The week before the 2015 NFL Draft the Kansas City Chiefs send director of football operations Chris Ballard to Oakland to meet with Marcus Peters and his family. A few days later, the Chiefs ended up drafting Peters with the 18th overall pick.
It's that background story that has my eyebrows raised when I see that Ballard is attending the Houston pro day on Thursday. (He also attended the Baylor pro day last week with WR Corey Coleman and CB Xavien Howard among others working out).
Houston has a first round prospect in CB William Jackson III, who has been mocked to the Chiefs by the draft analysts out there after a strong Combine. The Chiefs are one of 30 teams at the pro day.
Jackson III passes the eye test: 6'0, 189 pounds and longer arms than Marcus Peters. He also led the national in pass breakups and has ball skills that NFL teams "covet", which sounds a lot like Peters.
"William Jackson is going to climb," Mike Mayock said during the NFL Combine. "His tape is good and now he's a sub 4.4 (40) guy. He had seven passes broken up versus Temple and also had five interceptions on the year. So, you want to talk about ball production and being around and making plays, this kid did it."
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert is also in attendance. The Steelers, by the way, pick 25th on April 28. The Chiefs pick 28th.
"Tall cornerbacks with length who can run and play the football are usually in high demand and that could be the case for Jackson as well," NFL.com's Lance Zierlein writes. "While he has the traits for the position, the league is turning into small and fast or big and strong at the receiver spot and handling those two elements could take a year or two for him to improve in before he becomes a full-time starter."
His NFL comparison on his draft profile? None other than Phillip Gaines, the Chiefs other cornerback. Hmm...