tackle of the future. The conditions of the trade might need a little bit of work though.
In return for the 25th overall pick, Jacksonville gets pick No. 31 and No. 63 from Kansas City in Farrar’s deal. Working off of our trade value chart, that wouldn’t be a very even trade. Pick No. 25 is 42 points shy of the value of No. 31 and No. 63 combined. So there are two solutions to this discrepancy in my eyes. I’d ask for the Jaguars’ fourth-round pick (106 overall) in order to sweeten the pot on the current trade. The other option would be for the Chiefs package No. 31 and No. 94, taking out pick No. 63. That’d make the trade value much closer to even for each team.
At pick No. 25, the Chiefs select Texas Longhorns OT Samuel Cosmi. Here’s what Farrar had to say about the pick:
“The Chiefs were laid bare in Super Bowl LV with the injuries to left tackle Eric Fisher and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, and even more so with the releases of both players to create cap space for other additions in free agency. The addition of former Patriots guard Joe Thuney helps the interior offensive line, but when your projected starting tackles are Mike Remmers and Lucas Niang, there’s work to be done. Cosmi, who allowed just three sacks and 23 total pressures on 1,529 pass-blocking reps over three seasons for the Longhorns, is going to need some coaching to match his acumen with his athleticism, but he’s got all the tools to be a special pass-protector, and there are few teams known for better O-line coaching than the Chiefs.”
Jacksonville is a logical trade partner and this pick by the Chiefs makes a ton of sense. Cosmi is an impressive athlete and has the reputation of being a solid pass-protector, but he’ll need to improve his strength at the next level. I think pairing him with a player like Joe Thuney at left guard would help mask some of the issues that he’ll undoubtedly have as a rookie.
I’d be a bit surprised if this was the way things played out in a trade-up scenario. At pick No. 31, the Jaguars select Oklahoma State OT Teven Jenkins. That’s a player that the Chiefs are known to have at least some level of interest in. Maybe that interest is only to entice a team like the Jags in making a trade down.
I wonder with this trade, who are the Chiefs jumping in order to secure Cosmi? None of the Bills, Packers, Saints, Ravens and Browns seem to be in the market for a tackle. Would the Jags have taken Cosmi at No. 25? Wouldn’t Kansas City rather stick at No. 31 and just take Jenkins? He played mostly right tackle at Oklahoma State but started four games at left tackle as a redshirt sophomore in 2018. For me, it feels like they might be better suited staying put at No. 31 if the board were to fall this way.
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