For those with ESPN Insider access, Louis Riddick has a look at six players he would be positioning his team to select
in the upcoming draft if he was an NFL general manager.
Riddick, a long-time NFL scout, has ties to Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid. He was the Philadelphia Eagles' director of pro personnel for three seasons with Reid before the coach moved on to the Chiefs.
Of the six players, three will be gone by the time the Chiefs make their first pick, at No. 28 in the first round. One is a running back, where the Chiefs have too many players already.
But two of the players could be of interest to the Chiefs: Houston cornerback William Jackson III and West Virginia safety Karl Joseph.
I don’t see the Chiefs drafting a safety in the first round. They already have a lot of money invested in their starters, Eric Berry and Ron Parker. Both should play for Kansas City for the foreseeable future. The Chiefs use a lot of safeties, but have done well in recent years in finding veterans to play on low-cost contracts and they recently tried again with Jimmy Wilson and Stevie Brown.
Cornerback is different. The Chiefs have reigning defensive rookie of the year in Marcus Peters. They have Phillip Gaines, who is coming off a torn ACL. They have no other established cornerback, though they have expectations for Steven Nelson, last year’s third-round draft pick.
So Jackson should be of interest to the Chiefs. They can only hope he’s available when they make their first pick. Riddick believes he starts to have value with the 21st pick, so he might not last until No. 28.
