SI gives Chiefs’ picks high grades
After a quiet first round, the Chiefs made a splash in the second and third rounds of the NFL draft Friday.
Here is what SI.com is saying about the Chiefs' picks:
56. Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia
And, tacitly, THERE’S the Chiefs’ answer to the Tyreek Hill problem. It’s an important answer because this offense was built predominantly around Hill’s unique talent. It’s unfair to expect any player to provide what Hill provides (provided), but stylistically, Hardman can stretch the field and stress the defense in multiple ways.
GRADE: B
63. Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia
Expensive new safety Tyrann Mathieu is versatile … which means the Chiefs needed to find another versatile safety—and with Daniel Sorensen being mostly a dime linebacker, Kansas City looked in the draft. Thornhill, like Mathieu, can play both safety spots, as well as slot in nickel and linebacker in dime.
GRADE: A
84. Khalen Saunders, DT, Western Kentucky
Kansas City’s run defense has been perplexingly poor over the years. A change in scheme (from Bob Sutton and his 3-4 to Steve Spagnuolo and his 4-3) will help, but so will adding new bodies up front. Scouts like Saunders’s suddenness.
GRADE: B
Read SI’s full analysis of draft rounds 2 and 3 here.
