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You can go ahead and file this under "never, ever happening," but even the man who wrote it realizes just that. Still it didn't stop ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. from linking Marcus Mariota to the Kansas City Chiefs in a recent column breaking down the "perfect fit" for certain key prospects.
Kiper thinks Amari Cooper would be perfect for Oakland and Randy Gregory would fit right in with the Jets. When it came to Mariota, however, he has the ideal scenario in a situation that's as unlikely to happen as any -- all the way to No. 18 overall with the Chiefs. Kiper writes:
We keep talking about the perfect marriage (remarriage?) of a Chip Kelly offense and his perfect quarterback in Mariota. But I think of what Andy Reid did with a young Donovan McNabb -- a very good athlete at QB with movement skills but also a lot of projection left as an accurate passer -- not to mention work he's done to maximize the potential of other QBs, and I think he'd be fantastic working with Mariota.
Kiper admits it's unlikely to happen given the "astronomical price" the Chiefs would have to pay to move up to grab Mariota. Going from No. 18 to the first few picks would take a major haul of draft assets -- one that would be cost prohibitive.
In addition, and what Kiper fails to say, is that the Chiefs have already made their investment at quarterback -- not just for the present but for the future. The Chiefs traded two second round picks to the San Francisco 49ers to get Alex Smith. Looking at it this way, it's silly to think that Dorsey would take a quarterback early in this draft after already investing such valuable future assets in the one he already has.