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But Peter Schrager, an analyst for Fox Sports and the NFL Network, believes the Chiefs got a steal by picking Pacheco. On Thursday’s “Good Morning Football,” Schrager and Tom Pelissero shared their favorite late-round draft picks/undrafted free agent signings “If you haven’t seen Pacheco play, he’s one of the most explosive running backs in this draft, somehow falls to the seventh round to the Kansas City Chiefs,” Schrager said.
“What I love about this kid is his story, an unbelievable one where he has lost two different siblings to heinous, heinous situations. He has lost both his brother and his sister. He is carrying on the tradition of his entire family. “Pacheco wears that with the name is on his jersey but he is carrying a whole town, a whole family and I loved watching him play at Rutgers, and the fact he is now on the big stage, I could not be happier for him going to the Chiefs. Awesome kid, awesome story, and I think he might make an immediate impact on Day 1 for the Kansas City Chiefs out of their backfield.”
Chiefs’ coach Andy Reid chimes in on Ryan Tannehill’s refusal to mentor Malik Willis | Clutch Points
While appearing on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Reid shares the message he told Alex Smith after the Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes. He claims, “I told Alex, ‘Go out and have the greatest year you’ve ever had. You don’t have to teach Patrick. We’re here to do that as coaches.’” So, one of the greatest coaches in the league is backing up Ryan Tannehill.
6. Who is the most impactful selection outside of the first round?
Edwards: Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan - “If this is a long-term question, then I am very intrigued by USC edge rusher Drake Jackson landing with Kris Kocurek in San Francisco. He is a young player that has not been cut loose to attack the quarterback, which appears to be his strongest trait. Instead, I will focus more on the present and say Moore. There are a lot of mouths to feed in that offense but Moore is the most dynamic player on that roster. With his route-running, Patrick Mahomes should be able to trust him early and that is going to lead to yards after the catch opportunities in Andy Reid’s offense.
Kansas City Chiefs: Bryan Cook, S
Round 2, No. 62 overall | College: Cincinnati
It is difficult to be critical of Kansas City’s draft when it had some of my favorites selections in George Karlaftis, Skyy Moore and Darian Kinnard. General manager Brett Veach did well to supplement the defensive side of the ball with five of the team’s first six selections, but Cook did not carry that level of value to me.
2022 NFL Draft class rankings: Chiefs, Jets, Ravens shine brightest | NFL.com
3 - Kansas City Chiefs
PARR: With their division rivals making a lot more noise than the Chiefs did in free agency, the pressure was turned up on Kansas City to make good use of the rich collection of draft capital it possessed this year after parting with Tyreek Hill. General manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid did not disappoint. I identified receiver, edge rusher and cornerback as their three biggest needs entering the draft, and they addressed those positions with their top three selections, finding solid value with each pick. There was some handwringing when McDuffie’s arm measured shorter than 30 inches at the NFL Scouting Combine, but a couple NFL.com draft experts didn’t sour on him: Daniel Jeremiah called him one of the safest players in the draft and Lance Zierlein likened him to Packers Pro Bowl CB Jaire Alexander. Sign me up for that. Jeremiah’s comp for Karlaftis is Ryan Kerrigan, another former Boilermaker and a guy who consistently produced double-digit sacks in his prime years. Karlaftis is not considered the biggest playmaker versus the run, but there’s no doubt about his motor and he’s here to get after passers anyway. On Day 2, finding Moore waiting for them at No. 54 was a bit of a surprise and a major boon for Kansas City. NFL Network analytics expert Cynthia Frelund locked in Moore as the best value pick of Rounds 2-3. The Chiefs added three more potential future starters on defense before the fourth round was over, nabbing a couple hard-hitting enforcer types in Cook and Chenal and a long corner with good instincts in Williams. Don’t sleep on the Chiefs’ seventh-round RB, either. Pacheco is an all-gas, no-brakes runner. Overall, it was an excellent draft weekend for a team looking to fend off some very hungry challengers to the AFC West throne.
Chiefs FB Mike Burton pumped for second season under RB coach Greg Lewis | Chiefs Wire
“He puts in the work to understand it, not only within himself, but he puts in the work to be able to communicate it to the players so that we understand it better,” Burton explained. “I think that’s one of his strengths, that he makes it very easy for us to understand. Whether it’s the run game, the pass game, the protection game – all of that stuff is communicated extremely well from Greg to us. It allows us to then go play fast, which makes our group better.”
Having been a former player himself, Lewis is able to relate to his players on a different level. That already gives him a bit of an advantage when it comes to communicating.
“He was a player himself,” Burton said. “So, he has that side of him that he can bring to us and (use) to help us. He’s been in our shoes before, which is just another addition that makes him such a great coach too. I can’t speak highly enough about him. It has been an unbelievable experience playing for him thus far.”
Chiefs waive Super Bowl winner | The Mothership
We have waived C Austin Reiter.
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) May 6, 2022
Around the NFL
1. Russell Wilson, 2022 MVP
I am Team Russ. Always have been. Always will be. Dudes like this don’t get dealt in their prime. And make no mistake, he is still very much in his prime. This is the best cast he has had around him in a long time. This is a coach who is going to be the opposite of Pete Carroll and will be skewing everything possible in favor of the passing game. It’s go time. They have speed. They have big targets. They will have a scheme that has worked wonderfully well in Green Bay and with the L.A. Rams, among others. I see Denver as being a very real factor in a loaded AFC, and Russ is going to get his cookies.
Dan Ventrelle, whose abrupt departure as Las Vegas Raiders team president was announced in a statement by owner Mark Davis on Friday, released his own statement later, alleging he was fired in retaliation for bringing concerns by multiple employees about hostile workplace conditions within the organization to the NFL.
“I take that responsibility very seriously, which is why multiple written complaints from employees that Mark [Davis] created a hostile work environment and engaged in other potential misconduct caused me grave concern,” Ventrelle said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “When Mark was confronted about these issues he was dismissive and did not demonstrate the warranted level of concern.
“Soon thereafter, I was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns. I firmly stand by my decision to elevate these issues to protect the organization and its female employees.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
ESPN’s Seth Walder: the Chiefs gave up too much to get Trent McDuffie
Takeaways
Walder says that “it’s important to evaluate trades [separately] from the players selected at those spots.” I completely disagree.
I would argue that any draft-day trade-up (and in fact, almost any trade-up) cannot be separated from the player the team wants to acquire with the higher pick. Otherwise, why would any team trade up in the first place?
So in this case, the real question is whether the Chiefs paid too high a price to acquire Trent McDuffie — who isn’t even mentioned in Walder’s article.
According to our consensus ranking of 2022 draft prospects, the Washington corner was the top-ranked player at his position. Since then, Kansas City general manager Brett Veach has acknowledged that McDuffie was one of the 16 to 18 players on whom the Chiefs had a first-round grade.
Given the opportunity to do so, Veach did not identify edge rusher George Karlaftis — the player they selected with the 30th pick — as one of those 18 players. It’s also likely that Florida State edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II — then the highest-ranked EDGE — was also not among the players Kansas City had graded as first-round prospects. Otherwise, the Chiefs probably would have taken Johnson (instead of McDuffie) with the 21st pick. The same could be said for Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam.
A tweet to make you think
I see a process with second pick WR Skyy Moore, the same it was in a way with Tyreek Hill. Yes, make an impact in year one and be a part of the offense, but they are in an environment that allows these players to develop and grow year after year. My report on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/0zqWOa7GLM
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) May 6, 2022
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