Weighing in on Kansas City’s pick of a high-ceiling prospect to help protect the pocket.
The Kansas City Chiefs have made their second selection!
The Chiefs took BYU offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia with the 63rd overall pick in the first round. We have insta-grades from the three members of the Arrowhead Pride Draft Team.
Ron: Teams usually don’t get the chance to take a home-run swing of this power in the bottom of the second round. Suamataia has an incredibly-high ceiling, flying off the ball as a potentially-dominant run blocker and showing the skills to develop into a lockdown left tackler.
He does need time to develop, but so does every offensive tackle that doesn’t go in the top 20 or so of the draft. No left tackle option left had the ceiling Suamataia does, and I would say some that went before him were even lesser prospects overall. The pick being at 63 rather than 32 is what makes this an awesome pick.
Grade: A+
Caleb: This pick makes perfect sense for the Chiefs, filling a team’s need while allowing them to take the best player available. Suamataia plays a nasty brand of football, and he is constantly looking to finish plays through the whistle.
His fit with Kansas City is excellent as well. He has the needed athletic ability to make blocks in space for the Chiefs’ screen game and will be a plus blocker in the outside zone. In the passing game, he will have some issues with cleanup, and he must improve his overall pad level, but the tools and tenacity are there to find an eventual NFL starter.
I can see Suamataia being a future tackle, but with his weight and natural strength, he could also be a guard. I do not anticipate that he will start year one, but he will have a chance to compete for the right to be the Chiefs’ “swing” lineman and will likely be asked to fill in at either tackle or guard in the case of injury. All in all, this is a good pick for KC.
Grade: A
Nate: I absolutely LOVE this pick. I’m not sold Suamataia can start Year 1, but I couldn’t care less. You never get athletes at that size at this point in the draft, especially at left tackle. On top of that, he’s very young and heading into a fantastic situation. He does need to work on his hand placement and punch, but his raw athleticism and strength are overwhelming. When Suamataia was at Oregon, there was a legitimate belief that he could be a top-10 pick. What a home run pick for the Chiefs, and potentially my favorite of the Brett Veach era.
Grade: A++++++++++++