2017 NFL Draft KC Chiefs Scouting Report: Jamal Adams

With the prospect of Eric Berry leaving the KC Chiefs this off-season, replacing him in the 2017 NFL Draft could become a priority for the Chiefs.

By the time the Kansas City Chiefs get their first pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, Malik Hooker will, in all likelihood, be off the draft board already. Should the Chiefs trade up for a potential team leader, Jamal Adams instead?

Eric Berry‘s natural leadership qualities are well documented, along with his amazing athletic ability, dedication to discipline, and his high football IQ. The man is an inspiration to so many Kansas City Chiefs fans as well as fans across the nation. Whether it is today or five years from now, whoever does eventually replace Berry will have very big shoes to fill.

Now that we have our obligatory, “All Hail Eric Berry” paragraph out-of-the-way (stay tuned for more Berry content in the upcoming weeks), we can move on.

More Scouting Reports: Malik Hooker

Jamal Adams, standing 6’1″ and 213 lbs, had an outstanding collegiate career at LSU. Starting with a notable freshman year, collecting 66 tackles to go along with five pass breakups. Adams would go on to finish his three-year Tiger career with 209 tackles with 18 of those tackles for a loss, and five interceptions. Earning second team All-SEC in 2015, and had an even better 2016 earning first team All-SEC honors.

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Adams’ unique skill set allows him the capability to play both strong and free safety, which is rare considering his talent at both positions.

Defensive coordinators will love Adams’ versatility, lining him up all over the field will make it easier to disguise safety coverage and will help confuse opposing quarterbacks.

He possesses great natural leadership tendencies, while also being a dependable tackler for run defense. Unlike some draft prospects, Adams started all three years of his college career. Comparatively, he is one of the more experienced players in this year’s draft.

He has been compared to former LSU (and current NFL star) Tyrann Mathieu aka Honey Badger by CBS Sports and also compared to former player Darren Woodson by NFL.com. Those are again pretty lofty comparisons for a young man.

After all, Adams has a prety good pedigree. His father, George, is a former running back and Super Bowl Champion with the New York Giants in 1986.

One of the few weaknesses in Adams game is that he is smaller than what a lot of scouts typically look for in the position. Another knock is that sometimes he doesn’t have the best anticipation, which could limit him as a centerfielder type of safety.

NFL.com had this to say about Adams:

"“The people who have been at that program the longest think he might be the best leader LSU has had in years. He’s a no-doubt first-rounder. He can play all over the field and he could have an immediate impact on defense just like Landon Collins did coming out. I love him. I think he’s a winner.”"

Next: Chiefs Best First Round Picks All-Time

Similar to the bulk of this year’s first-round pick candidates, there is a lot of potential with Adams. There is no denying that. Hooker (possibly) has a higher ceiling than Adams. However, Adams is the more complete football player today. Adams is the type of impact player that can directly revamp an entire secondary, perhaps even the whole defensive unit.

What do you make of Jamal Adams, Chiefs fans? Would he be worth drafting in the first round or worth trading up in the 2017 NFL Draft?

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