West 6,713 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 The Chiefs' 2015 Draft Class Continues to be Special, Ranks as Best in NFLPosted 3 hours ago BJ Kissel Chiefs Reporter Chiefs.com Email The Chiefs are getting ridiculous production out of their 2015 draft classThrough nine games so far this season, the Kansas City Chiefs (7-2) are getting a ridiculous amount of production from their 2015 draft class. The class had nine total players, eight of whom are contributing for a team that’s tied for the best record in the AFC right now. “I think it’s big,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid explained of the success and production from last year’s draft class. “In this day and age, you have to have an influx of young players. That’s just the way the salary cap works. “You’ve got to draft well and those guys have to play. We’ve done that. (General manager) [John] Dorsey has done that. We’ve had production from those guys – good production. It’s a tribute to him.” While the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and first-round pick, Marcus Peters, will get most of the headlines, and for good reason, the fact is the depth and contributions from this entire class shouldn’t be overlooked. Outside of Peters, the class has starting players in center Mitch Morse, receiver Chris Conley, inside linebacker Ramik Wilson and cornerback Steve Nelson, not to mention key special teams players in linebacker D.J. Alexander and tight end James O’Shaughnessy. Just last week against the Carolina Panthers, defensive lineman and former sixth-round pick Rakeem Nunez-Roches, had the first start of his career, as he stepped in for the injured Jaye Howard and played well. From the top to the bottom of this class, the Chiefs are getting plenty of value. The Chiefs have more snaps played by their 2015 class than any other team in the NFL, and the numbers aren’t particularly close either. Most Snaps Played from 2015 Draft Class Rank No. of Picks Team Snaps 1 9 Kansas City Chiefs 3,038 2 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2,679 3 10 Minnesota Vikings 2,401 4 12 Cleveland Browns 2,360 5 9 Denver Broncos 2,273 With 3,038 snaps played, which include special teams, the Chiefs have greater than 300 more snaps from last year’s draft class than the next-best team in the league, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2,679). The reason this is important is that it shows a cohesiveness between the personnel staff of the Chiefs bringing in quality players who can contribute right away, the positional coaches getting these guys in tune with their techniques and schemes, and then Reid using them in a way that’s allowed this team to reel off five straight victories and sit as one of the best teams in the league right now. Here’s a breakdown of each of the players in the Chiefs’ 2015 class and their total snaps this year: Snaps played by 2015 Draft Class in 2016 Round/Pick Player Total Snaps (includes STs) 1-18 Marcus Peters 606 2-49 Mitch Morse 628 3-76 Chris Conley 468 3-98 Steven Nelson 699 4-118 Ramik Wilson 158 5-172 D.J. Alexander 198 5-173 James O' Shaughnessy 210 6-217 Rakeem Nunez-Roches 72 7-233 Da'Ron Brown* not on team 0 TOTALS 3036 When it comes to production and value, just look at snap counts, which may be a better indicator of how a player is doing, particularly on a good team, than traditional box score stats. A player may be doing his job and contributing on special teams or a side of the ball, but isn’t necessarily getting credit on a stat sheet. Coaches keep putting him out there—racking up snap totals—because he’s doing the right things to help the team. It’s also worth noting that Nelson, who had just 178 total snaps last year, is averaging more than 77 per game this season. There are only two players who were drafted last year who have played more snaps this season than Nelson—the Denver Broncos’ Max Garcia (728) and the Arizona Cardinals’ D.J. Humphries (714). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West 6,713 Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Reid and Dorsey baby!... w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetlord 10,209 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Reid and Dorsey baby!... w Standing by to read a post about how Dorsey and Reid whiffed on D'ron Brown. What were they thinking? Could have got a QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azchief21 5,278 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Standing by to read a post about how Dorsey and Reid whiffed on D'ron Brown. What were they thinking? Could have got a QB. They did get QBs...the year before and after. Murray and Hogan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azchief21 5,278 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Reid and Dorsey baby!... w An incredible draft class Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calichief 3,016 Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Dorsey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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