2019 NFL Draft: Kansas City Chiefs 7-round mock
By Tre LyDay
The Kansas City Chiefs will continue their defensive rebuild in the draft this April. After coming up just short last season hopefully the draft can provide them with some more talent to get them over the hump.
The Kansas City Chiefs went all out on the defensive side of the ball in the 2018 NFL draft, and it took some time those guys to make an impact on the field. Armani Watts was getting on a roll before he suffered a season-ending injury and Derrick Nnadi didn’t really get a ton of snaps until the latter portion of the season.
Second round pick Breeland Speaks may turn out to be more of a project than fans may have originally thought. All of that being said this draft season the Chiefs might be looking for guys that can come in and hit the ground running.
Once again the Chiefs will be picking at the end of the first round as they have for the past five years, but this time around they have four top-100 picks which is crucial for a team that is facing some real personnel questions this off season. How they use them remains to be seen, but I’ll try my best.
Round 1 – Pick 29
DeAndre Baker, CB, Georgia
Steven Nelson is in all likelihood going to walk in free agency this summer. Mostly because analytically his numbers are going to call for a team to overpay him, and why wouldn’t you take an offer that you wouldn’t get elsewhere?
With no Steven Nelson that leaves the Chiefs a corner short in their secondary. Tremon Smith still has a ton of work and really isn’t a boundary corner, and while all signs are pointing up with Chavarius Ward you still need a guy who can be -or is- a certified number one corner.
Baker can be that guy for the Chiefs now and into the future. The Chiefs have long been a press man coverage team and we have to assume they’ll stick to that until Spagnoulo shows otherwise. What does Baker do well? Play in man coverage, which makes him a perfect fit for the Chiefs.
His high football IQ in zone coverage and ability to recognize route concepts makes him an automatic upgrade given the Chiefs were particularly awful in zone coverage. With good size and strength he checks all the boxes the team is looking for in a number one corner.