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

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Xavier McKinney #15 of the Alabama Crimson Tide knocks down a pass. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Players to Target in Round one (or early round two in the case of trading back)

1. Xavier McKinney, Alabama

McKinney may be the best safety in the draft and he still has a good chance to make it to the Chiefs because of other teams having bigger needs. McKinney – like Mathieu – is great in coverage and plays with great effort and intelligence.

Adding him could allow Thornhill to hold down center field and then let McKinney and Mathieu play in the box and in coverage. This would keep opposing quarterbacks constantly on their toes because of the versatility that Mathieu and McKinney both possess.

2. Grant Delpit, LSU

Delpit is a little more likely than McKinney to fall to 32. He is also versatile and is solid in coverage. He doesn’t appear to be as gritty and physical as McKinney, but his upside is just as high and his coverage abilities give the Chiefs the same versatility.

3. Antoine Winfield Jr, Minnesota

Honey Badger Jr is what I am calling him. Winfield is a spitting image of Mathieu and could develop into a very similar player except with even better athleticism. He is undersized like Mathieu but plays with the same toughness and has unreal ball skills.

4. Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois

What’s crazy about Chinn is that he is the biggest of this group and also the most athletic overall. He stands at 6’3″ 221 pounds and ran a 4.45 40-yard dash with a 41″ vertical. Chinn projects as a guy who can play as a cover linebacker in sub-packages or at strong safety.

Spagnuolo historically doesn’t use smaller linebackers, so he would probably be mostly used at safety in KC, but nevertheless he still adds a bunch of versatility to our defense.

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Recap

So what do y’all think? Is safety the move early in the draft? There is a lot of value at the position and it would allow us to get very creative on defense.

I’m all aboard the safety train if Brett Veach goes that route.

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