The Kansas City Chiefs have the final pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but the team reportedly may not be satisfied with making a selection from the traditional spot held by defending Super Bowl champions.
The Kansas City Chiefs enter the NFL Draft in the position that every franchise wishes they could be in. They are selecting dead last in the opening round of the event because they achieved their ultimate goal and brought home a Super Bowl title earlier in the year.
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While the Kansas City Chiefs have a team built to compete for a title again next season, they still have holes to fill on their championship roster. One key area of need is wide receiver pass rushers after they lost JuJu Smith-Schuster, Frank Clark, and Mecole Hardman in NFL free agency this spring.
That specific issue on the roster could lead the Chiefs to be very aggressive to fix it on night one of this month’s event.
Kansas City Chiefs record (2022): 14-3, first place in AFC West
On Thursday, ESPN NFL Draft expert Matt Miller gave the latest on the Chiefs’ thinking heading into the draft, and why general manager Brett Veach could again live up to his reputation for wheeling-and-dealing in the NFL Draft.
“With 10 total picks, I expect them to be aggressive throughout the draft weekend. General manager Brett Veach can use that capital to move around the board. One NFC exec said he expects Veach to try to climb higher in Round 1 to secure a marquee player, and wide receiver and defensive line are their biggest areas of need, as [Chiefs beat writer Adam Teicher] said. Defensive tackle Mazi Smith (Michigan), wide receiver Quentin Johnston (TCU), and edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah (Kansas State) are all likely to be available in the 20s.”
– Matt Miller
Elite 2023 receiver prospects Jaxon Smith-Njigba from Ohio State, Zay Flowers of Boston College, Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt, and USC star Jordan Addison could also be the big-name wideouts the Kansas City Chiefs might target in a trade later this month.