Post by MizzouTiger on Jan 24, 2008 4:39:35 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/458139.html
More juniors make the Chiefs merrier
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
MOBILE, Ala. | As news of juniors declaring for the NFL draft trickled in, the cheers from the inner offices at Arrowhead Stadium were practically deafening.
By the time of last week’s deadline, a record 53 underclassmen notified the NFL of their intentions to enter the draft. If any team needs a deep draft, it’s the Chiefs.
Underclassmen fatten the draft each year. This time, with the Chiefs having several positions of desperate need and extra draft picks in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, the addition of 53 juniors could benefit them more than any other team.
“Everybody knows we’re focusing on the offensive line and the cornerback situations,” said Chuck Cook, the Chiefs director of college scouting. “But we’d like to get another power wide receiver, a guy who can go get it to help (Dwayne) Bowe out. We’d like to get another running back because you always need another one. We’d like to get another young linebacker. And we’d like to get a blocking tight end to replace (Jason) Dunn.
“All of these juniors add depth to the draft. Inevitably, other teams need different positions and they’ll take one and that will open something for us. Everybody is trying to fit that need. You hope there’s a junior with impact that goes ahead of us and that pushes another player to us, an offensive tackle or something else we really want and really need.
“I was really thinking and even hoping even more juniors would come out, more offensive linemen.”
Cook can’t be blamed if he’s being greedy. The Chiefs, 4-12 last season, need to hit on at least seven of their 10 draft picks.
In the most recent mock draft from ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., underclassmen comprise 16 of the 31 first-round picks. The NFL stripped New England of its first-round draft pick this year.
“That’s a very high number,” Kiper said. “It’s a pretty strong junior class this year. It could turn out to be one of the deepest drafts in years because of that. Teams will be able to get good players later in this draft.”
Not all of Kiper’s 16 first-round juniors would be of interest to the Chiefs. They will pass on Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, for instance, because they already have Larry Johnson.
But McFadden’s availability helps the Chiefs. He will be of interest to the Raiders, who will pick ahead of the Chiefs, and the Falcons, who might.
Assuming one of those teams select McFadden, that would help the Chiefs get a player like Michigan tackle Jake Long, a senior.
Other top junior running backs who declared for the draft include Jonathan Stewart of Oregon, Felix Jones of Arkansas, Jamaal Charles of Texas and Ray Rice of Rutgers.
“Those guys will all go somewhere high in the draft,” said Matt Miller, who runs an Internet scouting service at www.newerascouting.com. “All of those guys will make teams think a lot harder about whether they need or want a running back. That will push someone good to the Chiefs in the second round. They’ll get somebody good at another position because of that.”
A deep draft also provides more flexibility for the Chiefs. They can trade down, acquire even more picks and still be comfortable they will obtain high-quality players.
“Herm (Edwards) would like to have a lot of picks,” Cook said. “We’ll try to get more if we can guarantee we can get three picks in the top 60 and the top 60 is really solid, really good.”
Underclassmen who will likely tempt the Chiefs include offensive linemen Ryan Clady of Boise State and Branden Albert of Virginia, and cornerbacks Reggie Smith of Oklahoma and Aqib Talib of Kansas.
The Chiefs are unlikely to use their first-round pick on a cornerback. Coach Herm Edwards has said the Chiefs can find quality cornerbacks to play his favored Cover 2 system later in the draft.
“A lot of good junior corners entered the draft,” Miller said. “The Chiefs could find a cornerback later in the draft because of that. Reggie Smith is a guy who could definitely interest them. He hasn’t played in that system but he could. He could be physical at the line of scrimmage. He can recover well. He’s definitely fast enough.”
The Chiefs drafted only one underclassman, safety Bernard Pollard, in their two years under Edwards. Pollard, a second-round pick in 2006, played mainly on special teams before becoming a starter last year.
The Chiefs drafted another safety, Jarrad Page, in the seventh round in 2006. Page, a four-year starter at UCLA, played extensively as a rookie.
“You looked at (Pollard) and you looked at Page when they first got here and there was a difference when they were rookies,” Edwards said. “Page had played so much more football in college.”
That experience could push the Chiefs away from drafting juniors. They will need rookies to play immediately at some of the offensive-line positions, cornerback and wide receiver.
“I don’t shy away from players just because they’re juniors,” Edwards said. “But you’ve got to be careful with them. You’ve got to spend more time with them before the draft and find out a whole lot about them.”
