During a conference call in advance of the 2022 NFL draft, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah answered questions about NFL teams and draft prospects. A former scout with the Philadelphia Eagles under Andy Reid from 2010 to 2012, Jeremiah offered his take on where the Kansas City Chiefs stand in the first round of the draft.
“You know, I actually like where they’re positioned,” Jeremiah told reporters. “You talk to other GMs around the league, I think that’s kind of actually the target area, is kind of that late first, early second. It’s kind of the sweet spot of this draft. I know there’s been scuttlebutt about them trying to potentially move up, but I like where they’re positioned.”
As for the positions that the Chiefs might target at the end of the first round, Jeremiah named two groups that stood out to him. He also named some specific players that he thought might be available when they come on the clock.
“In terms of areas that they could go, you think about the receiver position,” Jeremiah said. “Treylon Burks, does he get there? That would be an intriguing option. Andy Reid talked about them being a little bit bigger with what they’ve done. That would be kind of an intriguing option from that standpoint.”
While everyone knows the Chiefs are interested in adding receiver early after the departure of Tyreek Hill, they’ve also shown quite a bit of pre-draft interest in this cornerback class. He named three players who he thought might fit at the end of the first round.
“Corner, there will be some big corners to choose from,” Jeremiah said. “The two they’ll probably be staring at — actually I would say three. Andrew Booth from Clemson. He’s coming off an injury. Had hernia surgery. Probably would be gone by now if he’d been able to stay healthy through the whole process. But that would be the first name I would keep an eye on.
Kyler Gordon from Washington would be the next, who I know he ran in the low 4.5s, but he plays so much faster than that and can really find and play the ball. That would be the second one. And then Kaiir Elam from Florida would be the third. I think those three corners — maybe all three of them are there. I think there’s a good chance two of them are, and I think there’s a lot of upside with all three of those guys that would be good fits there and good picks for the Chiefs.”
Ultimately, Jeremiah thinks that loading up on defenders might be a wise decision for Kansas City given the AFC West arms race that has occurred this offseason.
“This is a division, as you know, that’s just loaded up with this arms race in the offseason, and I don’t know if it’s possible with the quarterbacks and playmakers if you can have enough pass rushers and enough corners,” Jeremiah concluded. “They’re in a pretty good position to be able to address that where they are right now.”