Evaluating a player is a lot like Poker. It's almost entirely luck, yet somehow the same people seem to be sitting on the championship table year after year. In the NFL's case, the high rollers would be people like the Rooneys, Bill Bellichik, Bill Polian, A.J Smith, and Ozzie Newsome.
The Steelers currently start 7 players that were drafted in the fifth round or later, 10 if you add in third rounders and Flozell Adams, who was signed cheap by Pittsburgh. The Colts? TWELVE players started that were drafted lower than the fifth. Six of them went undrafted.
The best franchises are built on late picks and cheap free agents just as much as they are on successful early picks. It's all about value in the NFL, and it doesn't get much better than having a cheap free agent, late round rookie, or undrafted rookie, turn into a starter for a playoff push.
That said, is it possible that the Chiefs have a high value player already on the roster? As it stands the Chiefs start a bunch of guys that could fall under the "good value" category but how many of them are actually good value at this point?
Brandon Carr looks like he was a huge steal for the Chiefs, but he is lined up for a pretty decent contract if the Chiefs want to keep him long term, Verran Tucker shows flashes of brilliance but he was more of a stopgap than anything, and Ron Edwards is near the end of the line.
The Chiefs have some starters like Barry Richardson, Jovan Belcher, Ryan Lilja, and Kendrick Lewis that look to have bright futures ahead of them at solid value. But with so many holes to fill and such a hard schedule ahead for the Chiefs, is it possible a Chief could break out and help them make a playoff push?
via prod.static.chiefs.clubs.nfl.com
Position: G/C
Age: 26
Undrafted
Darryl Harris is one of those guys that could be a fan favorite that never sees an NFL field. Still he's very intriguing. Last year Harris killed it in training camp playing both Center and Guard, but ultimately suffered injury and was moved to the practice squad. Harris has a ton of athleticism and played every offensive line position in college. If he ultimately becomes a starter at Center or Guard, the Chiefs' undrafted class of 09 may be better than the drafted class.
via prod.static.chiefs.clubs.nfl.com
Position: OLB
Age: 23
Undrafted
Cole is one of those "right 53" guys. He's not the most talented guy in the world, but what he does give you is a good frame and tons of hard work. We haven't seen much of Cole in game action outside of a few drives in the Pre-Season, but he has a ton of college tape, having started three years. In terms of a pass rush, Cole is a threat on the edge, but his shorter arms limit him rushing between the tackles. We don't really get to see him in coverage in both college and the pre season, so the ballot is still out there.




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