Kansas City Chiefs: What each drafted player can provide in 2019

Juan Thornhill

If you thought Mecole Hardman was a reach, this pick should make up for it because it was an absolute bargain. Juan Thornhill was at least a top two free safety in this draft and to get him at 63 was a crazy good value pick.

Thornhill not only has future potential, but he has a shot to compete for the starting free safety position this season.

According to Chiefs.com, Brett Veach when asked about Thornhill was quoted saying, “This was the guy that, actually, Dave Merritt (defensive backs coach) had number one on his free safety list. We were excited and ecstatic when he was available and we wasted no time to turn his name in.”

When you can get your top player at a position of need late in the second round, it is a no brainer. Thornhill was a great pick at 63. This may end up being the pick of the draft for the Chiefs.

As you can see above, even ESPN analyst Louis Riddick is raving about how much of a steal Thornhill was, stating that “Thornhill is going to be the guy that ‘how did he get out of the first round’ is what is quickly debated.”

Thornhill has elite athletic traits, landing in the 92nd percentile in the 40-yard dash with a time of 4.42 seconds and in the 99th percentile for vertical jump and long jump at 44 inches and 141 inches respectively. Thornhill is a crazy good athlete, but that’s not all.

Thornhill is also very versatile, much like Tyrann Mathieu, and can even play some snaps at cornerback if needed. This displays his coverage abilities and he uses his elite speed to play sideline to sideline at the free safety position. Having two swiss army knife safeties will give Coach Spagnuolo a ton of flexibility in his defensive schemes.

Thornhill also tackles well and has excellent ball skills. He had 98 tackles and six interceptions last season at Virginia. Having Thornhill flying around the field interrupting pass attempts and making tackles will be a great help to the Chiefs’ defense in 2019.