The Kansas City Chiefs have endured an eventful offseason, but how will the recent transactions dictate their strategy for the 2019 NFL Draft?
While the Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Odell Beckham Jr. sagas have dominated much of the NFL storylines this offseason, perhaps no team has had quite as eventful offseason as the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gone is longtime standout safety Eric Berry, along with Justin Houston and Dee Ford. And now in charge of the defense is Steve Spagnuolo, tasked with both installing his 4-3 defensive scheme as well as putting together a defense capable of riding Patrick Mahomes to a championship.
Many of these storylines will play out during the 2019 NFL Draft and with draft day less than a month away, it’s time to take a look at who the Chiefs could be targeting and how they fit their roster going forward…
Johnathan Abram
S, Mississippi St
This will undoubtedly be a defense-heavy draft for Kansas City and although there’s some questions on which positions they could target first, they have the benefit of three selections in the top two rounds.
This flexibility gives them the option to move up and down the board as they see fit, unlike their strategy in 2018 when they were without a first-rounder due to the (well-worth it) trade the previous year for Patrick Mahomes.
Edge rushers will certainly be in play at No. 29, but the Chiefs could instead choose to bolster their secondary with Mississippi standout safety Johnathan Abram. With the addition of Tyrann Mathieu to the Kansas City secondary, Abram would be exactly the type of physical tone-setter to complement his play.
Abram has won a lot of people over during the draft process and it shouldn’t be a shock to anyone if he winds up in the back half of the first round. For a team like the Chiefs looking to continue to add to their young secondary, Abram would be an excellent fit.