Chiefs Draftmas List

EDGE Dorance Armstrong, Kansas | EDGE Hercules Mata’afa, Washington State | Guard Isaiah Wynn, Georgia | Safety Kyzir White, West Virginia | WR D.J. Moore, Maryland | S Jessie Bates III, Wake Forest | CB Jaire Alexander, Louisville | CB Tarvarus McFadden, Florida State | TE Mike Gesicki, Penn State | DL Tim Settle, Virginia Tech | EDGE Josh Sweat, Florida State | EDGE Kylie Fitts, Utah | Safety Justin Reid | Guard Braden Smith, Auburn | CB DJ Reed, Kansas State | DL Nathan Shepard, Fort Hays State | CB Holton Hill, Texas | CB Issac Yiadom, Boston College

Writing about the draft in a year when the team you write about doesn’t have a first-round pick has its challenges. Having an even murkier than normal view of what will happen at the end of April can be frustrating. But for me, it’s starting to be kind of fun.

There are so many variables in play before the Kansas City Chiefs will even have a chance to pick. Part of what is so great about the draft is the amount of unpredictability. When there’s twice the amount of picks as there normally is between the start of the draft and your selection, even more options creep in.

We’ll likely not see any action on Thursday night. Unless there’s a stunning player trade, the Chiefs are going to struggle to find the draft capital to position themselves there. It could still happen though. Who knows?

Someone’s going to fall in the draft. I don’t know who and I don’t know at what position. But there will be someone there in the 30s, and then the 40s that you would love to see in KC. The longer players we like are on the board, the more intense the moments will get.

Do you know what’s more practical than getting all the way into round one? Simply moving up in round two. What if Jaire Alexander is there in the early 40s? How many of us will be yelling at our TV for the Chiefs to move up?

I’ve been doing an interactive “what-if” scenario on Twitter. No names, just some clues as to who the players might be. If you’ve read Draftmas List articles and listened to the podcast, you’ll have a leg up. Depending on when you are reading this, there might still be some open polls to join in on. The power is in your hands to play the role of general manager.

We’ll discuss who the players are, what we would choose and more on Friday’s episode of the AP Chiefs Draft Show. You can continue to guess the prospects on Twitter.

Two prospects join the Draftmas List this week. Both are candidates to fall into the Chiefs’ lap potentially for a variety of reasons.

Dallas Goedert, Tight end

6’ 5” | 256 lbs. | South Dakota State

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Projected Draft Range: second round

Games watched: TCU 2016, North Dakota State, Western Illinois, Villanova, Youngstown State

Prospect grade (out of 100): 84.5

I would take him in the: second round

One sentence bio: Small-school prospect who joined the South Dakota State program as a walk-on.

One sentence scouting report: Smooth, athletic, dynamic chess piece.

One play:

Why he fits in KC: Someone we don’t expect will fall in the NFL draft to within striking distance of the Chiefs. It very well could be Goedert. HIs pre-draft process has been quiet, having to leave the Senior Bowl early due to hamstring issues that carried over into the NFL Combine. A small-school prospect that lost an opportunity to showcase his talents against better competition because of injury sounds like something that could cast enough doubt to push him down the board. Maybe the Chiefs could even move up a few spots for a small price.

Goedert looks like Travis Kelce at times on the field. He’s a smooth, fluid route runner with some of the more impressive catches in the entire class. He’s a dynamic chess piece the Chiefs could move around to create mismatches and free access with attention turned to Kelce, Sammy Watkins, Tyreek HIll and Kareem Hunt.

Just writing that sentence gives me chills.

Goedert is a better blocker than fellow Draftmas List member Mike Gesicki. He can be more of an inline tight end at this point in his development. In that regard, his presence could make him a little more dangerous and cause a more difficulty in putting the correct defensive personnel on the field.

Trying to defend the aforementioned personnel grouping takes the pressure off Patrick Mahomes, almost guaranteeing the Chiefs a way to exploit the defense at any given time, in any given week.

Billy Price, Interior offensive lineman

6’ 4” | 315 lbs. | Ohio State

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Projected Draft Range: second round

Games watched: Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma

Prospect grade (out of 100): 83.5

I would take him in the: second round

One sentence bio: Former defensive lineman-turned-team captain and 55-game starter on the offensive line.

One sentence scouting report: Experienced, tough, smart player who should be able to play any interior offensive line position.

One play:

Why he fits in KC: Price was widely considered a strong candidate to be taken in the top 40 picks of the draft before a pectoral injury at the NFL Combine put that into question. While good news has come in that Price may be able to return in time for training camp, it still may not be good news for his draft stock.

Enter the Chiefs, with questions marks at left guard and a starting center entering a contract year. I believe Price to be able to play any interior offensive line position you ask him to. Price is a smart player on tape. He disrupted the plans of pass rushers with frequency. He can handle a variety of body and player types in the interior. He’s controlled in space and handles the second level with ease.

With 55 starts at Ohio State under his belt, Price has the experience that should serve him well in his transition to the NFL, even being behind in the pre-draft process due to injury. What’s more—Price was well respected in the Ohio State football program and has the leadership traits you want on the offensive line. This is another example of the Chiefs being able to get a player that’s better than the draft slot the Chiefs find themselves at. I would be happy to see the Chiefs invest in smart, talented football player.

AP Chiefs Draft Show

We’ll have discussions on both these players and more this week coming up on the AP Chiefs Draft Show.

Also, we’re up and running on iTunes for Apple users.

What my grades mean

As a refresher, so you know what the grading scale we use on the show and in this article equates to, here’s a helpful chart: