Chiefs go EDGE in Todd McShay’s new mock draft

ESPN analyst Todd McShay released his latest mock draft on Thursday. Now taking NFL Scouting Combine results into account, McShay believes that the Indianapolis Colts will trade up to the first overall pick (now held by the Chicago Bears) to select Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Then the Las Vegas Raiders trade with the Bears to take Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson with the Colts’ No. 4 pick — and the Bears then take Northwestern offensive lineman Peter Skoronski with the Raiders’ No. 7.

In McShay’s estimation, the Chiefs would have a lot of options with the 31st pick — but not at the positions he sees as the most-critical team needs.

31. Kansas City Chiefs: DE Derick Hall, Auburn

What can the Super Bowl champs do to improve at the end of Round 1? Offensive tackle and receiver are the top needs, but there is no value on the board at either position. Maybe Alabama safety Brian Branch could work in the slot or replace free agent Juan Thornhill on the back end? Perhaps the Chiefs do what they did the last time they won a Super Bowl and cap off the first round with a running back, since Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs is still on the board. Or would GM Brett Veach be tempted by the off-the-chart physical traits of and opt to put him opposite Travis Kelce?

All decent options. But adding another pass-rusher never hurts, and while the Chiefs were second in sacks last season, 21 of their 55 came when defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo dialed up a blitz. Hall had 16 sacks and 26 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, and he just posted a 10-foot-7 broad jump and ran the 40 in 4.55 seconds at 254 pounds at the combine. That’s really good. He’s sudden and takes off in a flash. Let’s add him to the mix in Kansas City opposite 2022 first-rounder George Karlaftis, especially with Carlos Dunlap and now Frank Clark hitting free agency.

In his last mock, McShay had Kansas City take Maryland tackle Jaelyn Duncan at 31. But since Duncan is still on the board, McShay apparently believes his stock has fallen since the combine. Hall is the seventh EDGE taken in this projection — but other EDGE prospects recently mocked to Kansas City (like LSU’s B.J. Ojulari and Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzomah) are still available at 31.

So McShay goes along with the crowd at EDGE — the position most widely projected for the Chiefs — but sees the right player for the position a bit differently than others.