Here are some of the grades that the “experts” are giving the Chiefs 2008 Draft class:
Mel Kiper - ESPN
Grade A
The rebuilding process is on. The Chiefs started the draft with 13 picks, and they made them count. After getting defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey — the No. 1 player on my Big Board — with the fifth overall pick, the Chiefs grabbed tackle Branden Albert, although he will be a work in progress. Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers would have been a mid-first-round pick if he had run better 40 times at the NFL combine. On Day 2, RB Jamaal Charles and Tennessee TE Brad Cottam — who has untapped ability — will be nice complements on offense. Cottam could be a diamond in the rough. DaJuan Morgan is a solid safety, Brandon Carr is another corner who might be a sleeper and Kevin Robinson can make his mark in the return game. Barry Richardson never materialized into a great offensive lineman at Clemson, but he could start right away with the holes Kansas City has on its offensive line. Defensive end Brian Johnston has long-range potential.
John Czarnecki - FOX Sports
Grade A+
On paper, the Chiefs had the best draft of any team. Granted, GM Carl Peterson had the ammunition with seven picks in the first 107. The Chiefs had their eyes on Chris Long but ended up with LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, who they had rated higher. Dorsey may need right leg surgery down the line in his career, but Kansas City is not worried. Peterson made a trade with Detroit for Virginia guard Branden Albert, who has the ability to play guard and tackle, although he is a better guard and is tremendous in open space. Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers has the ability to start right away. Texas RB Jamaal Charles will be a great change-up runner to counter Larry Johnson, and Tennessee tight end Brad Cottam has the physical tools to potentially replace Tony Gonzalez when he retires despite only starting 10 games in college. Missouri WR Will Franklin has 4.3 speed and some teams had him graded in the third round.
Pete Prisco - CBS Sportsline
Grade A+
Best pick: They saw Dorsey fall to them with the fifth pick. He was the top player on half the boards in the league.
Questionable move: I like Texas running back Jamaal Charles, but do the Chiefs really need to be using a third-round pick on a back with Larry Johnson on the roster?
Second-day gem: Sixth-round pick Barry Richardson, a tackle out of Clemson, is massive (6-7, 338) and was once considered a first-day possibility.
Overall grade: A+. They had a lot of picks and used them well. Good thing, too. They need a lot of help.
C: They truly needed another running back and a strong safety in the 3rd round and no offensive linemen after round 1 until the 6th round. At least they made the move up to get Albert in Round 1 versus staying at 17 and picking defense like a certain someone was probably wanting.
Comment by Chiefs_Fan — April 28, 2008 @ 9:05 am
Draft grades are fun, but truly meaningless. It’s not a coincidence that we got the best draft grades AND we happened to have the best groupings of picks (in number and high placement). You really can’t grade a draft for 2-3 years when you really find out if the players are worth a crap.
Lots of Chiefs fans thought we did great after last years draft with Turk and Tank, but now its starting to look like a couple busts (but we’ll know better in another year or so).
Comment by VLTC — April 28, 2008 @ 9:19 am
On paper they all look good. But we can only tell when we get those big guys in pads and on the field.
Comment by Kyle — April 28, 2008 @ 9:33 am
Why was no quarterback selected to challange Croyle? Thats my only question
Comment by Dave — April 28, 2008 @ 9:40 am
I agree it’d be nice to have another QB to challenge our current group. Why not take a flyer on Woodson (sp?) when he dropped to the 6th round? Or any of the 2nd tier QBs that dropped to the late 2nd (henne, brohm). I was kind of hoping we’d trade up into the late 2nd round and grab one of them.
Comment by VLTC — April 28, 2008 @ 10:06 am
i agree i wouldn’t of minded to see a josh johnson from san diego univerisity taken. Runs a 4.4
Comment by matt — April 28, 2008 @ 10:41 am
True, you can’t grade it, for sure, until a couple years down the road and we probably got an A because we had so many picks, but I was happy with the picks this year. I too, wish we would have picked up a QB, but they’ll bring in a couple undrafted free agents for sure. For so many years, I would ask myself what Carl was doing/thinking during the draft. This year it makes sense to me. I hope he has the money to pay them all this year and three years down the road, when they all want new contracts. I give them an A. But we’ll have to wait and see.
Comment by Jeff R. — April 28, 2008 @ 12:04 pm
Where are all the offensive linemen that we were supposed to pick. This draft was supposed to be loaded with linemen and we only picked 2. Drafting the so called skilled positions are only good if you can get those skilled players out into space. I like our first 3 picks, but after that I would have picked 8 offensive linemen.
Comment by Bryan — April 28, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
Teams get in trouble when they move away from their board… 8 offensive linemen would have been a mistake…
We needed corners and WR’s and kick returners, and we got them all… including two good offensive linemen…
I’m happy with the draft…
Comment by Hubert — April 28, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
Does anyone know anything about David Greene. He had more wins than Manning in college and holds most records for QB in NCAA history for Division I. Played at Georgia although left handed why the heck does this kid not get a chance?
Comment by Jake — April 28, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
I’m happy about the draft as well but……they better sign these guys quick so they will be in camp on time!
Comment by Glen — April 28, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
Yeah Jake I haven’t really heard much about Greene other than the fact that the Chiefs wanted him just like Tyler Thigpen but yeah if he was a good QB then yeah he should also get a chance.
Comment by Stich — April 28, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
ok the chiefs get two grades A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ because they did good on the draft on day one and on day two the second grade is a flat out F—————– BECAUSE THEY COULD OF GOT A QB TO MAKE THINGS HARDER FOR Croyle TO DO HIS JOB SO THAT IS WHY THEY GET THE F——
Comment by Michael Diedrich — April 29, 2008 @ 1:26 am
Michael, who let you out of your cage? Put the helmet back on son, here is a towel to wipe the drool off of your face.
Comment by Ray — April 30, 2008 @ 4:50 pm