My Draft Bracket

For all of you March Madness folks- giddy up! For all of you forlorn Football fans who are just passing time until Draft Day, I think I found the perfect compromise. As everyone sits and debates the merits of drafting X or Y player, I have found a way to settle, in my mind’s eye, who our beloved Chiefs should draft with the # 3 pick. Please note that this has about the same percentage of success as any of my NCAA Tournament brackets do, and probably more than the heartbreaking loss that West Virginia caused to me. Darn Bob Huggins anyway.

There have been some great arguments put forth here on AP for the top players in the draft. The general consensus lately seems to be that it is in our best interests to trade down and acquire more picks. I agree completely with that, but I don’t think it is feasible, unless Pioli can put another Belichick-Mind-Trick on some poor unsuspecting team. For the purpose of this post, I will assume that the “Wildcard Trade-Down Scenario” is out of play. Let’s look at the match-ups:

In the Linebacker Bracket we have perhaps the most talented position group in the draft. The top half of Round 1 pits Maualuga against Lauriniatus. This has been one of the most blogged about early season matchups on AP. Crazy "Seau-like" intangibles for Maualuga vs. the faster, surer tackler in Laurinaitus. This comes down to player preference, and I go with Maualuga. Greater risk/reward type player who could grow into our Teddy Bruschi. Maualuga moves on.

The bottom half of the Linebacker Bracket has everyone's consensus top LB up against a USC Hybrid- Cushing/Matthews.  Curry sure "looks" the part of a future Pro Bowler, and I loved that he showed he could move in coverage at the Combine. Brian Cushing and/or Clay Matthews are both intriguing prospects and a "pick ‘em" in the bracket. Cushing seems a little maxed out on potential, while Matthews is exactly the kind of lunch-pail toting team player that we need to rebuild the Chiefs. Coming from a football family doesn't hurt either, so for me it is Matthews vs. Curry. In the draft world, tanglibles mean so much, so Curry moves on.

The Wide Receiver Bracket is one that will get a sideways glance from Haley and Pioli, which oddly enough may be just the kind of slight of hand smoke screen that they want to portray. Offenses are the "thing" right now, so playmakers are paramount. Maclin vs. Harvin has all the playmaking potential that any young team could hope for. Dual threats in the kicking game, both players add 7 points to our PPG stat immediately. Mizzou-bias wins out and Maclin moves on. The other Wide Receiver match-up has someone who should remind our Head Coach of a certain wide receiver...Anyway, Crabtree vs. Heyward-Bey is an easy one. Speed vs. Superstar. Superstar moves on.

The Offensive Lineman group is a highly touted bunch who would draw much attention from the Chiefs, except we hit a home run with Branden Albert last year. The Battle of the Smiths has all but been forfeited by Andre's immature Combine appearance, and Jason's 33 reps and quick feet. Jason Smith could very well be the 1st pick in the actual draft.  Michael Oher seems to be a talented, not quite ready for Primetime, work in progress. So Branden Albert's ex-teammate will move on to face Jason Smith in round 2.

Lastly, the most interesting group in my mock bracket, the Defensive Ends and Rush Backers. This is a critical need for us if we want to be competitive next season. Anyone remember what it was like when we had JA rushing off the edge? With us transitioning to the Pseudo 3-4/4-3, it apparently opens us up to a certain type of pass rushing (predator, vulture, falcon, insert cool new phrase here ______) linebacker. And there appears to be a lot of these out there. Maybin vs. Brown is a battle of guys with great potential. Maybin may have the fastest first step of any player in the draft, but he is on the light side and needs to bulk up. Brown is fast, incredibly strong, and was a consistent sack producer in College. Since he is scheduled for a private workout with the Chiefs soon, I am picking Brown to move on. He seems to fit the mold of 3-4 Backer perfectly.

 Orakpo vs. Ayers is a battle of more traditional style Defensive Ends (although Orakpo is projected to be converted to 3-4 backer). Brian Orakpo wowed all of us Big 12 junkies with his speed and strength this past season, while Robert Ayers was a one season wonder who outperformed the competition at the Senior Bowl. I love Ayers, and feel he could play the 3-4 end position, but one season is just not enough, so Orakpo moves on.

Round 2 is easy pickens: Curry's top rated status beats out Maualuga's Intangibles, Speedy Maclin loses out to Craptree's BPA status, Monroe's bad knee's and 23 reps take a dive to steadily climbing Jason Smith, and Everette Brown's potential (and amazing private work out) vaults him over previous front runner Brian Orakpo.

This is a special Final Four! Curry and Crabtree are two of the best players in this year's Draft bar none. Curry's inability to read Pro defenses lower his stock just enough to allow Crabtree's great hands to shine through. Jason Smith's strength and upside are tempting, but with Albert in place, Brown's potential wins out one more round.

The Championship Game has two players that no one saw getting here. Crabtree pulled an incredible upset over Curry, and Brown came out of nowhere on the lack of need at other top rated positions. Pioli rolls the dice, and Haley pulls for Crabtree, but Scott's love for Linebackers wins out.

So there you have it Bracket Junkies. Could we possibly see an upset of these proportions come April? Oh, and don't bring out the flame throwers just yet. I am still burning from all my NCAA losses!