Chiefs April Madness: 32-player bracket for pick 32

It’s time for our next group of matchups in April Madness to help whittle down our top 32 to a sweet 16 draft prospects. We last voted in the “Repeat Time” region.

Here’s the bracket:

NFL Winners

With two offensive tackles, two EDGE rushers and an interior offensive lineman, this final region ended up with over half of its seeds from the trenches. K’Lavon Chaisson is one of those EDGE players — and while he doesn’t fit Steve Spagnuolo’s usual defensive end profile, he is an impressive talent. Yetur Gross-Matos is the other defensive end. A lowly No. 7 seed, he fits Spagnuolo’s criteria and looks to have nearly as much potential. Directly in the middle of the bracket, Cesar Ruiz looks dangerous — and he is the clear-cut best interior offensive lineman in the draft. Joining these trench players are fan favorites Kristian Fulton, Denzel Mims and Akeem Davis-Gaither.

Key first-round matchup

CB Kristian Fulton (LSU) vs. DE Yetur Gross-Matos (Penn State)

Fulton has been on the KC Draft Guide team’s radar since last season. While he struggled through injuries, he showed incredible patience off the line of scrimmage, along with the versatility to play in all types of coverage. The lack of panic in his game allows him to consistently stay in phase and excel as a press-mirror cornerback.

Gross-Matos plays both inside and outside, utilizing his explosive first step and length to overwhelm blockers. His pass-rushing plan and counter rush moves have shown a lot of improvement, but they still need to be brought up to the NFL level. His ability to both compress the end of the line of scrimmage and run up the arc give him an incredibly high ceiling.

Other matchups

EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson (LSU) vs. WR Denzel Mims (Baylor)

Chaisson has earned the nod as the second EDGE in this draft class, but a lack of athletic testing and inconsistent play on the field raise questions. He has all of the bend, explosion and counters you want in a pass rusher and despite his slighter size, he does a good job getting leverage in the run game. The issue is his fit in Kansas City, as Steve Spagnuolo has never fielded — for significant snaps — a defensive end with his size profile.

Mims is one of the biggest risers in this draft process after a strong Senior Bowl performance and excellent showing at the NFL Combine. His combination of size and speed is excellent, and he flashes the body control and aggressiveness to dominate at the catch point. His route tree and nuances throughout his route stem need to improve, and he’s done nothing but shown improvement since the season has ended.

IOL Cesar Ruiz (Michigan) vs. OT Prince Tega Wanogho (Auburn)

Ruiz is a do-it-all, versatile interior offensive line prospect that can play any of the three positions on the inside. His frame is powerful and stout, but he has the necessary length and movement skills to dominate on the move. He explodes out of his stance when pulling around the edge and takes extremely efficient angles to the second level. Ruiz is one of the few center prospects that can hold up one-on-one in pass protection with his stout base.

Tega Wanogho is an athletic offensive tackle that is still learning to put all of his athleticism into functional football play. His ability to get depth out of his kick slide or mirror rushers is outstanding, and he has limitless range in the run game. He just has to continue working on playing with a proper base and timing his hands and feet together.

OT Josh Jones (Houston) vs. LB Akeem Davis-Gaither (Appalachian State)

Jones is a powerful, mauling offensive tackle that has above-average movement skills. Despite working with a different offensive line coach every year of his college career, he’s shown a ton of improvement in his technique as a senior. When he gets his hands on a defender on either a run or pass play, he shuts them down completely.

Davis-Gaither is a smaller coverage linebacker that played the overhang role so many colleges use. Where he separates himself from others is with his ability to read and deconstruct blocks either with his hands or by slipping underneath them. There will certainly be a learning curve to being a full time “between the tackles” linebacker but his ability to identify and beat blocks is advanced compared to most coverage linebackers.

This is the final region in the round of 32, and then all of the Sweet 16 matchups will be set.

KC Draft Guide

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