Background: On September 5th, FoxSports staff finished publishing a ranking of each NFL teams’ "young talent." The series has the Chiefs ranked #8 overall. The criteria for young talent was not player age but draft class: anyone drafted in 2019 or later. That means several of these players are no longer on their rookie deals or have already signed massive extensions. Geoff Schwartz wrote the Chiefs piece in this series.

Disclaimer: So far as I know, this conversation NEVER HAPPENED. It’s a pure figment of my imagination. For fun.

Warning: This is longer than your typical AP article, over 3,000 words. Think Malcolm Gladwell.

-Brett: Geoff, so nice to meet you. I quite enjoyed your recent article on FoxSports ranking the young talent on NFL rosters.

-Geoff: Why thank you, Brett. I was a little nervous when you asked to see me. I thought I might have done something wrong… or maybe wanted to offer me a job.

-Brett: Haha. Nothing like that, Geoff. I just want to talk about football. Your article, or really series of articles, had a lot of good stuff in it… but there were a few things that left me scratching my head.

-Geoff: Oh really? Like what?

-Brett: Well let’s start with some of the things you said or didn’t say about the young talent the Chiefs have acquired.

-Geoff: Ok.

-Brett: So you listed only 6 players as part of our core in the article, but then you quoted an NFC executive who said he had 13 players with starter-level grades. Now there were teams who got way more than 6 players, sometimes guys who have never started in the league. What gives?

-Geoff: I’m sorry, Brett. Could you be more specific?

-Brett: Sure. You listed Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, Nick Bolton, and Tommy Townsend. Now all of those guys deserved to be mentioned, but there were quite a few you left out.

-Geoff: Do you mean Isiah Pacheco?

-Brett: Well, he’s certainly one of them. I mean the kid came in as a 7th round rookie last year, took over as our starting RB midway through the season and put up over 1,000 yards including the playoffs. Don’t you think he could be part of our young core?

-Geoff: You’re right, Brett. I’m sorry he slipped through the cracks. Anything else?

-Brett: Yeah, a lot else. What about Willie Gay who put up over 100 tackles as our starting LB?

-Geoff: Yeah, ok. Willie should’ve been on the list.

-Brett: And what about George Karlaftis who finished the year with 6 sacks total, 5.5 in the last 7 games? And he also had 7 passes defensed which tied for 2nd in the entire league for linemen? He was arguably the 2nd best rookie DE behind Aidan Hutchinson. How did he miss your list?

-Geoff: I don’t know Brett. We made a mistake, ok?

-Brett: And what about Leo Chenal?

-Geoff: Ok, we can add Leo Chenal. Anyone else?

-Brett: Well now that you mentioned it, except for Justin Reid, our entire secondary, 9 players in all, were drafted in 2019 or later.

-Geoff: Are you saying they should all be considered members of your young core?

-Brett: Well Geoff, if the criteria is the 2019 draft class, don’t you think that at least our starters and key rotational guys should count?

-Geoff: All right. So who would that be?

-Brett: Well, Bryan Cook and Mike Edwards at safety and then Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams at corner. And then we’ll see about Chamarri Conner and Darius Rush. I understand if you don’t want to put the 2 rookies on there yet.

-Geoff: Fine. Are we done yet?

-Brett: Not quite. You also forgot about Mike Danna who has been a solid d-lineman for us the last 3 years with inside-outside versatility.

-Geoff: Ok, you can add Mike Danna. Now are we done.

-Brett: Well…

-Geoff: Well what Brett?

-Brett: I’m sorry to be annoying, but what about our young pass-catchers?

-Geoff: Kadarius Toney can’t stay healthy, and Week 1 was a dumpster fire. Skyy Moore had just 250 yards receiving all last year. Justyn Ross and Rashee Rice haven’t proven anything at the NFL level yet. And Noah Gray lives in the shadow of Travis Kelce. Do you really want me to put all of them on my list?

Brett: Maybe. What’s your criteria for listing players?

-Geoff: We just put up whoever we felt like.

-Brett: Ok, Geoff. That’s a bit lazy, don’t you think?

-Geoff: Look, we had a deadline to meet, ok?

-Brett: I get it. I just think that if this is your job, you should do it with excellence, don’t you agree?

-Geoff: Yes. I’m sorry for getting snappy. We just did what they asked us to do.

