Chiefs Draft Surprise: No Offensive Tackle

Well, mock drafts may not mean much of anything.

The Kansas City Chiefs were often tied to an offensive tackle in the 2011 NFL draft. Last Wednesday I chatted with OT Gabe Carimi and I had a good feeling that he would end up being the Chiefs pick.

Not only did the Chiefs not draft an offensive tackle in the first round, they didn't draft one in the following six rounds either. The Chiefs did not pick up a right tackle which qualifies as at least a slight surprise.

There aren't quality offensive tackles on the free agent market very often so the Chiefs have to plan for a scenario where Brandon Albert and Barry Richardson are their starting tackles next season. You can't count on picking up another one from somewhere else.

So what does this tell us?

I'm not sure you can look at this and say it means the Chiefs love or hate Brandon Albert and Barry Richardson/Ryan O'Callaghan. Maybe the Chiefs like Albert and Richardson so they didn't draft an offensive tackle. It's also possible the Chiefs feel they need another offensive tackle but you simply can't address it all in one draft.

My gut tells me the Chiefs are content with Albert and Richardson heading into next year. Maybe it's a need, but not one of your priorities.