In the second and final installment of The Burn KC Official Mock Draft, I tweaked my original mock draft based on team needs, what has happened in free agency, and what I have heard from the Kansas City Chiefs camp leading up to this point. With the 2024 NFL Draft being just two days away, consider this a "final draft" (no pun intended) of who I believe the Chiefs will go for. A reminder that I do my drafts straight up, which means no trades or anything else. Just the picks as the Chiefs have them. You can check out my original post here. Let's have a look at what changes I have made.
The Picks
Round 1, Pick 32: Adonai Mitchell, WR, Texas
Round 2, Pick 64: Michael Hall Jr., DT, Ohio State
Round 3, Pick 95: Dominick Puni, OL, Kansas
Round 4, Pick 132: Jalen McMillian, WR, Washington
Round 5, Pick 157: Kamal Hadden, CB, Tennessee
Round 5, Pick 171: Rasheem Ali, RB, Marshall
Round 7, Pick 221: Isaac Rex, TE, BYU
Explanation of Picks
As you can see, there's been a few changes since the last mock draft. For one, I believe Xavier Worthy is likely out of the question unless the Chiefs trade up or he somehow falls. With how his combine and pro days have gone I expect him to be a top receiver taken. Worthy had a teammate, however, at Texas who is also a projected top wide receiver in Adonai (AD) Mitchell. Mitchell possesses excellent route-running skills, is a deep ball threat, and has the length and vertical to compete for the ball in the air. He's slower than Worthy, but is bigger and stronger, which the Chiefs would love given their smaller receiver room.
For my 2nd round pick, projections are showing Dominick Puni to fall to the 3rd round, where I have the Chiefs staying the course and picking him. Their new 2nd round pick, Ohio State's Michael Hall Jr., is a mirror image almost of Chris Jones, which is what the Chiefs would be looking for with him. Jones will not be around forever, so finding his replacement so that they can develop and plugin for rotational situations would play to their benefit. Hall is that guy, as he is a relentless rusher who is physical, gap-savvy, has great lateral speed and shows incredibly high effort. He's a bit slow off the get-off, but that's essentially his only knock. He has the size and physicality to bully even the biggest NFL guards.
We then get to the 4th round, where I have switched out McKinnley Jackson for Washington receiver Jalen McMillian. I like McMillian because he fits the mold Skyy Moore was intended to fit at the slot. He's quick, has big, soft hands, creates space on a whim, and can handle run blocking well. His only knocks are his knee injury, the fact that the Washington scheme didn't really utilize him as much as they could have, and isn't the fastest slot in the draft. McMillian would be a good day 2 pick for the Chiefs to give depth to the receiver room and bring in a guy who can create that mid-level spacing to create another threat underneath beside Travis Kelce.
Finally, the final pick that differentiates between Mock Draft 1.0 and 2.0 didn't exist for the Chiefs when I created the first one! The Chiefs received a 7th-round pick in the L'Jarius Sneed trade with the Titans, giving them an extra pick for this draft. With this extra pick, I have the Chiefs selecting BYU tight end Isaac Rex. Rex is the very definition of a receiving tight end, which given Travis Kelce's age and longevity questions, is a welcome sight in the later rounds for the Chiefs. Rex can go up and get a ball, has soft hands, has a quick release, and is a big-play threat. Very similar scouting report to Kelce, which Veach should salivate over. He does have issues creating separation and isn't exactly a field-stretching guy, but does have the speed and agility to create a big play off of a mid-level route. I think he would be a late-round steal should he fall to the Chiefs.
Conclusion
If you would like an explanation of the picks that I did not mention above, please go check out my first mock draft. The Chiefs are in a great situation right now. This draft is deep with talent regarding their team needs, a lot of guys fit their scheme nicely, and overall this is a draft that the Chiefs really can do no wrong in. They're back-to-back Super Bowl Champions, their veteran core is back together, the front office just got extended, and they have no weak spots that can't be filled with the upcoming draft. They could bounce around the idea of drafting a tackle in the first round or drafting more offensive linemen, but given the most pressing need is still probably wide receiver, expect them to hit that area hard. Otherwise, the boys in red are in great shape.
Burn Notice: 10/10 IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!
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