With Chiefs’ pick, Maurice Jones-Drew’s latest mock goes with the crowd

If it’s a day that ends in “y” in April, there must be a new mock draft somewhere. On Tuesday, former NFL running back Maurice-Jones-Drew published his second of the offseason on NFL.com.

When MJD published his first mock on March 9, he projected offensive tackle Teven Jenkins to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 31st pick. This time — with Jenkins still on the board — he goes a different direction.

31. Jayson Oweh • EDGE • Penn State

The Chiefs didn’t consistently generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks last season. Placing Oweh alongside Frank Clark and Chris Jones will help.

This seems to be a sudden trend among national analysts. In his Tuesday mock, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. also picked Oweh to go to the Chiefs in the first round — as did CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones in a new projection that dropped on Wednesday. Other mock drafts have also fallen this way for the Chiefs.

So what’s going on here? Both Kiper and Jones had the top offensive tackles off the board before the Chiefs went on the clock, so the idea that Kansas City might prioritize a defensive need in the first round (and still hope that they could snag a tackle in the second) is at least supported by the idea the team is taking the best player available. But Jones-Drew does so while one of the top tackle prospects is still on the board.

For many, it’s a head-scratcher — unless there’s a disinformation campaign being run out of an office at 1 Arrowhead Drive.