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It's never too early for the NFL Draft! Actually, yes it is. This is too early right now because the season is going on. However, there are plenty of NFL fans are really just draft fans and SB Nation's Dan Kadar released a mock draft this week.
So, today, we talk draft.
The Chiefs have the 17th pick in Kadar's mock draft. That make them an average team in the NFL which seems better than the 1-3 talk we've been hearing this week. Dan has the Chiefs selecting Michigan State OT Jack Conklin in the first round.
Eric Fisher has officially entered bust territory, so unfortunately the Chiefs could be once again faced with using a high draft pick on a left tackle. Conklin is a steady force at Michigan State, where he's just as comfortable beating speed rushers on the edge as he is getting downfield for a run block.
It doesn't seem like that long ago that the Chiefs were about to address their tackle concerns with Eric Fisher yet by draft season that will have been three years in the past. The Chiefs will probably need a tackle whether you consider Fisher or not because Donald Stephenson, who is starting at left tackle right now, is playing in the final year of his contract. The Chiefs in the past two-plus years have shown that they don't pay their own linemen so, based on that, I am not expecting the Chiefs to pay Stephenson and keep him after this season. The same goes for Jeff Allen. That means the Chiefs need a tackle and that means they need to draft one because they can't go bargain bin hunting for tackles like they did with interior lineman Geoff Schwartz.
What's also going to be fascinating here is if the Chiefs consider a quarterback in the first round. Even if Alex Smith starts to ball out this season, the Chiefs need to think about their long term plan at quarterback. Barring any injuries or surprises, Smith is going to be the Chiefs starting quarterback through the 2016 season. That means the Chiefs might consider a long-term quarterback option in this draft. There are a million variables at play here - first of all, how Smith plays out the rest of this season - but it's something that will certainly be discussed next April.
What position do you want the Chiefs to take next year?