Kansas City Chiefs: Drafting a center not a bad idea
The Kansas City Chiefs have several needs in the 2019 NFL Draft, mostly on the defensive side of the ball, but is center one of the needs on offense?
Former Kansas City Chiefs center Mitch Morse was let go this offseason and signed a deal with Buffalo that made him the highest paid center in the league, according to Over the Cap. Morse was a great center, but he struggled to stay healthy and that gave way for Austin Reiter to prove himself at the position.
With Reiter being effective and significantly cheaper (though it is worth noting that he’s older than Morse), the Chiefs felt okay with not bringing back Mitch Morse. As mentioned above, the former Missouri Tiger sought out greener pastures elsewhere, striking a deal with the Bills.
Reiter is obviously going to be the starting center moving forward, barring anything unusual, but should the Chiefs look to address the position in the 2019 NFL Draft?
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To be honest – I wasn’t even thinking of the Chiefs potentially addressing center in the draft, but after reading CBS Sports’ seven-round mock draft where Chris Trapasso had KC drafting a center, maybe it does make sense. Not only did Trapasso have the Chiefs drafting a center, but he had them taking one in the second round, with their second pick in the draft.
The pick Trapasso went with was Erik McCoy out of Texas A&M. Here’s what he said in his mock draft about the Chiefs taking a center in round two,
"While the Chiefs really like Austin Reiter at center, McCoy can add competition and depth at that spot and man the left guard early in his career."
With this analysis, the pick isn’t as puzzling. If the Chiefs opted to draft a center who has versatility along the offensive line, fans would likely be on board with the selection. Left guard has been a void for a few seasons now, so if they decided to draft a center and have him play left guard initially, that’s a tune we can all dance to.
Say the Chiefs do draft a center. Even with Reiter being lined up to start there in 2019, a lot could happen to prevent that from being the long-term answer. Injuries are the big one, but who’s to say that Reiter ends up panning out? He might struggle in a full year at the helm and that’s something to keep in mind for sure.
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The offensive line is mostly set for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2019 season, but depth is important there. If they do end up adding a center in the draft, it might not be a bad idea at all.