Everybody views draft prospects differently. Some people love a player while some hate them. Everyone has their values on a player’s traits, but different evaluations on the same trait. This is going to be a two part series for both offense and defense. To start off the offensive series, I am gonna go through all my top prospects for the Chiefs’ offensive needs, WR and OT. I will give 3 players at each position and tell you what I like about them, the concerns I have, and how I see them fitting into the Chiefs’ roster.
Disclaimer: I do use PFF as a reference point but do take it with a grain of salt because their grading has some flaws.
WR 1: Quentin Johnston, TCU
Easily my WR1 in the entire draft and has the potential to be a great WR1 for a long time. Johnston has an elite size-to-speed ratio being 6’3” and 208 pounds, while still not an official time but is expected to run mid 4.3s for his 40-yard dash. He has amazing explosiveness as seen in his vertical at 40.5” and his broad jump of 11’2”. He does have some concerns about his limited route tree and he does not excel at using his large frame to block receivers in contested catch situations. Both those concerns are coachable traits and can be fixed in due time. One ability you can not teach and Johnston excels at, is broken tackles and YAC. Johnston has almost a 40% missed tackle rate between 2018-2023 which is by far and away one of the best in college football. For reference Skyy Moore in 2021 had the most missed tackles forced out of all WRs in FBS with 26 and Johnston in 2022 had 19 but both ended their college career with 45. Johnston had the second most YAC/reception at 8.9 yards. Johnston has the ability to grow into a true WR1 while having an immediate impact in his rookie year as a gadget guy and still being a very viable threat in the passing game.
WR 2: Parker Washington, Penn ST
I have a mid round 3 grade for Parker, but in many mock drafts I have seen him available at pick 95. Parker has great YAC ability which is something that often translates to the NFL level and something the Chiefs love. He averaged 5.7 YAC/reception and did that from the slot. I am concerned with Parker’s dip in production this last year. Parker only had 611 yards in the 2022 season versus 820 yards in 2021. I see Parker as a Juju replacement and can split that role with Skyy Moore. Parker played primarily in the slot at 87.5% throughout his career.
WR 3: Charlie Jones, Purdue
I am overestimating a bit and having too much hope but Charlie reminds me so much of Cooper Kupp. Charlie had an amazing 2022 season with 1361 yards and 12 TDs. He only had one year of production in college which is a major concern. He is also an older prospect already being 24 years old. He is amazing with contested catches though with a 52.8% catch rate on 53 contested catch targets. He can come in and immediately be a return man on both the KR and PR.
OT 1: Wanya Morris, Oklahoma
Wanya was the starting RT for Oklahoma the entire 2022 season and in 303 passing snaps, he only gave up 2 sacks and 8 pressures. He has extremely long arms at 35 ⅛”. Wanya had a scary scene at the combine during his 40-yard dash when he grabbed his hamstring and went to the ground. Wanya missed the rest of the combine, but his tape speaks for itself. I am worried about his injury and how he will recover from that. I see Wanya as quality competition at the RT position and could either push Niang to be a better player or win the starting spot outright.
OT 2: Blake Freeland, BYU
Freeland is a massive human being at LT for BYU. Freeland is 6’8 and 302 pounds with shorter arms for his size at only 33 ⅞”. I do see Blake as more of an RT, especially with Jawaan being reported as moving over to LT. I can see Blake staying at LT and Jawaan going back to his natural position of RT. Blake did get embarrassed a few times at the Senior Bowl when going up against power rushers. For how big Blake is, being abused and tossed around by smaller DE is concerning. One thing that is exciting about Blake is his athleticism as his size. Blake ran a 4.98 40-yard dash and had an explosive 37” vertical. Blake also has a 90 PFF grade in pass-blocking on 462 pass-blocking snaps. I see Blake as a developmental tackle for either side with tremendous upside.
OT 3: Warren Mcclendon, Georgia
Warren was the RT for arguably the most dominant o-line in college football. Warren and Broderick were a lethal duo at tackle. Warren has long arms, 34 ½”, which Andy loves. Warren was not invited to the combine and his pro day has not happened yet so I am not sure how Warren will test athletically. His tape shows good short-area agility and quickness. Warren has great competitiveness in his blocking and always finishes his blocks. Pairing him next to Trey Smith would be a scary sight for d-lineman and linebackers when you see these two coming at you. Warren is no slouch in pass blocking either. In 395 pass block snaps, Warren was graded out at an 82 pass block grade by PFF. Warren does struggle with his consistency in his mechanics and can be slow on his punch into the d-lineman. Warren would come in and be great competition to Niang and I see him winning that spot as well.
