Chiefs go EDGE in Mel Kiper’s new mock draft

Mar 21, 2023 - 8:00 PM

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper released his latest mock draft on Tuesday. Kiper believes that four quarterbacks will be taken in the first five picks of April’s draft in Kansas City. He also thinks that before the Kansas City Chiefs are on the clock for the 31st pick of the NFL Draft, four offensive tackles, four wide receivers, three tight ends and five edge rushers will be off the board. Kiper thinks the Chiefs will then take a defensive end who will be familiar to Chiefs fans who follow nearby college teams.

31. Kansas City Chiefs: DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State

The Chiefs let JuJu Smith-Schuster leave in free agency, and their wide receiver depth chart looks a little thin. I thought about Jalin Hyatt (Tennessee) as a new deep threat for Patrick Mahomes, but I’m going to trust in Andy Reid’s ability to find contributors just about anywhere. That leads me to the edge rushers, and Anudike-Uzomah is a player I really wanted to get in these predictions somewhere.

There’s some buzz among NFL teams about Anudike-Uzomah after the combine. He had a great workout there, and he was super productive in college, racking up 19.5 sacks over the past two seasons. Kansas City replaced Frank Clark with Charles Omenihu, so Anudike-Uzomah likely would be a situational pass-rusher as a rookie.

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In his last mock, Kiper had Kansas City select Georgia tackle Broderick Jones with its first-round pick. In this latest projection, Jones went to the New York Jets with the 13th pick. Georgia outside linebacker Nolan Smith — currently the player who is most-frequently mocked to the Chiefs in the first round — went to the New York Jets with the 12th selection. But LSU EDGE B.J. Ojulari — now tied with Anudike-Uzomah as the second-most frequent player mocked to Kansas City — was still available at 31.