Kansas City Chiefs: 2016 NFL Draft Grade Card
CB. Notre Dame. KEIVARAE RUSSELL. B-.
The Chiefs traded their other second round pick to acquire a third round pick and they used it on cornerback KeiVarae Russell out of Notre Dame. Mike Mayock of NFL.com notes that Russell was looked at by several teams as a safety, which is good to know that he could be used in multiple spots in the secondary.
Russell was one of the five Fighting Irish players suspended in 2014 due to academic investigations, but he still could have been drafted as early as the second round.
He has the size of an NFL cornerback and could be put into a starting role either this season or next if Phillip Gaines doesn’t pan out. He also could slide over to the safety spot if need be, which is why I gave him a B- here.
Russell didn’t get a higher grade due to missing an entire season and therefore not having AS much experience as some of the other guys drafted after him. Still though, pretty good pick for the third round, and yet another possible steal for Kansas City.
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