KC Chiefs: Why drafting safety early on could be smart move

The 2020 NFL Draft is almost here and the KC Chiefs are all over the place when it comes to not only what player they want Veach to draft, but even what position should be addressed first.

Chiefs Kingdom is definitely not a cohesive unit right now when it comes to what position they want the Kansas City Chiefs to select at pick 32 and early on in the 2020 NFL Draft.

There’s a big crowd that wants to go linebacker first, another pretty good-sized crowd that wants cornerback. The next most common is the group who wants an interior offensive lineman, then, of course, you have the crazies (also known as the “draft a running back at 32 clan”) and even the way out there group of people who want to go all out on offense and grab a wide receiver in the first.

With all of those groups out there, not many people are supporters of the safety position being something the Chiefs need to look into early on. This is somewhat expected, as KC’s safety unit appears to be pretty strong, but in this article we will discuss why drafting a safety early on makes a ton of sense.

Coach Spagnuolo loved to play a three-safety unit last season, especially down the stretch and the Chiefs were pretty successful for the most part when in this package. Even at times last season, fans could see as many as four safeties on the field at once.

There was one game toward the end of the season where  I counted Kendall Fuller at safety along with Juan Thornhill, Tyrann Mathieu, and Daniel Sorensen all in the game at one time. Now that is not a very common unit, but the three-safety unit was pretty common for this secondary.

That unit oftentimes toward the end of the season featured Fuller as a safety – who is now gone – so if Spagnuolo wishes to continue using three safeties at once he might look for Fuller’s replacement in the draft.

The two guys currently on the roster who could fill that third safety spot are Armani Watts and Sorensen. Watts has potential, but it seems like if Spagnuolo had faith in him he would have had his opportunity already.

When it comes to Sorensen, he is a fan favorite and can be successful in spots, but it is pretty clear he isn’t a long-term solution there. That leaves the draft as the next place to go to find a third safety.