Of course that city in the midwest would be Kansas City. Chief fans have to ask themselves why. Why are we giving up a draft choice when for starters, there are so many worthy candidates out there to take over for Vermeil. Secondly, the Jets were about to fire Herm anyway. If there was any doubt in your mind as to where Edwards would land, you would have to be delirious! The Chiefs just had to be patient. New York has to be asking why as well. Why did we get stuck with a management team that is so incompetent that they only get a 4th round pick for one of the best coaches that franchise has seen? Only a 4th round pick. I’ve got to give old Carl Peterson credit for that. He only gave up a second day pick for this coach, opposed to the 2nd and 3rd he gave up for a retired coach. Edwards is a good coach and a slight upgrade I believe and I’m excited.

So, it begins. The Edwards regime in New York had fewer wins in a weaker division, but did have a couple playoff wins in the same five year span as the Vermeil regime. I love Gunther Cunningham as our defensive coordinator, but it looks like he’s gone – again. The one thing Chief fans have in common is that we don’t want to see Mr. Saunders ride off into the sunset. I don’t care how much pride Peterson has to swallow or how much money he has to give Al, he owes us Chief fans enough to bring this man back. I know it might take Greg Williams money to do it, but this man is worth it. Look who Edwards would be bringing with him, old Paul Hackett. This team has already been through the meager times of Hackett. Carl, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to keep this offensive coordinator. With a defensive minded head coach and an offensive coordinator like Saunders, you may just give the Hunt family what they’ve been longing for since the 60′s.

Now, let’s talk about the up coming draft. The way I see it, Kansas City has a great foundation. It looks like Willie Roaf is coming back and maybe even Will Shields if Peterson doesn’t mess things up. That means we can hold off on an offensive lineman until at least the 2nd round. This leaves us looking at defensive tackle, cornerback, free safety, and the wide receiver positions. We would all love to see a T.O. figure on this offense, but there isn’t that glaring wide receiver in this draft, so we will hold off once again. As far as defensive tackles go, Ryan Sims is getting there. He needs help though. We need that shut down corner. Eric Warfield had a good year, so we can probably trade him to make up for that lost draft pick. That leaves defensive tackle and corner back to look at for in the first round.

I am going to exclude most of the talented defensive ends out there because there is the possibility of landing John Abraham from the Jets with Edwards coming over.

Top Ten Picks
Reggie Bush
Matt Leinart
A.J. Hawk
Ferguson
Mario Williams
Deangelo Williams
Haloti Ngata
Demarco Ryans
Jimmy Wilkerson

Outside of these top ten players, the Chiefs could have any of the following players land in their lap. Although, the odds of another Larry Johnson caliber player landing in Kansas City are remote, it should be pointed out that it has happened twice in the past four years. I’m still smiling about the 26 other teams who are kicking themselves over Larry Johnson. In a couple years, they’ll be kickin themselves twice over Derrick Johnson. Now, I’m not going to put up a mock draft and act like I know where everyone is going, but I will talk about the players who could fall to the Chiefs and what they could or should do with that particular player.

These names are the top names that could be available to the Chiefs in the first round and how the Chiefs should view them on their draft board excluding the top ten picks obviously.

Part I of VII. Be sure to look for the next rounds of the draft as I go through them one by one. Before you say anything, no I don’t have a UT bias.

Rod Wright DE, TEXAS- 6’5, 305lbs., 40: 4.9- Has the NFL build. He has great quickness off the ball and speed to track down the QB. He was usually the focal point for opposing offensive blocking schemes. He spent most of the year at Texas being double teamed but put up great numbers. Rod uses his hands very well and keeps lineman off of his body. He is a great run stopper with a real mean streak that gives the Chiefs the pass rush they’ve been longing for to take the pressure off the secondary. Rod has top five talent, but hasn’t met his potential. If Kansas City. can land Abraham, Wright could be that missing link to a dominating D-line. J. Allen, R. Sims, R. Wright, J. Abraham… Chief fans just shake their heads and smile.

Jonathan Scott OT, TEXAS- 6’7, 310lbs.- Drastically improved his NFL stock in the Rose Bowl. He has great size and athletic ability. Jon has amazing foot speed and great technique with his arms and hands. His punch off the line is such that he can neutralize any defender and can drive, and then plant them where ever he chooses. He has great speed, recognition and durability. If the Chiefs draft him, Willie Roaf will think he went back in time to look at a mirror. Scott’s great character would just continue the tradition in the Kansas City area.

Michael Huff CB/S, TEXAS- 6’0, 200lbs.- As the defensive player of the Rose Bowl, Huff was the man out of position on the 4th down play that gave Texas the ball to win the game. A blitz was called that Huff was not included on, but he decided to go anyway. If Huff had not done so, White would have had the first down. Huff is a better safety but has played at cornerback during his career. He has great range and can deliver a devastating hit. Huff has great range and is a great blitzer off the edge. He is a versatile player that can give Kansas City the flexibility to trade away Warfield, Woods, Wesley, or all of the above. Huff does however need to work on not over running plays and staying in position which is something that will kill a DB in the NFL.

Max Jean-Giles OG, GEORGIA 6’4, 340lbs.- Tremendous size and strength for a guard. He’s a monster run blocker who drives his opponents straight down the field. His pass blocking is good enough to work in the NFL as a guard. This player will be a necessity if Shields does retire this year.

Winston Justice OT, USC- 6’5, 302lbs.- GREAT TALENT! Winston had a few character issues that really messed up his 2004 season. He played right tackle for USC but will probably be a career left tackle in the NFL. Winston was the first Trojan to start as a frosh for USC since ’96. The talent is worth the low-risk to eventually replace Roaf.