The latest
USC WR Drake London Comments On Potential Future With Kansas City Chiefs | All Trojans
USC wide receiver Drake London praised quarterback Patrick Mahomes, when asked about the possibility of playing for the Chiefs next season. During a video interview with KSHB 41 news reporter Aaron Ladd, London also revealed that he took a pre-draft visit to Kansas City.
“That’s a generational talent,” London said when asked about Mahomes.
“That’s like catching passes from Tom Brady, you know. I mean that is our generation’s Tom Brady at the end of the day. I think he has a more than bright future ahead of him.”
The Chiefs’ defense, meanwhile, is solidifying itself around linebacker Nick Bolton.
Kansas City let safety Tyrann Mathieu walk in free agency and cut linebacker Anthony Hitchens. The Chiefs now can shape their draft around Bolton, who has an impressive rookie season under his belt in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
Bolton recorded a team-leading 112 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, earning a spot on the Pro Football Writers of America’s all-rookie team. He helped the Chiefs to a 12-5 regular-season record, coming a win away from the team’s third straight appearance in the Super Bowl.
“I know where I’m going,” the former Missouri standout and 2021 second-round draft pick told reporters April 18. ”I’ve got an idea of the concrete foundation part of the scheme. Getting that part out of the way, I can work on football-related things to improve myself as a player.”
2017 draft: John Ross over Patrick Mahomes
The Bengals are sitting pretty with Joe Burrow currently at the helm at quarterback, but there is an alternate universe where Patrick Mahomes is QB1 in Cincinnati. At the 2017 NFL Draft, the Bengals spent the No. 9 overall pick on wide receiver John Ross. Immediately following that pick was Mahomes to Kansas City where he has since established himself as an all-time talent with a Super Bowl ring on his finger.
Ross played just four seasons with the Bengals and only totaled 957 yards over that stretch. His best year came in 2019 when he caught 506 yards over eight games, but missed time due to a shoulder injury.
While Cincinnati did have Andy Dalton solidified as its starter at the time, there was a case to move off of him at this juncture if they were bold enough. While he had three years left on his contract, there was no guaranteed salary left at that time and he was coming off a season where he was 6-9-1 as the starter. Daltons would then go under .500 for the rest of his tenure in Cincinnati and would eventually leave the franchise following the 2019 season. Again, it would have been a bold move had the Bengals bet on Mahomes’ potential and ousted Dalton, but it would have paid off immensely.
A Look Back at Every First-Round Draft Pick in Chiefs’ History | The Mothership
- Fourteen of those 50 picks played in at least 100 games with Kansas City: tight end Tony Gonzalez (190), linebacker Derrick Johnson (182), offensive tackle John Alt (179), defensive end Tamba Hali (177), linebacker Derrick Thomas (169), defensive end Neil Smith (138), defensive end Art Still (136), defensive end Mike Bell (135), defensive back Jerome Woods (128), wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (118), offensive tackle Eric Fisher (117), nose tackle Bill Maas (116), defensive back Dale Carter (104) and defensive back Gary Green (100).
- Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is off to the greatest start for any quarterback in NFL history by several statistical measures. Through 63 career starts, Mahomes has the most passing yards (18,991) and the highest passer rating (105.8) in NFL history.
- The Chiefs have a knack for drafting prolific pass rushers in the first round, as Derrick Thomas (126.5), Tamba Hali (89.5), Neil Smith (85.5) and Art Still (73.0) are four of the top five sack artists in franchise history. Thomas was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Charles Davis 2022 NFL mock draft 3.0: Drake London first of seven WRs selected | NFL.com
29 - Kansas City Chiefs
(from SF through MIA)
Daxton Hill
Michigan · S · Junior
Though he’s listed as a safety, Hill has the speed and skill set to be a nickel defender and a pure CB. Kansas City is in need of help in the secondary, and the Chiefs will quickly find a variety of ways for him to contribute.
30 - Kansas City Chiefs
Skyy Moore
Western Michigan · WR · Junior
Yes, despite the additions of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdez-Scantling, wide receiver is still a need in Kansas City, and the Chiefs fill it here with Moore, who brings plenty of speed and toughness to the field. If they choose to double down on defense in Round 1, they could gamble a bit by selecting David Ojabo and waiting for him to heal; they could also look to another promising Big Ten edge rusher, like Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie or Minnesota riser Boye Mafe.
Round 1 - Pick 30
Christian Watson WR
Kansas City
Not exactly a perfect replacement for Hill, but a cheap option who will have time to develop in Andy Reid’s offense.
