Kansas City Chiefs: Rookie grades for 2018 draft class

The Kansas City Chiefs knew they had to put a major emphasis on the defense with the 2018 rookie class. So, how did those first-year players fare in their first year as professional football players?

The Kansas City Chiefs drafted six players in last year’s draft and each of those six players now has a year of playing experience under their belt. Well, for the most part. Let’s take a look at each rookie and how he did in year one in the NFL.

The Chiefs sacrificed their 2018 first round draft pick when they moved up in the 2017 draft to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It’s obvious now that that was a small price to pay to get the future of the franchise. For that reason, though, the first pick in 2018 came in the second round with the 46th pick.

It was a bit of a surprise when Breeland Speaks’ name was called with that pick. Speaks really only had one solid year of production while at Mississippi, yet the Chiefs decided to take a chance on him. With a good motor, the 6’3″, 285 pound defensive end did enough to impress Kansas City’s brass prior to the draft.

Speaks didn’t make much of an instant impact like many had hoped for. Fitting somewhere between a defensive lineman and an outside linebacker, his development seems to have taken longer than expected. With only four starts in 16 games, he tallied just 1.5 sacks.

The Chiefs may have selected Speaks as a developmental player so this grade may be as much about him as it is the organization. Unfortunately, developmental players aren’t typically selected in the second round. Hopefully, Chiefs Kingdom will see what Speaks can do in year two.