I talked about the Kansas City Chiefs 2012 NFL draft and the selection of Memphis DT Dontari Poe with Danny Parkins and Carrington Harrison on 610 Sports Radio this afternoon and Danny asked a really good question: How much do we really know about how GM Scott Pioli drafts?
In the first two years of Pioli's tenure in KC, I would've said we know quite a bit about the Chiefs GM and how he drafts. He likes safe picks and doesn't want his first round pick to bust. That's how I felt with Tyson Jackson and Eric Berry at the time.
In the last two drafts, however, the theme seems to have changed. Pioli seems to be taking more risks in the last two drafts than those first two. Jonathan Baldwin and Justin Houston were both "risks" when the Chiefs took them. Poe has a similar label as a "boom-or-bust" type of pick.
Whether those labels are fair...only time will tell.
This draft pick was interesting because I thought Poe, despite being a position of need and a Chiefs draft interest, didn't have the core characteristics that the Chiefs sought in a draft pick -- mainly that he dominate his level of competition, which Poe really didn't.
It's still very early in the draft. Six more rounds to go. So I reserve the right to change my opinion on my early thoughts on this draft, but it's an interesting one early.