We have another new mock draft — this one from CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco. Published on Tuesday, it is his third of the offseason. He now thinks the Kansas City Chiefs will take an edge rusher with their first-round pick.
31. Jayson Oweh • EDGE • Penn State
Prospect Rank: 21st
Position Rank: 1stOweh needs some work on his technique, but he plays hard and he has a ton of talent. Lost in the poor play of the Chiefs’ offensive line in the Super Bowl was their inability to pressure the quarterback. Oweh would help fix that.
Prisco helpfully provides his own prospect and position rankings — although, in this projection, he has his second and fourth-ranked edge rushers (Gregory Rousseau and Carlos Basham Jr.) coming off the board before Oweh. In his two previous mocks, he’s picked offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker — and Rousseau — for the Chiefs at 31.
Like NFL.com writer Lance Zierlein — whose third mock draft projected center Landon Dickerson to the Chiefs with their first pick — Prisco is going a bit outside of the mainstream thinking. Also like Zierlein, he has offensive tackles Penei Sewell, Christian Darrisaw, Rashawn Slater and Teven Jenkins off the board before the Chiefs get a shot — although Prisco thinks Liam Eichenberg will also be gone at 31.
So in Prisco’s view, available tackles like Sam Cosmi, Dillon Radunz and Alex Leatherwood would take a back seat to a player he sees as a top-flight EDGE at 31.
And he has a point: the play of Kansas City’s offensive line may have been the big headline from Super Bowl LV, but the team’s pass rush was almost as ineffective against Tom Brady as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive front was proficient in pressuring Patrick Mahomes. Per Pro Football Focus, Tampa Bay had 44 pressures in the championship game, while the Chiefs notched only five.
Could it be that the Chiefs would hope to address the offensive issue later in this tackle-rich draft so that they could grab a top player like Oweh? If they are able to secure the services of a veteran tackle before then, it’s at least a possibility.