What should Kansas City do during the second and third rounds on Friday night?
When the Kansas City Chiefs swapped their third-round pick for a fourth-round selection — part of the deal they made to take Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy at the end of Thursday night’s first round — they cut their remaining top-100 selections in half. Barring another move, the team holds just one pick at the end of the second round (No. 64) on Friday night.
This is not ideal, because Kansas City still needs a left tackle to compete with second-year player Wanya Morris. The Chiefs also traded cornerback L’Jarius Sneed during the offseason. So far, the team has made no specific move to fill that void.
Let’s see what Kansas City can do to help answer at least one of these needs on Day 2.
Offensive tackles
Nine offensive linemen were selected in the first round, so no Day 1 starters are available. But some interesting developmental tackles are projected to be taken on Friday night.
- Kingsley Suamataia, BYU (ranked 46th)
- Roger Rosengarten, Washington (74th)
- Kiran Amengadjie, Yale (75th)
- Blake Fisher, Notre Dame (85th)
- Patrick Paul, Houston (87th)
Of these, Suamataia and Amengadjie have the most upside — and could be projected as starting left tackles as early as 2025. Kansas City hosted the BYU tackle in March, while our Ron Kopp listed Amengadjie as an underrated prospect last week.
But the group’s safest pick is probably Fisher, who was Joe Alt’s right-side counterpart with the Fighting Irish. His natural strength and ability to anchor should allow him to find early success at the next level — but he may lack the athleticism to play on the left side; he often struggles with speed rushers.
Cornerbacks
This is arguably the position where the most talent is available. So it would have made a lot of sense for the Chiefs to take a cornerback at 95 — but the team no longer holds that pick.
- Cooper DeJean, Iowa (17th
- Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama (26th)
- Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Missouri (39th)
- Mike Sainristril, Michigan (48th)
- T.J. Tampa, Iowa St. (49th)
- Kamari Lassiter, Georgia (55th)
- Max Melton, Rutgers (63rd)
- Andru Phillips, Kentucky (78th)
- Khyree Jackson, Oregon (91st)
The fact that DeJean is still available outside of the first round is crazy; I think he’s easily a first-round talent. I don’t, however, think he’ll last long enough for the Chiefs to get him — unless they make a big move. The same can be said for McKinstry.
Iowa State’s Tampa is another corner to watch. At 6 feet 2 and 200 pounds, he is a long and physical defender with the athletic profile to play man coverage on the outside. While he’s not a one-for-one replacement for Sneed, he’s someone who could contribute right away.
What the Chiefs should do
In Round 2, Kansas City should play the waiting game. The team should stay patient and see which players fall to them. Without a third-round selection, it will be important for it to use its remaining assets wisely.
With any luck, Suamataia — a raw but talented prospect — will slide down the boards and be available for the Chiefs to grab at 64.
But if the Chiefs can’t do that, they should trust their draft board, taking the next highest-rated prospect at one of these positions of need. The best-case scenario is that the team could land a perimeter corner who can compete for a starting job on Day 1.
But remember: Kansas City has an extra third-round 2025 pick from the Sneed trade. The team could conceivably package it with another pick to move back into the third round if they see a chance to get a player they like.
However they do it, the Chiefs’ main goal should be to walk away with a player who can help them immediately at cornerback — or as a long-term solution at left tackle.
But who knows? General manager Brett Veach runs this show. He could just stand pat, taking the best player available at another position. The most important thing is for him to hit on the picks he makes.