Kansas City Chiefs Did Well Drafting KeiVarae Russell
By Charles Lam
Chiefs Kingdom and Kansas City Chiefs fanatics everywhere should get excited about cornerback KeiVarae Russell.
The former Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback who the KC Chiefs took in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft could be a playmaker in the near future for Kansas City. He’s unproven in the NFL, but has a lot of potential upside.
The Chiefs drafted Russell in the third round, 74th overall, after trading down with Tampa Bay for a third and a fourth round pick. The trade makes up for losing a third round pick due to tampering during the Jeremy Maclin acquisition back in 2014.
Kansas City desperately needed a corner after losing Sean Smith to rival, Oakland Raiders, and they addressed it early on in the draft.
There are some question marks with Russell. He didn’t play football in 2014 due to a cheating scandal. In 2015, he played through a stress fracture in his leg (shin bone or tibia). Two games before the end of the season, the bone finally broke.
Even when injured, Russell played well.
Russel’s Senior Season Stats (While Injured)
- Games Played – 11
- Tackles – 60 (48 solo)
- Tackles for loss – 3.5
- Sacks – 1
- Interceptions – 2
- Forced Fumbles – 2
- Passes Defended – 4
Take a look at this ESPN Sports Science video on Russell below.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=15385940
The video shows during the “diving tip test”, that Russell can get after the ball no matter where it’s thrown. Russell’s range could lead him into a hybrid role with the Chiefs. He could play free safety playing the role of the recently retired, Husain Abdullah, or he could fill in for Sean Smith at corner.
In the video, Russell was compared to All-Pro free safety, Earl Thomas. Russell out leaped Thomas during the “diving tip test”. Are you excited yet?
If not take a look at some personal videos Russell shared on Twitter.com feed.
"Non-stop!"
In the video above, Russell’s pumping the iron making sure he is ready for the gauntlet of training camp coming up this summer in St. Joseph, Missouri. It also shows he’s strong. It looks like he’s ready to take on wide receivers like Oakland’s Amari Cooper twice a year. Russell faced off against Cooper in college so he knows him a little bit.
One more video. This video shows Russell’s incredible hand eye coordination. While filming in one hand, he snatches the ball out of the air with the other hand. Simply amazing. Don’t forget he’s a corner, not a wide receiver.
After last years success drafting Marcus Peters, it looks like the Kansas City Chiefs got another good player. He might not be Marcus Peters but he sure looks good on tape.
Next: 15 Best Third Round Draft Picks EVER
What do you think of Keivarae Russell being a Kansas City Chief? Are you as excited as I am that he’s wearing the red and gold? Let me know in the comments section below.