Kansas City Chiefs Draft, Pt 1

And, it begins... months of speculation and heartburn as we wait to see if the Chiefs will somehow manage to not screw up their 2009 NFL Draft.

Here's what I'm worried about on the outset. I figure, no matter who the head coach is heading into the 2009 season, there's no way the Chiefs can simply name Tyler Thigpen the starter going forward without challenging him with some form of competition. Yes, Thigpen seemed to mature as an NFL quarterback as the season went on. But, Kansas City was still 2-14 (and one of those wins, at home against Denver, Thigpen did not participate in). Thigpen only completed 55% of his throws. And, while Tony Gonzalez loves Thigpen (weird, I wonder why), it's obvious the receiving corp regressed as the season progressed.

Now, a distribution of the football amoungst targets is part of the spread scheme. But, we all know Dwayne Bowe has skills (mad skills). And, we all know Bowe made plenty of mistakes throughout the year that contributed to his disapointing season as well. But, I just don't see it from Thigpen. And, that's why whoever ends up as the Chiefs GM (Scott Pioli.... right God?) needs to bring in some decent free agent QB with upside.... OR... draft a quarterback.

And, here's the problem. Who do you draft? If Stafford and Bradford come out, are they really worth a top three pick? Both have upside (pundits argue Stafford has HUGE upside). But, both have drawbacks. The only other signal caller currently rated in the top 32 of ESPN's big board is Mark Sanchez (who, personally I'm high on... good footwork, throws catchable ball, athletic enough to succeed in different pro style offenses). But, he too, isn't a sure bet.

Right now, it looks like the draft is set up in a way that the Chiefs can easily fail. We've seen way too many struggling franchises make the wrong choice early in the draft with a QB. Pray the Chiefs don't join that list.

EDIT: Seriously, here is the list Todd McShay, from Scouts Inc., has assembled. Obviously, every quarterback on here isn't guaranteed to be in the draft... since a few are underclassmen who have yet to declare.