Chiefs trade up in NFL Draft, prep for Broncos and AFC West air attacks
Apr 28, 2022, 8:54 PM | Updated: 9:46 pm
When Russell Wilson moved to Denver, many said the AFC West became the best quarterback division in the NFL. Justin Herbert, Derek Carr and Patrick Mahomes will be a tough matchup for division foes six times a year but everyone in the division will have to do it.
The Chiefs actually had one of the better secondaries in the NFL last season, finishing with Pro Football Focus’ sixth-best grade in the league. But those numbers hide an even better secondary from last season because they got drastically better once they took Daniel Sorensen off the field. From weeks six through 18 they had a PFF coverage grade of 90.8.
While the Broncos’ foes did lose standout corner Charvarius Ward, they added safety Justin Reid in free agency and may have replaced Ward on Thursday night.
Kansas City was slated two picks twice at the end of the NFL Draft’s first round, but they used one of those picks plus No. 94 and No. 121 to move up to New England’s No. 21 pick. With the selection, the Chiefs took cornerback Trent McDuffie.
The star of the Washington secondary, McDuffie, comes in at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds. The California native earned All Pac-12 First Team in 2021. The corner only recorded two interceptions in his 27 games as a Huskie.
The Chiefs added defensive end George Karlaftis from Purdue with their other first round pick.
As teams around the AFC West boost up their air attacks, opponents have a natural response to stop them. Wilson has only played the Chiefs twice in his career and not since 2018. When these two teams meet, stopping Jerry Jeudy, Cortland Sutton and Tim Patrick will undoubtedly be at the top of the Chiefs’ game plan.
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