The 2023 NFL draft is just around the corner, which means everyone is trying to decipher what various teams might have planned.
NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah spoke to the press for the final time ahead of the 2023 NFL draft. He hasn’t had many comments on the Kansas City Chiefs in his prior pre-draft press conferences, but he was asked about them this time around.
Asked whether he thought the Chiefs should try to find an impact player at pick No. 31 or scour the latter rounds for talent as they did in 2022, Jeremiah felt that both options were possible for Kansas City. He even mentioned a trade back as a possibility.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded back again,” Jeremiah said. “That
wouldn’t shock me. They’re picking 31, 63, and 95 right now. I also think that
playmakers is a way they could end up going. I know they’ve been doing a ton of work on wideouts. I know they’ve looked at the top-end guys and some of those third-round-type players.”
It’s never a bad idea to add a playmaker for Patrick Mahomes, but the Chiefs have also learned you have to protect him well. While Jeremiah envisions Brett Veach taking a receiver in the first three rounds, he also mentioned tackle as an option for any of those first three picks.
“So I would be very surprised if one of those three picks is not a receiver just
based off the work that they’re doing. Adding another guy into that mix. I think you also probably look at grabbing a tackle at some point in time with
one of these picks. With that in mind, I would not be shocked at all the way
you describe what they did last year having more shots at it. To me trading
back from 31, you know, that would make sense to me.”
What could happen if the Chiefs stick at No. 31? Jeremiah guesses that Kansas City would take a look at the receiver position, mentioning both players who happened to catch passes from Patrick Mahomes in Texas this past week.
“If they did stick, I think you look at the wide receivers,” Jeremiah explained. “I think you look at Quentin Johnston and at Zay Flowers if he was potentially still in the mix. I think they’ll come out with the first three picks with a receiver and tackle as two of the three spots.”
Will either Johnston or Flowers be available at those spots? Jeremiah seems to think it’s within the realm of possibility in what is considered a polarizing draft class at the position.
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