2017 NFL Draft KC Chiefs Scouting Report: Chad Kelly

With the 2017 NFL Draft not far away, the KC Chiefs could decide to draft their next quarterback of the future. Could Chad Kelly of Ole Miss be that guy for the Kansas City Chiefs?

When it comes to football in Kansas City, the quarterback position is always heavily scrutinized. Even with someone like Alex Smith under center for the team, a guy who has led the Chiefs to four straight winning seasons, Chiefs fans always want someone else as the signal caller.

While this year’s crop of quarterback prospects aren’t the best, the KC Chiefs might find themselves backed into a corner and having to take a chance on someone in order to please the fan base.

Someone that I actually could see Kansas City selecting is former Ole Miss Rebel, Chad Kelly.

Most people associate Chad Kelly with bad things and that’s not far off. The nephew of Jim Kelly (that seems important for some reason) has seen his fair share of troubles off the football field and that’s troubling for any team thinking of drafting the gunslinger.

If he can just keep his cool and not get into trouble, Kelly would be a nice addition to the Chiefs and could be just the guy to take over this team in 2018.

I had the KC Chiefs drafting Kelly in the third round in my latest mock draft and had this to say,

"This is the kind of quarterback that Andy Reid likes to have on his team and the maturity questions couldn’t be handled better than by someone like Reid. This just seems like a good fit for both sides."

It’s hard to argue with my point there (even though I made it, yes). Andy Reid tends to be a good fit for players who might have a checkered past. Kelly could be a nice fit for him.

The off the field problems are a big red flag though. Those incidents include:

Running onto the field during a high school football game and brawling after his brother took a late hit in the game
Being dismissed from Clemson in 2014 due to “conduct detrimental to the team”
Being accused of punching a bouncer at a bar

There are probably even more than just those instances, which is scary when you think about what the stakes would be should the Chiefs draft this kid.

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Kelly has talent, there’s no question about it. He threw for 6,800 yards and 50 touchdowns in two seasons at Ole Miss and was also a threat with his legs, racking up over 800 yards on the ground. If he can just keep his cool and not get into trouble, Kelly would be a nice addition to the Chiefs and could be just the guy to take over this team in 2018.

Emily Kaplan of MMQB wrote an article on Kelly’s red flags during the Ole Miss’ 2016 season, which is where I got the list of incidents from. Kaplan writes,

"It’s the full body of off-the-field problems raises the proverbial red flag. Can you trust Chad Kelly? And yet, those who have worked with him since would rather answer a different question: Has Chad Kelly turned a corner?"

Kaplan also understands that Kelly has an understanding of the game though, and what it means to play at the quarterback position.

"When Kelly takes shots downfield, the throws can be stunning: Check out that Alabama game, when Kelly found the safety cheating and fired a perfectly placed throw down the sideline, connecting with wide receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow for a 32-yard gain."

At the end of the day, drafting Chad Kelly could go several ways. He could:

Stay out of trouble and sit on the bench for a year before taking the keys to the car
Behave and not amount to anything for the team at quarterback
Be dramatic, but perform at a high level for the Chiefs
Go down the Johnny Manziel path, which involves poor play on the field and getting into all kinds of trouble off the field

Obviously we’d prefer the first option to happen if the Kansas City Chiefs draft Chad Kelly, but is he even worth the risk? What do you think, Chiefs Kingdom? Would you want to see Kelly come to the Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft?

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