So the coverage is probably better over at Arrowhead Pride, but I thought I’d give my thoughts. Earlier in the week, I predicted:

• Offensive line: 3-4 players
• Wide receiver: 2 players
• Corner/Safety: 2-3 players
• Running Backs: 2 players (1 fullback, 1 running back)
• Defensive line: 2-3 players
• Quarterback: 1 player (perhaps Michigan’s Chad Henne in a later round, if he falls)

The Chiefs ended up taking:

Offensive line: 3 players (counting the final TE as a lineman, since he looks to be the second coming of Jason Dunn)

Receivers: 3 players (2 receivers, 1 TE)

Corner/Safety: 3 players (2 corners, 1 safety)

Running Backs: 1 player

Defensive line: 2 players (although most significant was #5 overall Glenn Dorsey, who looks like a beast)

Quarterback: 0 players (not a massive surprise because all the good guys were gone and they have that Thigpen kid as well)

I didn’t expect the Chiefs to pick 2 tight ends. It seems that Carl Peterson can’t stay away from them. I’m assuming that they are a “best athlete at the pick” type of thing, but we’ll see.

When I saw the breakdown today (I didn’t watch all 8 hours of the draft today, what with church and all), I wasn’t all too thrilled, but as I look closer, it seems like Carl and Herm did the best they could - the best of the last several drafts for sure. Here are my quick-hit thoughts of all the picks.

Rd 1 / Pick 5 - Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU

The belle of the ball. Beast. Will compliment Tank Tyler and free up Tamba Hali to run freely. I foresee the Chiefs moving Turk McBride to the edge for some games next season as a possible Jared Allen replacement.

1 / 15 - Branden Albert, OG, Virginia

I hope Albert turns out to be the stud tackle that everyone thinks he’s going to be. Even if he ends up being the next Will Shields, that’s a big win for us.

2 / 4 (35) - Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech

The best part of his ESPN.com overview: “he plays far bigger than his size indicates and faster than his 40 time suggest.” We need a stud corner to replace the crappy age we have out there now.

3 / 10 (73) - Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas

Backup plan in case Larry Johnson doesn’t recover from his foot thing? Maybe. Charles was a good player on a decent Texas team. He’s no Ricky Williams or Priest Holmes, but he could be decent enough to take more of the load off Larry.

3 / 13 (76) - Brad Cottam, TE, Tennessee

This guy is big. 6′ 7″ 270 lbs. He sounds better than Kris Wilson.

3 / 19 (82) - Dajuan Morgan, S, NC State

I suppose the Chiefs need some depth at safety, but this guy will sit behind Pollard and Page. Special teams, here he comes.

4 / 6 (105) - William Franklin, WR, Missouri

As much as I hate the Chiefs drafting players from Missouri, their receivers are good. And we need depth at receiver. I hoped that we would take one earlier.

5 / 5 (140) - Brandon Carr, CB, Grand Valley St.

A corner from a no-name school. This guy is going to be Carl’s gem of the draft.

6 / 4 (170) - Barry Richardson, OT, Clemson

I don’t like that the line on this guy was “not mean enough”, but tackles…hey, we need lots. Maybe Herm can put some mean into him.

6 / 16 (182) - Kevin Robinson, WR, Utah St.

Yay. Another receiver that won’t make the team.

7 / 3 (210) - Brian Johnson, DE, Gardner Webb

This guy gets props for going to “Gardner Webb”, which is just south of Olathe. No wait, that’s Gardner.

7 / 32 (239) - Mike Merritt, TE, Central Florida

He’s listed as a tight end, but they’re saying that he’s probably more of a guard or a 3rd tackle type guy. “Very slow and lacks athleticism.” Sounds like they drafted me.

There are too many guys on the second day that we’ll need to see in pre-season to properly evaluate. What should be noted is that KCChiefs.com is one of the worst team sites in the NFL. Stuff is hard to find, the user experience sucks, and it just looks like it came straight out of Penn Valley Community College Web Design 101…FROM 1995.

KC firm VML…you should be ASHAMED at the horror that is your nested tables and excessive use of…what is that? REALPLAYER? The Chiefs took a step backwards when they abandoned the Happy Cog design that Zeldman did for them. I suppose that’s par for the course and just another example of where the front office’s heads are at.

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So, the NFL Draft really snuck up on me this year. Now that the Jared Allen deal is done, we can take a look at where the Chiefs need help. The Chiefs own a league-high 13 picks in the draft this weekend, including 6 in the first 3 rounds (#5 and #17 in 1st round, a second round pick, and 3 3rd round picks).

For a team that is “going young” you have to see this as a good thing. Unfortunately for Kansas City fans, we’ve been burned by the Junior Siaviis and Sylvester Morrises of the past years and so every draft is approached with less than high hopes.

