According to a new article by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer Wednesday night, it appears the Kansas City Chiefs have had a phone call about the first-round trade. Here are Breer’s Chiefs notes:
There has been much speculation that the Chiefs are trading up – and they’ve been making those calls for the past few days in the 20’s. I understand why a lot of people think it’s for a receiver. And it could be. But I’ve heard it could also be for a pass rusher or a corner, and I have a scenario that I think is realistic.
The first piece would move from 29 into the upper reaches of the 20’s to select Elam or Gordon. The second piece would be to take a receiver at 30. And to that end, keep an eye on Georgia’s George Pickens as a potential wild card. Pickens, I’m told, has resigned from the board of some teams altogether due to concerns about maturity and reliability. That being said, he’s incredibly talented and the kind of risk Andy Reid and Brett Veach have consistently taken.
In fact, if Pickens’ character was clean and he didn’t tore his cruciate ligament last spring (which cost him most of his final season), there’s a good chance he’d be a top 10 pick. While the 30th pick might be a little rich, I could see the logic in it – and other teams can too.
“It’s still too early for the child,” said a manager. “But it’s not early for the player.”
Our lead analyst, Ron Kopp, wrote a profile on Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam…
If picked by the Chiefs, Elam plans to start immediately as outside cornerback — particularly in three-cornerback sets where Sneed moves into the slot. But Elam has the talent to make Fenton the second corner of the depth chart.
In college, Elam was a shutdown cornerback who performed well in a conference that has consistently sent wide receivers into the NFL in recent seasons. He’s got the physical ability to match right away — and improve Kansas City’s cornerback group, too. He should be a bigger asset than Mike Hughes in 2021.
In the longer term, Elam sees himself not only as a capable starter but also as a player with enough scope to earn a second contract.
…and our Kristian Gummiinger made one for Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon.
In defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s plan, Gordon’s physicality and outburst will be a welcome addition to the cornerback group. With his ability to play both outside and in the chute – and the quick burst that allows him to go where he’s needed – Spagnuolo will have another pawn to move around.
Gordon has top-notch physical tools: short-distance pace, foot speed, and ball skills. While he does have some flaws, they look like they could be easily fixed – or should go away with more meaningful replays.
Since he only ran the 40-yard dash, Gordons Combine NFL Performance was a disappointment. However, this shouldn’t affect its projection; His ribbon shows that he is more of a sidewalker than one with long speeds.
In a very talented cornerback class, Gordon has the potential to become a Day 2 steal – but it also wouldn’t be surprising if a competitor needing corner help picked him in the back half of the first round.
Finally, our Rocky Magaña covered Georgia wide receiver George Pickens.
Pickens comes with his red flags. His problems on the pitch coupled with his injury history make him far from a surefire thing. In his three years with Georgia, he failed to live up to the high expectations fans had of him.
Of all the top-end talent in this draft, I’d say Pickens is the most volatile from an investment perspective. If you told me that after a few months of working with the Chiefs coaching staff, Pickens will be stronger, more durable and become a perpetual All-Pro, I’d say I can see it.
But if you also said that off the field he struggles and will be injured for 80% of his career and has been struggling to find his footing and make a difference; I wouldn’t be surprised either.
Pickens has the potential to become one of the best wide receivers in football. When you see him on film there is no weakness in his game other than his ability to stay on the field.
If the Chiefs end up picking Pickens, it’s because they liked what they heard when they met with him this week, and if Andy Reid signs it, that’s good enough for me.
You don’t get an elite talent like that in the draft every year. If Pickens is still there when the Chiefs pick at 29, go for it.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach discussed the idea of trading up during his pre-draft press conference last week.
“We’re talking about 16 to 18 guys getting ranked in the first round and all of a sudden you get picks 19, 20, 21 and there’s still some of those guys on the board, I think you make a decision and see if you do may be able to find a trading partner,” Veach said. “If those 16 guys are off the board by the time you hit 19, 20, 21, I think that drives the narrative of just staying and just picking up the assets. I probably don’t see a big jump up, I’ll just throw a haymaker and try to get in the top 10 unless something unforeseen happens.
“I would say we’re going to be flexible and let the board talk to us and if there’s value then we’ll do it and if there’s not we’ll just stay there.”
What do you think of these scenarios?
opinion poll
As a Chiefs fan, I would…
46%
CB Kaiir Elam and WR George Pickens (338 votes)
12%
CB Kyler Gordon and WR George Pickens (90 votes)
40%
none of these scenarios. (295 votes)
723 total votes Vote now