-Brett: No worries, Geoff. I appreciate your honesty. That takes a lot of courage.

-Geoff: Thanks, Brett.

-Brett: Let’s not discuss the Chiefs’ roster anymore. Do you mind if we talk briefly about something interesting that’s not in your article?

-Geoff: Go right ahead.

-Brett: Well, you have us listed as #8. But we’ve never had a top 8 pick in my entire time as GM. In fact, we’ve never had a pick higher than 30th except for the Tyreek Hill trade where we acquired pick 29 and then moved up to 21 to take Trent McDuffie.

-Geoff: That’s true. And quite remarkable. What’s your point?

-Brett: Well now hang on. It’s even worse than that. In 2019 we traded our 1st rounder to SEA for Frank Clark.

-Geoff: Yep. Ok.

-Brett: And in 2020, we made a mistake and drafted CEH. It’d be nice to have that pick back and get someone we let slide into the 2nd round like Tee Higgins, Jonathan Taylor, or Trevon Diggs.

-Geoff: Well, you can’t bat 1.000 you know?

-Brett: I know, but that was my 1st 1st rounder, and I whiffed. Then in 2021, we traded our 1st rounder again for Orlando Brown, Jr. I’m glad we protected Pat (mostly) for those 2 years, but maybe we could’ve found a better way to use that pick since Orlando has now left as a free agent. I guess hindsight is 20/20.

-Goeff: Is your point in all this that you’ve done more with less?

-Brett: Yes, Geoff! That’s my point exactly. We were able to come in 8th in your rankings even though we’ve never had a top 10 pick, not a top 20 pick. Our highest pick without trading was Karlaftis at #30. Isn’t that incredible? I mean, if you graded your young talent rankings on a curve, we’d probably be #1 don’t you think?

-Geoff: While I haven’t thought about it that way before, you’re probably right, Brett. As you help me put it into perspective, you’ve done a phenomenal job with very limited draft capital due to the Chiefs success during the Mahomes era.

-Brett: Exactly. So just to recap quickly the talent we’ve amassed that’s: 5 WRs, 1 solid TE, 1 starting RB, 2 Pro-Bowl caliber IOL, our entire secondary except Reid, our entire LB corps with 2 being Pro Bowl-worthy, 3 of our top 4 DEs (I forgot to mention Felix Anudike-Uzomah earlier), and a 1st team All-Pro punter. By my count that’s 28 players, 13 starter-level guys, and 5 Pro Bowl-caliber players. On sheer volume I’d put that group up against any team’s talent level. Seriously.

-Geoff: That is impressive, but Philly has Hurts, AJB, and Devonta Smith.

-Brett: That is a really great trio, and then you forgot to throw in Dallas Goedert who made one heck of a catch (not-catch) in the Super Bowl. So they’ve got 4 guys who could go to the Pro Bowl.

-Geoff: And what about Carter and Davis, their 2 young DTs out of Georgia?

-Brett: Well, those fellas have done less than Karlaftis, so again, what’s your criteria? Hype? Draft capital? Let’s see it on the field first, ok? And if you’re just going by draft capital, don’t you think 1st rounder Nolan Smith should’ve been included?

-Geoff: Again, you caught us. We were lazy.

-Brett: That’s all right. Now you have Dallas at #2, and they have some phenomenal young players. Tony Pollard, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, Terence Steele who they got as a UDFA, Micah Parsons who was the steal of his class, and Tyler Smith. That’s 3 Pro Bowlers and 3 more solid starters including a young OT. Those are some great players, but again, the volume is so much less.

-Geoff: Well, I didn’t include every player they’ve got from 2019 or later.

-Brett: I know. I’m just saying. The high end talent is there. I would just like to see if they can hit on as many mid-level contributors as we have. They got Parsons at #12 overall and Lamb at #17 overall. Those are picks we’re never going to see in KC. Again, I missed the boat on Diggs when I took CEH, but still if we’re grading on a curve, I don’t feel too bad about where KC is at compared to the Cowboys. Now at #3 you’ve got Cincinnati.

-Geoff: Yes, again, there’s a high-end trio: Burrow-Chase-Higgins.

