Have you thought that Kansas City Chiefs had a very good recruitment in 2020? Well, Gennaro Filice and Nick Shook of NFL.com agree with you. In a 1-32 ranking published on Wednesday, the two placed the Chiefs in eighth place with a B + rating.
8. Kansas City Chiefs | Note: B +
Round 1
(32) Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, 13 starts2nd round
(63) Willie Gay Jr., LB, 16 games / 8 matchesRound 3
(96) Lucas Niang, OT (disabled)Round 4
(138) L’Jarius Sneed, S, 9 games / 6 matchesRound 5
(177) Michael Danna, DE, 13 games / 1 startRound 7
(237) BoPete Keyes, CB, 8 games / 1 matchNotable free agents not elaborated
Tommy Townsend, P, 16 games
Tershawn Wharton, DT, 16 games / 1 matchSHOOK: Edwards-Helaire immediately caught the attention of the league with a dynamite debut. After posting 4.4 yards per load in 2020, he is clearly the leader of Kansas City back to the future.
Gay did not play many snaps, but he was effective when he was on the field, recording 39 tackles (three for defeat), one sack, three defending passes and a 68.1 Pro Football Focus note.
Niang chose to leave the 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Sneed has been an absolute steal, filling a versatile defense role for the Chiefs. He entered our list of anonymous heroes at AFC and ended up as the No. 1 debuting DB in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, despite having missed a good part of the season due to a broken collarbone.
Danna and Wharton helped provide the Chiefs with some unexpected depth on the defensive front, while Kansas City found his replacement for Dustin Colquitt in Townsend, a member of the Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie Team.
Keyes became Tulane’s second defensive player in the last two calls to be chosen in the seventh round and arrived in the NFL with a pre-existing injury (the other was Donnie Lewis of the seventh round of 2019, selected by the Browns). Keyes started on the reserve / NFI list, but ended up coming back in time to make special contributions to teams before being called into action in Kansas City’s senseless week 17 defeat to the Chargers.
The Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored A for Filice and Shook, who ranked them first and second.
Elsewhere at AFC West, the Los Angeles Chargers received a B + rating (and a sixth rating) for their 2020 draft. The Denver Broncos ranked 15th with a B rating, while the Las Vegas Raiders ranked 27th with a rating Ç.
And at the bottom of the list, the Tennessee Titans scored an F for their 2020 effort, which included first-round selection Isiah Wilson, who was active for just one game in 2020.
With what we now know, this assessment of the Chiefs’ 2020 draft looks right.
While some have complained (and continue to complain) that teams should never call up running backs in the first round, it is hard to deny that Edwards-Helaire was a productive player – especially considering that, for most of the season, he ran after a back offensive line. Sneed was absolutely a theft on 4/138. Gay and Danna were very promising. Wharton was a big surprise. And although Townsend played badly in the Super Bowl, he clearly has talent; there is no reason to think that he will not be in Kansas City for many years.
Keyes, however, is still unknown as a defensive defense. The same is true for Niang, who made the difficult decision to leave his debut season. Let’s just see how their careers progress.