NFL Draft 2013: Kansas City Chiefs Plan to Draft Best Player Available With No. 1 Pick
By Josh Sanchez
The Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock and there is a lot of debate about the direction they should go with the first overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. New Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid have their hands full in a draft class that is considered to lack elite talent on the top end.
“We all know there is some pressure involved,” Dorsey said, via the Kansas City Star. “You make the right pick by choosing the best player available. I know of no other philosophy.”
Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt echoed the fact that Kansas City needs to use the first-overall pick to find a player who is ready to help the team from day one.
“It’s going to be the focus of our fans, the media, and our personnel department for the next three or so months,” said Hunt.
“It’s very important we get that pick right, whether it’s taking the best available player or trading that pick. A lot of thought and preparation is going to go into that, and on the inside, (Dorsey’s) excited about it. Who wouldn’t be as a general manager, to have the No. 1 pick?”
Now the question is “who is the best player in this year’s draft?”
If you are looking at the best player regardless of position, the focus directly turns to Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel. Outside of Joeckel, Texas A&M defensive end Damontre Moore, Alabama guard Chance Warmack and Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei are among the top rated players.
Absent from the top of rankings are any quarterbacks.
The top quarterbacks in this year’s draft are West Virginia’s Geno Smith, North Carolina State’s Mike Glennon and Matt Barkley of USC. There are a few second-tier signal-callers but none of the players would be considered for the No. 1 pick. Out of the quarterbacks, only Smith has joined the top pick discussion.
For the Chiefs, they will have to look at the quarterbacks and decide if any of the signal-callers available are worth the top pick. Kansas City may need to add the best player, but without a quarterback the team will go nowhere. After all, this is a quarterback driven league.
If the Chiefs have any belief that Smith or another signal-caller can become a franchise quarterback, they need to pull the trigger and make the quarterback their No. 1 pick. If they don’t see any of the quarterbacks a franchise saver, then they should look in a different direction and select the top-rated player on their draft board.
What do you think is the best strategy for Kansas City?
As always, let your voice be heard and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.