Quarterback Anthony Gordon is back with Kansas City Chiefs | Arrowhead Addict
The Kansas City Chiefs have decided to bring back a familiar face in quarterback Anthony Gordon this offseason.
Patrick Mahomes and Henne have the top two spots on the depth chart locked down, obviously, and the team typically carries only two quarterbacks onto the active roster once the 53-man limit is in place. However, Buechele might be prime for another offseason fight against Gordon as OTAs are upcoming to go with further minicamps and then training camp in July. Gordon is another arm to have around for now, but it will be interesting to see how long he lasts here.
Gordon broke out in his final season at Washington State with 48 passing touchdowns in 2019. He threw for 5.579 yards that season for the Cougars and completed nearly 72 percent of his passing attempts. Along with the Chiefs, he’s also earned looks from the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos.
Around the NFL
2022 NFL Draft Buzz: Latest league news, rumors from Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s Round 1 | NFL.com
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Wednesday on NFL Now that people close to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch don’t believe that they want to trade Samuel, and ultimately will choose not to.
Lynch previously said Monday during a pre-draft press conference that he “can’t ever imagine wanting to move on from Deebo,” backing up the idea that the 49ers would want to try to exhaust all other options for reconciliation before sending Samuel away. In addition, the San Francisco philosophy has traditionally been to not let players dictate terms through trade demands, so it will be interesting to see whether this will be possible in this case.
Arizona Cardinals pick up Kyler Murray’s fifth-year option; now under contract through ‘23 | ESPN
The option for 2023 will guarantee Murray a salary of about $29 million.
Murray, who was taken first overall in 2019, was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract, making him eligible for an extension that his agent has publicly stated Murray wanted sooner rather than later.
At the NFL combine in March, Keim said the Cardinals would pick up Murray’s option, a day after Murray’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, posted a letter on Twitter that explained how a detailed contract proposal was sent to the team.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and left tackle Cam Robinson have reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension worth $54 million, a league source confirmed Wednesday.
Robinson was set to play the 2022 season on the franchise tag for a guaranteed $16.7 million and instead will make $18 million annually through 2024.
Robinson, whom the Jaguars selected 34th overall in the 2017 NFL draft, also played on the franchise tag in 2021 for $13.75 million.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
AP Dream Draft: Building the perfect 2022 draft for the Chiefs
Second Round
Early on Day 2, potential draft targets like Dotson and Pickens are still on the board at pick 36. Watson and Ojabo get selected in the meantime.
Other names are available as they get on the clock:
Washington CB Kyler Gordon
Western Michigan WR Skyy Moore
Penn State S Jaquan Brisker
Clemson CB Andrew Booth Jr.
They’ll finally invest a high pick at cornerback here — selecting Kyler Gordon at 36.
AP writer Kristian Gumminger broke down Gordon for the site; he believes Gordon fits well in Kansas City:
“In defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme, Gordon’s physicality and burst will be a welcome addition to the cornerback group. With his ability to play both outside and in the slot — and the quick burst that allows him to go wherever he is needed — Spagnuolo will have another chess piece to move around.”
Before their next selection at 50, the Chiefs find a trade partner in the Atlanta Falcons to move up and secure a particular player. The trade is for pick 43 and pick 82, and the Chiefs would send picks 50, 103, and 135 in exchange.
The Chiefs take their wide receiver target: George Pickens, at pick 43. Injury and personality question marks make him one of the surprising falls of the draft — but Kansas City stops the slide, admitting that the value is worth the risk at this point.
After writing a draft profile on Pickens earlier this month, AP writer Rocky Magana is a firm believer in the big-play wideout:
“When healthy, Pickens is the clear WR1 in this draft and it’s not even close.” He is just over a year removed from an ACL tear, which puts him on a timetable of about midseason when he would be returning to full strength from the injury. If the medicals check out on the knee, this could be the greatest draft steal of the weekend.
Senior writer Matt Stagner believes the Pickens selection is the type of swing the Chiefs should make with the first receiver they take.
“The WR they should target is one with huge WR1 upside. No need for a safe pick or another WR2.. they have those guys on the roster.”
The Chiefs let the draft board come to them next, keeping their minds open on which position to pick since they’ve addressed each major need. With how the board fell, they went ahead and executed the double-up move: The Chiefs select Alabama wide receiver John Metchie at pick 63. Metchie’s injury forced him to miss most of the pre-draft process, but his on-field ability is likely worth a higher pick than 63. His play style also complements what Pickens will bring.
A tweet to make you think
VIDEO: #Chiefs need defensive line help. Could UGA star Jordan Davis fall to KC at the end of the first round? pic.twitter.com/dZE5m7jszm
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladd0) April 27, 2022
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