-Brett: Ah yes, Higgins. The one that got away. So those are some amazing talents, but Burrow was the 1.1 and Chase was the 1.5 a year later. We were never going to sniff those guys. We were picking at 30 or later.

-Geoff: I know, but they’re young and they’re talented. That was the criteria.

-Brett: Ok. Ok. Again, if we focus on high-end talent, I agree. But it sure is a lot easier when you’ve got a top 5 pick. Then you’ve got Jacksonville at #4.

-Geoff: Yep, they’re loaded. Calvin Ridley is awesome. DE Josh Allen was drafted in 2019. Then in 2021, they hit on 4 guys Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Tyson Campbell, and Andre Cisco.

-Brett: Yep. Those are some good players. Now Ridley was drafted in 2018, so he shouldn’t have counted, but we’ll let you have him anyway. I’m sure it was an honest mistake. Now that 2021 class was all picked in the top 65 since JAX had the 1.1 that year and got a 2nd 1st round pick by trading away Jalen Ramsey. And you mentioned Devin Lloyd in your article who had a nearly identical season to Willie Gay. So that’s 9 quality starters with 2 guys capable of making the Pro Bowl in Ridley and Lawrence. Not bad. What about the Jets at #5?

-Geoff: Well, Sauce is the Boss and the reigning DROY. And Garrett Wilson was the OROY with horrible QB play. Then Breece Hall looks like a stud who may have been the OROY except for his injury. And they just gave Quinnen Williams a bunch of money because he’s a quality young DT. And Alijah Vera-Tucker is a solid guard.

-Brett: I agree, Geoff, those are some good players. While they don’t play the same position, I’m not sure Williams is better than George Karlaftis. Sauce may be better than McDuffie, but not by much. And he doesn’t have a young Sneed next to him. Garrett Wilson is stellar, but what if Kadarius Toney can stay healthy? Or Justyn Ross? Not sure, there’s a huge diffence there. And Breece Hall is not that different from Isiah Pacheco. And except for Hall, they were all taken as top 15 picks! So 5 high-end starters and 3 or maybe more Pro Bowlers. It’s still not the crazy numbers we’ve got in KC. Now let’s talk about San Francisco who you’ve got at #6.

-Geoff: Sure. Nick Bosa is one of the top pass-rushers in the NFL.

-Brett: When healthy. Absolutely.

-Geoff: Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are both great young receivers.

-Brett: They’ve each had 1 good year. No doubt about that.

-Geoff: Brock Purdy looks like the real deal as an NFL QB.

-Brett: Again, no argument from me. The sample size is a bit small, and maybe some D Coordinators start to figure some things out, but he also has room to grow and adjust.

-Geoff: And Greenlaw and Hufanga are both solid pieces on the back 7 of the D.

-Brett: You’ll get no argument from me. Those are both good players.

-Geoff: So are you good with them being ranked ahead of KC?

-Brett: Well, the QB position is so important, that it distorts things a bit. If you somehow counted Mahomes, or even half of Mahomes, then I think it would skew things in our direction. But sticking with your criteria for this article, I can accept that SF has amassed some very good talent since the 2019 draft.

-Geoff: Well then I have Minnesota ranked #7, and I admit most of that is Justin Jefferson, but they also have OT Christian Darrisaw, TJ Hockenson, and Alexander Mattison.

-Brett: Those are some quality pieces, and if they did a 2020 re-draft today, perhaps Jefferson would go as the 1.1. Mattison is basically Pacheco with more pass-catching upside. Hockenson may not be that much better than Gray, but he gets more opportunities so his production is better. Darrisaw is a very good OT which might be worth more than Creed and Trey combined. I saw you included Addison in your article, and maybe he deserves to be there, but it’d be nice to see more from him first. The superstardom of Jefferson shifts all of this quite a bit. Again, I like our depth, but the Vikings certainly have found a bigger star than anything we’ve nabbed since 2018.

-Geoff: So is there anyone we ranked below KC that you think should be above them?

