2018 NFL Mock Draft: KC Chiefs address quarterback depth issues

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ROUND 3: PICK 22 (86TH OVERALL) – MALIK JEFFERSON, LB (TEXAS)

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t plan to take yet another linebacker with the third pick for the Chiefs, but Malik Jefferson plummeted to pick 86 (he was projected as a top 50 pick on the Fanspeak draft board) and he was hard to pass up on. Jefferson spent three years at Texas and decided to forego his final year as a Longhorn and enter the NFL Draft.

During his time in Austin, Jefferson totaled 231 tackles and13 sacks. He already has the build to play in the NFL, but he’ll need the right defensive coordinator in order to get the most potential out of him. That was proven at Texas when the Longhorns got a new defensive coordinator, as Jefferson’s tackles went up from 60 in 2016 to 110 in 2017. That’s quite the difference!

Something I’ve read frequently about Malik Jefferson is that he tends to play better when he doesn’t have to think about what’s coming. He’s more of a “let him go out there and just do what he does” type of player, which could be troubling in the pros.

While selecting three straight defensive players (pass rushers, to be more specific) might seem crazy, the Chiefs need to address the situation. Pass rush was a problem in 2017 and that has to be fixed this year, otherwise the season will end the same exact way as 2017 did and nobody wants that.