A few weeks ago we asked our readers what the Kansas City Chiefs priority in free agency and the 2015 NFL Draft should be. The results went like this:
Wide receiver (49 percent)
Offensive tackle (24 percent)
Offensive guard (22 percent)
Inside linebacker (4 percent)
I can get on board with those being the Chiefs top four needs right now. The offensive tackle position will depend on what happens with Donald Stephenson and / or Ryan Harris but you can make the argument for a first round tackle.
The Chiefs will take care of some of these needs in free agency. They could sign a starting receiver, which would eliminate some of the talk about a first round receiver. Or they could sign an offensive lineman in free agency and make that need less pressing. In short, this list of needs will change after free agency starts on March 10.
NFL Network's Mike Mayock recently released his list of the top players at each position. I plucked out the four positions of need for the Chiefs and included them here.
Wide receiver
1. Kevin White, West Virginia
2. Amari Cooper, Alabama
3. DeVante Parker, Louisville
4. Dorial Green-Beckham, Missouri
5. Devin Funchess, Michigan
Many people had Cooper ahead of White not that long ago so that's a bit of a surprise. I would really like to have White but it sure looks like he will be gone by that point. Mel Kiper sent Ohio State WR Devin Smith to the Chiefs in his last mock but Smith is not in Mayock's top five. Kiper's first mock draft sent Dorial Green-Beckham to the Chiefs. I could see the Chiefs having a shot at the third through fifth receivers here.
Interior offensive linemen
1. Brandon Scherff, Iowa
2. Cameron Erving, Florida State
3. Laken Tomlinson, Duke
4. A.J. Cann, South Carolina
5. Tre' Jackson, Florida State
It would be kind of fitting if the Chiefs drafted Cameron Erving with Rodney Hudson, another Florida State lineman, facing free agency. I have heard Scherff's name plenty but I don't know as much about these offensive linemen.
Offensive tackle
1. T.J. Clemmings, Pittsburgh
2. Andrus Peat, Stanford
3. La'el Collins, LSU
4. Ereck Flowers, Miami (Fla.)
5t. Cedric Ogbuehi, Texas A&M
5t. D.J. Humphries, Florida
Peat and Flowers were mocked to the Chiefs in SB Nation's latest mock draft which included multiple options for each team. Ogbuehi is very, very intriguing to me. He was considered a top pick before the season but tore his ACL in his Bowl game. This could be a decent value pick.
Linebacker
1. Paul Dawson, TCU
2. Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State
3. Denzel Perryman, Miami (Fla.)
4. Eric Kendricks, UCLA
5. Stephone Anthony, Clemson
Kendricks has the Terez Paylor seal of approval so that's something. Matt Verderame also thinks the pick will be an inside linebacker.