-Brett: Wow. Now that’s a great question, Geoff. I think you could make an argument for Seattle being above a lot of these teams. They don’t have the young QB, but they did have perhaps the #1 draft last year (I think it was better than NYJ’s but it’s a close call). Going back to 2019, they drafted DK Metcalf. Again, that’s one I’d like to have back. We took Mecole for his speed, but Metcalf has the speed and the size and the route-running. Like most, we were worried about his hands and his technique. Whoops. Then last year they landed 2 OT’s in Cross and Lucas, a stud RB in Kenneth Walker III, and DROY finalist Tariq Woolen. That’s an incredible haul. And then this year, they got the CB1 Devon Witherspoon and the WR1 JSN. They are going to have a tough time getting past SF and PHI, but they definitely have some great building blocks for the next few years.

-Geoff: Ok, Brett. So how would you rank teams using the criteria I established?

-Brett: Because of the value of the QB position, and the surplus value of having a QB on a rookie contract, I can understand putting Philly, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, and San Francisco in the top 4. We could split hairs over who belongs where, but I can accept that being the top tier. Then I think the 2nd tier is Seattle, Dallas, the Jets, Minnesota and us. I don’t think it’d be right to put us lower than 9th. And again it depends on your criteria. If your primary criterion is depth, I think you could put us at the top of the 2nd tier. If star power matters more, and I can make that argument, then I can understand putting us as low as 9th. But if you take the QB position out or somehow level it, then I think it’d be hard to keep KC out of the top 5. Our scouts and our coaches have been top-notch at identifying and developing smart, talented, versatile players. I would put us ahead of everybody in the 2nd tier except maybe Seattle and Dallas. And I would put us ahead of everybody in the 1st tier except maybe San Francisco and Jacksonville (IF you mistakenly count Ridley). I mean, we’re just loaded. I know a lot of people in the media don’t want to hear this, but as long as we have Mahomes, we’re going to be good for a very long time. Now I do have 1 last question for you, Geoff.

-Geoff: Sure, go ahead, Brett. I’ve enjoyed our time so far.

-Brett: Thank you. I was wondering, what made you pick 2019?

-Geoff: What do you mean?

-Brett: I mean, many of the players you list as part of the "young core" are no longer on their rookie contracts. The players drafted in 2019 are on veteran contracts unless they were 1st rounders with their 5th year option picked up. And even those 5th year options are a bit more expensive. Already the guys drafted in 2020 are eligible for extensions like the one Hurts just signed in Philly.

-Geoff: What are you implying?

-Brett: Well, from a GM standpoint of running a team and building a roster, 2019 makes less sense than 2020, so I’m wondering why you picked it.

-Geoff: [embarrassed] Well…

-Brett: Tell the truth, Geoff. Did you pick 2019 just to make the Chiefs look bad? I mean this way you cut out Patrick Mahomes AND you included a terrible draft class for KC.

-Geoff: Ok fine. You caught me, Brett. My bosses wanted something that would make KC look as bad as possible, so I gerrymandered the criteria to give other teams a chance at appearing better than they are. 2019 is arbitrary UNLESS you’re trying to make the Chiefs look less impressive. You guys have had some outstanding draft classes recently AND you have the best player on the planet AND one of the all-time great TEs AND arguably the best DT today. You just won the Super Bowl after trading away your top WR who is also a top 5 WR in the league. Your rookies last year played more snaps than any playoff team, and more than just about any team, period. It’s not fair. And my coast-loving, ratings-driven bosses are tired of you guys being #1 at everything so I wrote something slanted just so that you wouldn’t be #1. But it’s not my fault. They made me do it.

-Brett: Hey Geoff, don’t worry about it. I didn’t take it personally. I just had a suspicion in the back of my mind, and I appreciate you confirming it. No one wants to see us at the top except our own fans. I get it. It’s very hard to get to the top, and it’s even harder to stay there. The league is purposely designed to create parity and thus create drama. But the value of QB has pushed everything our direction because we have the QB1 in all of football. Does that mean we’ll win it all every year? Probably not. But I wouldn’t bet against us. We’re really dang good. And we work hard. And we’ve got plenty of young guys ready to take the field this year and show everyone they belong and help our team win some more games and who knows? Maybe even another ring.

Conclusion

Well there it is Chiefs fans. The Chiefs have top 10, maybe top 5 young talent with bottom 10 assets, maybe bottom 5 assets even with the Tyreek trade. In such a competitive environment, that’s incredibly hard to do. There have been some bad misses like Mecole and CEH MEH, but there have also been a ton of great picks, and there might be more to come…

If you enjoyed this post, please leave a comment below. I love hearing from you all.