Realistically Grading the Chiefs' Draft

No doubt you've heard and read every pundit's grade for whichever team's performance in the draft. And no doubt Chiefs nation has been drinking that Kool-Aid, living up on what all the heads have been gushing over pertaining to the 2008 Chiefs draft; something similar to a stranger gushing over how cool your wife is -you eat up every word. But is it something -the Chiefs, not our wives-we can really hang our hats on? We've been here before, people. Two of the most loathed names in Chiefs history came from these positions. Names so hated, that we won't even utter them here on this beloved Chiefs blog....let's just call them Syan Rims and Jazelle Trinkins.
So, the point is that it is borderline redick to eat up anything anyone even remotely hints at when regarding how well a team did in that year's draft. They say -and I do not know who "they" is- that the best litmus for a team's draft is three years, so instead of carrying on in inane ways about how we scored w/ Dorsey and a second first rounder and 20,000 other draft picks in 2008 I am going to take a realist's view of how the Chiefs did in the 2005 draft:
Readers' note: I break down the draft from lowest to highest for dramatics

James Killian -QB 7th Round Pick
Killian was the Chiefs' first attempt at Brodie Croyle. The team did have the luxery of keeping him on the practice squad because Trent Green was still lighting up scoreboards, and even gave him some time in Hamburg before NFL Europe went under. Perhaps it was the liquidation of NFL-Eu, but the Chiefs didn't retain him. He has since bounced around w/ a couple of teams and is currently looking for a yob.

Jeremey Parquet -OT 7th Round Pick
Parquet is another NFL-Eu casualtie. He, like Killian, earned a free ticket to Hamburg and was actually All NFL-Eu for the Champion Sea Devils, which translated to squat in the states, like most things from Europe. He never saw a down with the Chiefs and is now signed on with Pittsburg.

Khari Long -LB 6th Round Pick
Hung around for a year. Has bounced around several teams before currently landing on Dallas' practice squad.


Will Svitek -OT>6th Round Pick
Will is the lowest of the drafts whom have been able to retain a roster spot with the Chiefs. He is, however, on the edge of the bubble, and his prospects do not look good given the influx of linemen the Chiefs have injected into their 80 man roster. He did tear it up in NFL-Eu., which also has not added up to much. The jury's still out on Svitek, but this year they will be calling in the verdict.


Alphonso Hodge -DBem>5th Round Pick
Alphonso -almost as fun to say as Crophonso- made a name for himself by getting robbed at a Wafflehouse and being deprived of some $300,000 in cash and jewelry. He currently has been enjoying his days in the AFL and has just recently been drafted by the AAFL (All American Football League -it exists, I promise). I bet you Hodge is wishing he had that 300 grande right about now.

Boomer Grigsby -LB 5th Round Pick
Grigsby might have been our most successful late round pick in the 2005 draft because he gave our city a sweet radio show. Unfortunately, none of that resulted into success on the field, and though his wacky antics provided some comic relief from our then joke of a defense, no one could ever figure out what position the guy played. So after finally settling on fullback because the Chiefs needed one and he was available, they promptly cut him, once again, leaving the Chiefs with no fullback.

Late Round Midterm Grade: F
I've seen burning dog poop that has had more value than this group. Extra points are deducted due to the number of picks in each round -two each. The time a Chief fan wasted watching this late round of the draft will never be given back.


Crophonso "Don't call me Alphonso" Thorpe -WR 4th Round Pick
C-Thorpe continued a long-standing tradition for the Chiefs of absolutely tanking on wide reciever picks. Everybody and their mothers had to have seen this grease fire coming when Mr. Thorpe's prestigious fourth round position dictated we sit training camp until he got a primo contract. After robbing the team, he promtly was cut at the end of the year where he spent the next three holding out for several other teams before signing on to their practice squad. His most recent holdout was with Jacksonville at the end of May for $370,000. He was released June 16th. Not a bad gig this kid has.

Dustin Colquitt -K 3rd Round Pick
The Chiefs really nailed this one. They needed a punter, and what a better place to take them then in the 3rd round. And why not? Jerome Mathis and Brandon Jacobs will be around later, won't they? No, in all seriousness, Colquitt is without doubt the most feared kicker whose punts shed an aura of excitement amongst the fans everytime his foot connects with the ball. Most importantly, he set himself up as the posterchild for the Chiefs' future offensive struggles, which is key. Finally, he does a sweet radio show w/ Boomer....those guys just feed off eachother.


Derrick Johnson 1st Round Pick
As Colquitt was the pillar cornerstone for our deteriorating offense, Derrick Johnson came in as the foundation for a future defense revitalized. True, he has not made it to the Pro Bowl, though much of it accounts for the team's overall struggles. There is no doubt D.J. will come into his own and power up a soon to be formidible defense. Derrick gets bonus points as well for setting up perhaps the most exciting first round draft I have ever experienced -this most recent draft comes a close second. His falling to the 15 spot was absolutely unexpected and a gift from the football gods. Carolina's need for a linebacker made it that much more intense.

