Kiper and McShay’s 3-round mock draft is underwhelming for the Chiefs

Tuesday brought us a three-round ESPN In$ider mock draft co-authored by their top draft gurus: Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. For this one, the two analysts alternated picks, with McShay taking the odd-numbered selections and Kiper selecting the even-numbered ones. No trades were allowed — which may have hampered what both analysts might have wanted to do with the Kansas City Chiefs’ picks.

In the first round, they had Kansas City take a wideout and an edge rusher.

29. Kansas City Chiefs: WR Jahan Dotson, Penn State (McShay)

I think the Chiefs will be in the trade-up business with these back-to-back picks, but since we’re not simulating such moves today, I’m setting Patrick Mahomes up with another speedy pass-catcher with excellent hands.

30. Kansas City Chiefs: OLB David Ojabo, Michigan (Kiper)

For a contender like Kansas City, why not take a chance on a pass-rusher with top-10 upside? The only reason Ojabo dropped this far is the torn Achilles he suffered in March. The Chiefs can afford to wait on him. He could make an impact down the stretch of the season.

Then in the second round, Kiper had both picks — going with a cornerback and another wide receiver.

50. Kansas City Chiefs: CB Roger McCreary, Auburn (Kiper)

Charvarius Ward, who signed with the 49ers this offseason, was an underrated part of the Chiefs’ success. Kansas City hasn’t yet found a replacement for him. McCreary has short arms, but he could play outside or in the slot.

62. Kansas City Chiefs: WR Alec Pierce, Cincinnati (Kiper)

Yes, Todd gave the Chiefs a wideout in Round 1, but they should take Pierce, too, if he’s available. He’s a speedy (and big) deep threat who can make contested catches. He and Jahan Dotson could help fill the Tyreek Hill role.

The two analysts again split the third round, with Kiper taking an edge rusher and McShay selecting a defensive tackle.

62. Kansas City Chiefs: OLB DeAngelo Malone, Western Kentucky (Kiper)

I projected David Ojabo to the Chiefs in Round 1, but they could still look to add edge rushers on Days 2 and 3. Malone had 34 sacks and 62 total tackles for loss in college. He has some pass-rush savvy. If he’s still here, the Chiefs should try to add him to their rotation, even if he’s only a third-down player as a rookie.

62. Kansas City Chiefs: DT Neil Farrell Jr., LSU (McShay)

Farrell is disruptive and powerful up the middle, and he plays with a no-quit motor.

Takeaways

In the three previous McShay mocks we covered before the trade for Tyreek Hill, he had the Chiefs take Dotson in the first two — followed by Georgia defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt in the third. Since the Hill trade, he has published a mock where he had Kansas City trade up to the 17th pick to get Alabama wideout Jameson Williams and then take Minnesota EDGE Boye Mafe with the 30th pick. So McShay has never really been on the first-round EDGE bandwagon — even though in this instance, Mafe would have been available to the Chiefs at 29.

But as we noted while covering his two-round mock last week, Kiper has been on that bandwagon for a while. But rather than go with Mafe — whom he has previously sent to the Chiefs — he went with Ojabo. The former Wolverine is clearly a player with plenty of upside, but he could easily miss much of the 2022 season.

It would have been interesting to see what Kiper would have done if McShay had opted for Mafe at 29. Would Kiper have gone with a defensive back at 30? Georgia safety Lewis Cine was still on the board — as were Baylor safety Jalen Pitre, Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon and Florida corner Kaiir Elam.

Instead — in a draft with wide receiver talent — the two analysts ended up giving Kansas City a first-round wideout. And even after they took two EDGE prospects in the first three rounds, it wouldn't be clear whether the team would have a starting-level edge rusher across from Frank Clark in Week 1.

We have to mark down this mock draft as underwhelming.