https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2024/5/1/24146569/chiefs-draft-5-picks-make-list-of-100-best
On Wednesday, ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller tallied up what he believed were the 100 best selections during last weekend’s 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit. Miller chose to include five of the Kansas City Chiefs’ seven picks on his list. Three other teams — the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Rams — also placed five picks on Miller’s list, but only the Lions had a higher percentage of their selections make this ranking.
The Chiefs’ first pick was ranked behind the Chicago Bears’ selection of wide receiver Rome Odunze, Chicago’s pick of quarterback Caleb Williams and the Arizona Cardinals’ decision to take Marvin Harrison, Jr.
4. WR Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 1-28)
My final overall ranking: No. 25
The NFL seriously let the fastest person ever timed at the combine (4.21 seconds) go to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs? After two years of desperately trying to add a speedy target to replace Tyreek Hill, GM Brett Veach moved up four spots in the first round to get his guy. Worthy is a dangerous deep threat but also has a diverse set of route skills and can change the game as a punt returner.
The NFL seriously let the fastest person ever timed at the combine (4.21 seconds) go to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs? After two years of desperately trying to add a speedy target to replace Tyreek Hill, GM Brett Veach moved up four spots in the first round to get his guy. Worthy is a dangerous deep threat but also has a diverse set of route skills and can change the game as a punt returner.
While Arrowhead Pride’s consensus draft prospect ranking enumerated Worthy 35th — making him a seven-spot reach at the draft’s 28th pick — Miller had ranked the Texas wideout as the 25th-best prospect. That’s one of the reasons he’s ranked Kansas City’s first-round selection so highly.
But he’s explained the other one, too: Worthy could be exactly the player the Chiefs have been trying to find since trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. As the weeks before the draft wound down, many Kansas City fans had cooled on Worthy. If the Chiefs could win two consecutive Super Bowls without a player like Hill, was it important for the team to keep trying to find one?
And yet... the team seems to have seen it differently. And outside of Chiefs fans, few observers seem to think Kansas City should have taken a bigger, heavier target (such as Adonai Mitchell, Ladd McConkey or Xavier Legette) for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
It will be years before we know whether the Chiefs made the right decision. But it’s probably good for Kansas City fans to be reminded that Worthy’s acquisition has struck fear across most other fanbases. That should tell us something.they drafted a quarterback-turned-tight-end with great traits in Wiley. No, I’m not saying he’ll be the next Kelce, but Veach and coach Andy Reid know former QBs make great tight ends because they understand the entire offense and are great at finding space on the fly. His 6-foot-6 size and potential are intriguing enough to make this one of the more fun developmental picks in the class.
18. TE Jared Wiley, TE, Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 4-131)
My final overall ranking: No. 83
In the 2013 draft, the Chiefs selected a quarterback-turned-tight-end with great traits named Travis Kelce. In the 2024 draft, they drafted a quarterback-turned-tight-end with great traits in Wiley. No, I’m not saying he’ll be the next Kelce, but Veach and coach Andy Reid know former QBs make great tight ends because they understand the entire offense and are great at finding space on the fly. His 6-foot-6 size and potential are intriguing enough to make this one of the more fun developmental picks in the class.
With this pick — the Chiefs’ second among Miller’s top 20 — Kansas City seems to be trying to get ahead of the curve; Wiley looks like someone meant to fill the important role Kelce holds in the team’s offense. As Miller notes, this doesn’t mean Wiley will be the next Kelce — it would be foolish to predict that — but it’s pretty easy to see that once the superstar tight end chooses to leave the game, someone should be ready to step in. Like the team, Miller believes Wiley can do it.
61. CB Kamal Hadden, Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 6-211)
My final overall ranking: No. 126
The Chiefs are one of the NFL’s best teams at finding defensive backs on Day 3, and Hadden might be the next in that line. He has excellent size at 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, and he showed the ball skills to be a key NFL player in college (three interceptions in 2023). With L’Jarius Sneed traded to Tennessee, Hadden has a path to early playing time.
74. S Jaden Hicks, Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 4-133)
My final overall ranking: No. 57
Hicks had buzz as the top safety in the class, making this a great get for the Chiefs. He has experience at safety, inside linebacker and slot corner, and he could be a Drue Tranquill-like player in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
85. OT Kingsley Suamataia, Kansas City Chiefs (Pick 2-63)
My final overall ranking: No. 64
The connections between Suamataia and Kansas City were red-hot before the draft, so it’s not a shock that the team selected him in Round 2. The question will be where he plays. The Chiefs have a need at left tackle, but Wanya Morris played well when thrust into action late last season as a rookie. Could Suamataia be a future replacement for pricey right tackle Jawaan Taylor, given his struggles in 2023? I think so.
As I continue to practice pronouncing his name (SOO-uh-mah-tah-EE-uh), I become more and more convinced that the Chiefs made a brilliant decision to take the former BYU tackle with their second-round pick; I’d probably place him at least third on this list.