Early Round Midterm Grade: A
Points were originaly deducted for only having two picks in the early rounds, but then it occured to me the Chiefs acquired Patrick Surtain for the pick, whom I have nothing against. He seems to know the coaches names and gives 110 on the field, so kudos to him. Though if a team is to build from the draft, he is the antithesis, as it would be surprising to see him in a Chiefs uniform next year.
Surtain is a perfect segue into highlighting Dick Vermiel's final draft class, which served as a primo piece of evidence for anyone who wants to argue -present company included- that Vermeil SU-HUCKED at the draft. He didn't care about anyone after the first round. They were all going to be fired anyway, so he just ran through them like wet-ones. To compare, Herm's draft the next year, which had one less pick, yet only one player -Marcus Maxey- is currently not seeing regular playing time. That is building a team through the draft.
So chalk 2005 as the true transition year; the beginning of the end for the Chiefs as we knew them. It was the final attempt at salvaging any smooth transition from the ever-aging players. And in that sense the Chiefs flat failed in 2005. The magnitude and future contributions of Colquitt and Johnson (though the loss of Boomer makes Colquitt considerably less funny on the radio) deserves some merit. But for an overall draft perspective, this was not near a complete win. Final Grade: D+

Should The Chiefs Go Big D?

Ok, the glaring need to fix the offensive line is too big to ignore. I get that. The Chiefs complete corrosion of their big men has made the team into a perrinial joke. But is it really going to lead to the teams future?

It's very easy to grab up a premiere O-lineman; Jake Long of Michigan being the obvious choice. This draft class is so rich of guards and tackles, and surely the chiefs can use their enormous cap room on a proven, ready-to-go left tackle in free agency; they better because their move to franchise Jarred and save their already huge cap room will make no sense otherwise.

Has it been so long that we Chiefs fans have forgotten what makes this team exciting? Did Dick Vermiel's circus freaks corrupt us that much? What made us contenders? It certainly wasn't our high flying offense. We need to get back to the days of Derrick Thomas, Niel Smith, and Saleamua. We need to have a feared Deron Cherry, Dale Carter, Kevin Ross and James Hasty. This is what makes the Chiefs great: a feared defense.

Yea, We've made great strides to build a respectable defense. The D was great, but the team's losing ways became an infectious disease that clapsed the team. But if we can add some serious man power to our D, wouldn't that offset a mediocre O? How can we pass up a space eater like Sedric Ellis or -God forbid, if he's available- Glen Dorsey. I've seen some draft projections that Aquib Talib slips to the second round. And even after all that there's a good chance some highly rated offensive lineman are available.

Look, I understand the need for us to fix our offense, and that begins with our offensive line. just believe we are making the wrong move by trying to make our offense great again. Make our offense acceptable. Make our defense feared and dominant, and that will present opportunity for the Chiefs to once again dominate the AFC West.

Losing for a Higher Draft Pick = Loser

I want to settle anyones fears out there who may be suspect to the Chiefs' motives. After watching, what I have dubbed, the "Mile High Prison Rape", it would not be too out of line to suspect the team is making a run for the gutter. With Jason Whitlock leading the way, there is a steadily growing camp who believe we are gunning to play the Jets in the season finally as the "Number 3 Bowl." Though watching Patrick Surtain roll out the (Chief) red carpet and get the hell out of the way for the Bronco's number one receiver and only offensive threat (to the rest of the NFL, anyway; the Chiefs still need to account for their sixth string back)can be easily interpreted as "they're packing it in early for a higher draft pick", I'm here to tell you that ain't going to happen; not intentially, anyway.

Among the most obvious reasons is though they have already stolen the ticket holders' money w/ Pop Warner football at big boy prices, it would be incomprehensible for the organization to further steal from their loyal (or sucker) supporters by charging them for 16 games and only playing 12 (they've already stolen one game from us by not showing up in Denver.) If it's the case, for shame Hunt, Jr. At this point, we don't know you as well as we knew your father, so though I will give you the benefit of the doubt, you do not get a pass.

More logically, however, one would just have to look at our draft picks of the past decade (1997 - 2007) to see that if the Chiefs know anything, they will stay the hell out of the top 10.
Top Ten Picks: Ryan Sims
Mid Picks: Tony Gonzalez, John Tait, Larry Johnson, Derrick Johnson, D-Bowe.

Sure this is a bit skewed b/c I've left out the busts, but drafting is not a perfect science, and you can agree we've had some great successes drafting in the mids. The Chiefs have not been this low since the 80's, so the past ten years only gives us one top ten (bust), so we're batting 0.000 in that catagory. (compare that to our sweet 0.625 avg. for the later). So the numbers don't lie. And if that doesn't convince you, go back and look at all the top tens for the past ten years, and how many are still making an inpact; I'm looking at you Ryan Lief.

You'll have to do it your self, though. I'm not going to do it, what do I look like a stat geek?