Round 3 Pick 89. Notre Dame DE Julian Okwara

In the last iteration of this mock draft, the Chiefs went with the other draft-eligible defensive end from Notre Dame in Khalid Kareem. Now they opt for the lighter and faster player on the opposite side. Okwara doesn’t exactly fit what Kansas City likes at the position, but there are other redeeming qualities to this pick.

Draft Wire took Okwara a round earlier at pick No. 54 in a prior iteration of these 3-round projections. By that logic, this pick could be a steal, occurring over 30 selections later. There’s no telling what Okwara’s draft stock will look like by the end of the process. From preseason to now, there seems to be a high variance of grades on Okwara. Some evaluators believe he’ll be a first-round pick, while others seem to feel he’ll be valued in the middle rounds.

Okwara’s older brother, Romeo, played in the NFL for DC Steve Spagnuolo with the New York Giants. Spags probably knows the type of defender the Chiefs will get in Okwara. I’m certain this won’t be the last time you hear about that connection leading up to the draft.