clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Chiefs 2010 Draft Surprise #1: No Weis Guys Allowed

It might seem a bit redundant to say that the Chiefs draft was surprising. Not a single person could have predicted the players taken, the trades not made, the positions addressed and unaddressed. We all guessed, and we all guessed wrong. And that's part of the fun of draft day weekend.

But the surprises went a lot deeper than that, as draft day gave us a few curveballs of a different sort. Over the next few days, we'll run a series on draft day surprises that reveal a bit more about the structure of the Chiefs, the mindset of the front office and the expectations for teh coming season.

Surprise No. 1 - How little influence Charlie Weis had in the draft.
Perhaps I'm mistaken. Perhaps Weis was dying for a McCluster to add to the backfield. Perhaps he relented at the table in an admission that the defensive backfield and special teams units were the ones most in need. But that's not what most of us pictured come draft day. The vast majority of Chiefs fans pictured the newly hired offensive coordinator to have a decent amount of sway in the front office's acquisitions since his arrival, but when it came to the Chiefs choices, nothing seems further from the truth.

Golden Tate was available and wide receiver was continually thrown out by every draft pundit as a position of need. Yet he remained available even after the Chiefs picked (twice!) in the second round. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who Weis knows better than any other NFL personnel man, went undrafted even though much of Chiefs nation remains at least unconvinced of Matt Cassel's long-term promise as the Chiefs starting QB. Yet KC didn't even seem to glance over as the Notre Dame product fell unexpectedly past.

The same could be said of Eric Olson, former ND center, or any other players under Weis' watch. Even those Weis played against went undrafted for the most part, as the Chiefs kept returning to the SEC well time and again. It's as if the Chiefs approach was to take whoever they wanted and then hand it off to Weis knowing he'd be fine with whatever he was given.

This isn't a slight to Weis in any way. We've all hailed the coming of the famous offensive mind. However, it's interesting that none of the "Weis guys" made their way onto the Chiefs roster through the draft. Certainly, that's something few people could have seen coming.

NEW: Join Arrowhead Pride Premier

If you love Arrowhead Pride, you won’t want to miss Pete Sweeney in your inbox each week as he delivers deep analysis and insights on the Chiefs' path to the Super Bowl.