Let’s take a look at the Chiefs’ biggest needs:

Offensive line

This is a no-brainer. Our offensive line is abysmal. The hope is that Damion McIntosh will get healthy this year and resume his tackle position, but I get the feeling he’d rather be on the right side. As much as they’d like to though, the Chiefs can’t afford to have a guy like Will Svitek still manning Brodie Croyle’s weak side. I forsee the Chiefs going with a left tackle with their #5 pick, probably Ryan Clady of Boise State (even though he allegedly only got a 14 on the Wonderlic test). The #17 pick they acquired from Minnesota does give them some flexibility though. They could go with Matt Ryan, the QB from Boston College that everyone loves, and then hope one of the other projected 1st round offensive lineman falls into their laps at 17 (maybe Vanderbilt’s Chris Williams or Pitt’s Jeff Otah). I still think that they’ll go with either Clady or Virginia guard Branden Albert, whom many are saying is going to be a tackle in the NFL. I’d also see them picking up a couple more folks in later rounds, maybe

Cornerback

Face it - Ty Law and Patrick Surtain are bad. They used to be good, but they aren’t anymore. They are slow, they rarely make plays and they cannot compensate for the youth that the Chiefs have at safety. We need a shutdown corner to replace Ty Law so Bennie Sapp can finally enter the starting lineup in Surtain’s place, putting Surtain into the nickelback position. I’m starting to wonder whether Kansas’ Aqib Talib could fall to 17, since most have him as a top 3 corner in the draft. I imagine there are those that think his reefer tokeage might be a problem. Keeping him close to his dealer friends at KU might cause issues. But it would be fun to have a hometown guy to root for. There are several corners in the draft. I think that if the Chiefs don’t take Ryan in the first round, they’ll go lineman and corner with their #5 and #17.

Wide Receiver

Dwayne Bowe was a rousing success. The dude is amazing. With the departure of Eddie Kennison, it would be great to have another option besides Bowe and Tony Gonzalez. I’d love to see Bobby Sippio get more snaps, but a team that is in rebuilding mode is going to go young. Jeff Webb is a strong 3rd receiver, but I think that we need a viable #2 option, preferably someone with some serious wheels. The draft is pretty weak with star receivers this year (not like last year, which had Calvin Johnson and Dwayne Bowe), but it’s possible that the Chiefs could get someone like Eddie Royal from Virginia Tech to fill that slot.

Other positions

The Chiefs need depth at the above positions more than anything, but they also need a viable fullback. I loved Boomer Grigsby’s fire, but he’s gone. The Chiefs have 2 fullbacks on the roster that I’ve never heard of, so I look for them to try and get a mid-round blocking back, perhaps on day two. The Chiefs could also use some depth on the defensive line. Tank Tyler has been a good pick, but needs to keep his weight down. Turk McBride hasn’t been great, but I look for those two to have better seasons after being in the league for a year. Tamba Hali will have a breakout year and I think that (Chiefs Defensive Line Coach) Tim Krumrie may move him to the strong side where Allen was, although he probably is stronger at the weak side since he does not possess the physical strength that Allen did - he was more of a speed rusher. Past that, we’ll see.

Breakdown

Here’s how I see the Chiefs 13 picks breaking down:

• Offensive line: 3-4 players
• Wide receiver: 2 players
• Corner/Safety: 2-3 players
• Running Backs: 2 players (1 fullback, 1 running back)
• Defensive line: 2-3 players
• Quarterback: 1 player (perhaps Michigan’s Chad Henne in a later round, if he falls)

So there are my thoughts. What are yours? I love watching the draft. I’m signing up for text alerts today.

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The scuttlebutt around the media is that the Chiefs are considering trading away the NFL’s 2007 leader in sacks. To be honest, I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for the rumors to start. Allen has long been tired of the front office (as we all are) and wants to be paid what he is worth. He has well out-performed his initial draft position and contract and stands to make a chunk of change next year as the Chiefs franchise player.

Unfortunately, the Chiefs have about 15 players on their roster right now. After the off-season cuts and very little free agency action, the Chiefs are desperately short of players. Draft picks are at a premium for Herm and Carl and so you have to understand their logic in dangling a very attractive player who doesn’t really want to be in Kansas City anyway.

I really like Jared Allen. I like how hard he plays and I think that he has elevated the play of the defensive players around him. Keep in mind that he led the NFL in sacks last year while still missing the first two games. Now, granted, he deserved the suspension, but he proved that he’d cleaned up his act by performing at a very high level on a terrible, terrible team.