More juniors make the Chiefs merrier
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
MOBILE, Ala. | As news of juniors declaring for the NFL draft trickled in, the cheers from the inner offices at Arrowhead Stadium were practically deafening.
By the time of last week’s deadline, a record 53 underclassmen notified the NFL of their intentions to enter the draft. If any team needs a deep draft, it’s the Chiefs.
Underclassmen fatten the draft each year. This time, with the Chiefs having several positions of desperate need and extra draft picks in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, the addition of 53 juniors could benefit them more than any other team.
“Everybody knows we’re focusing on the offensive line and the cornerback situations,” said Chuck Cook, the Chiefs director of college scouting. “But we’d like to get another power wide receiver, a guy who can go get it to help (Dwayne) Bowe out. We’d like to get another running back because you always need another one. We’d like to get another young linebacker. And we’d like to get a blocking tight end to replace (Jason) Dunn.
“All of these juniors add depth to the draft. Inevitably, other teams need different positions and they’ll take one and that will open something for us. Everybody is trying to fit that need. You hope there’s a junior with impact that goes ahead of us and that pushes another player to us, an offensive tackle or something else we really want and really need.
“I was really thinking and even hoping even more juniors would come out, more offensive linemen.”
Cook can’t be blamed if he’s being greedy. The Chiefs, 4-12 last season, need to hit on at least seven of their 10 draft picks.
In the most recent mock draft from ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., underclassmen comprise 16 of the 31 first-round picks. The NFL stripped New England of its first-round draft pick this year.
“That’s a very high number,” Kiper said. “It’s a pretty strong junior class this year. It could turn out to be one of the deepest drafts in years because of that. Teams will be able to get good players later in this draft.”
Not all of Kiper’s 16 first-round juniors would be of interest to the Chiefs. They will pass on Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, for instance, because they already have Larry Johnson.
But McFadden’s availability helps the Chiefs. He will be of interest to the Raiders, who will pick ahead of the Chiefs, and the Falcons, who might.
Assuming one of those teams select McFadden, that would help the Chiefs get a player like Michigan tackle Jake Long, a senior.
Other top junior running backs who declared for the draft include Jonathan Stewart of Oregon, Felix Jones of Arkansas, Jamaal Charles of Texas and Ray Rice of Rutgers.
“Those guys will all go somewhere high in the draft,” said Matt Miller, who runs an Internet scouting service at www.newerascouting.com. “All of those guys will make teams think a lot harder about whether they need or want a running back. That will push someone good to the Chiefs in the second round. They’ll get somebody good at another position because of that.”
A deep draft also provides more flexibility for the Chiefs. They can trade down, acquire even more picks and still be comfortable they will obtain high-quality players.
“Herm (Edwards) would like to have a lot of picks,” Cook said. “We’ll try to get more if we can guarantee we can get three picks in the top 60 and the top 60 is really solid, really good.”
Underclassmen who will likely tempt the Chiefs include offensive linemen Ryan Clady of Boise State and Branden Albert of Virginia, and cornerbacks Reggie Smith of Oklahoma and Aqib Talib of Kansas.
The Chiefs are unlikely to use their first-round pick on a cornerback. Coach Herm Edwards has said the Chiefs can find quality cornerbacks to play his favored Cover 2 system later in the draft.
“A lot of good junior corners entered the draft,” Miller said. “The Chiefs could find a cornerback later in the draft because of that. Reggie Smith is a guy who could definitely interest them. He hasn’t played in that system but he could. He could be physical at the line of scrimmage. He can recover well. He’s definitely fast enough.”
The Chiefs drafted only one underclassman, safety Bernard Pollard, in their two years under Edwards. Pollard, a second-round pick in 2006, played mainly on special teams before becoming a starter last year.
The Chiefs drafted another safety, Jarrad Page, in the seventh round in 2006. Page, a four-year starter at UCLA, played extensively as a rookie.
“You looked at (Pollard) and you looked at Page when they first got here and there was a difference when they were rookies,” Edwards said. “Page had played so much more football in college.”
That experience could push the Chiefs away from drafting juniors. They will need rookies to play immediately at some of the offensive-line positions, cornerback and wide receiver.
“I don’t shy away from players just because they’re juniors,” Edwards said. “But you’ve got to be careful with them. You’ve got to spend more time with them before the draft and find out a whole lot about them.”