I guess I can see both sides of the argument here. Allen doesn’t like the front office and wants to get paid, so he wants out. The Chiefs have painted themselves into a corner where they need TONS of draft picks so they’re making the best out of a bad situation (which they put themselves in, but what else is new?). I don’t know if anything will happen before next weekend’s draft, but we’ll see. As much as I’d love to see Allen at Arrowhead again next year, this situation may be beyond repair.

Even for football geniuses like Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards. (*tongue inserted firmly in cheek*)

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So the NFL wrapped the longest first day in draft history (6-1/2 hours!). The NFL Draft is up there with with my favorite non-sports sports events of the year (perhaps coming a close second to the World Series of Poker, just ahead of the post-NCAA tournament coaching shuffle and So You Think You Can Dance). The Chiefs were in a similar position as they’ve been in years past, with late-in-the-round picks and lots of needs, which they more or less filled.

Need #1: Wide Reciever - First Round Pick (#23 Overall) - Dwayne Bowe, LSU

Look, Eddie Kennison is getting old and Samie Parker is…well…Samie Parker. If Brodie Croyle is going to have any chance to succeed (or Damon Huard if that’s who starts), he needs somewhere to throw the ball. Tony Gonzalez is still the best tight end in the NFL (don’t go there with Antonio Gates or that punk Shockey…Tony is still the best), but he’s getting double-teamed and covered by every team’s best corner. We can’t hand the ball to Larry Johnson 400 times again next year (as much as Herm Edwards would like to), so a receiver was important.

Bowe was ranked anywhere from 2nd-4th on the list of receivers after the obvious #1, Calvin Johnson. After the Dolphins took Ted Ginn, Jr., (at #9! - what the heck?), Bowe seemed to be the best available and he seems like a great pick - tall guy, good hands, strength to beat bump-and-run coverage, decent speed (but not acceleration). A great pick in my opinion. The only other option here was either Joe Staley or Ben Grubbs, players who would have filled our offensive line needs.

Need #2: Defensive End - Second Round Pick (#54 Overall) - Turk McBride, Tennessee

With the four-game suspension of one of our best pass rushers, the Chiefs needed some more depth at defensive end. McBride is a tackle/end hybrid who will likely see playing time this year while Jared Allen serves his time. McBride played tackle while at Tennessee, but he’ll likely play end for the Chiefs. At Tennessee, coaches trusted him enough as an athlete to plug him in where he was needed and he still earned All-SEC honors.

This was a situation of “best athlete available”, I think and I hope the Chiefs are able to use him. I am hoping that the defensive-minded Edwards has plans for him and…

Need #3: Defensive Tackle - Third Round Pick (#82 Overall) - Demarcus “Tank” Tyler, NC State

With the bust that our recent first round and second round defensive tackles of years past (Ryan Sims, Junior Siavii, Eddie Freeman), the Chiefs tried again, this time with a guy whose nickname is “Tank”. Why wouldn’t you take a chance on a guy nicknamed “Tank”?

Tyler is a space-filler (which is what we hoped Siavii would be, too), but he seems to have a better resume and is not a “project”. He was a good value in the third round (some people had him going as early as the second round) and we desperately need depth at defensive tackle. I look for him to get significant playing time even in his first year. As a first round pick, there won’t be much expected of him, but I’m looking for him to be a contributor.

As for tomorrow…

We still have a lot of needs left to fill. The Chiefs will almost certainly look to get an offensive lineman. With the loss of Willie Roaf last year and Will Shields’ retirement, our line is no longer the dominant force it once was. We’ve got some people who are poised to step up, but we need more depth. I look for the Chiefs to draft at least two offensive linemen and possibly another defensive lineman on Sunday. The other place they’ll be looking to draft is cornerback. We have some great corners, but they are getting older…it’s time to infuse some new talent back there. Hopefully Herm Edwards (who played the position during his NFL years) will be a better judge of talent than in the past (William Bartee, hello?).

There’s also the issue of Trent Green. I think that with the Dolphins passing on Quinn, we all but solidified that Green will be in the Teal and Orange next year. I think we’ll probably get a 5th rounder for him this year and perhaps a conditional pick in next year’s draft. The Dolphins took a QB in the 2nd round, but he is a project that will need a guy like Green to learn from. I’m sad to see Green go - he’s a class act, but I understand that it makes sense for him and the Chiefs to part ways.

As far as Larry Johnson goes…he didn’t get traded (if the Packers were offering their 1st and 3rd round picks, I would take that offer in a heartbeat), so we are going to have to extend his contract somehow. I think he’ll get paid by the Chiefs, but we’ll see if he’s worth it.

Overall, I’ll give the Chiefs’ first day of the draft a solid ‘B’ grade. There certainly is potential there. We’ll see how these players pan out next year and we’ll see how the front office does tomorrow. Until then, I’m hopeful.

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