Top 2011 Draft Prospects-Offense

The personnel calendar turns very quickly in pro football. Just last weekend, the NFL was selecting players from the class of 2010.

Already, the league is preparing for the class of 2011. Here’s a preliminary look at the top offensive players at each position as of now. On Saturday we’ll provide the top defensive players. This list of players includes several who will be juniors this fall.

QUARTERBACK

Jake Locker (right)/Washington, 6-3, 226 pounds. One unknown NFL GM called Locker a bigger version of Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. He’s got the numbers to show that might not be far off.

During his time with the Huskies he’s thrown for 5,374 yards and run for 1,554 yards in 28 games. Last year, he threw for 2,800 yards with 21 TDs and 11 INTs, while running for 388 yards and seven TDs.

He was starter in ’08 opening the first four games, but his season ended when he broke his thumb. One extra item in the Locker dossier: he’s been drafted twice by major league baseball teams and last year, he signed a six-year rights agreement with the Los Angeles Angels. In fact, Locker is technically a walk-on at Washington since the Angels are paying his tuition.

Here’s another example of what kind of athlete Locker is: in high school he returned three kickoffs, all for touchdowns, with an average return of 88.3 yards. …Read More!

Practice Report 4/30 Update

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs 2010 Rookie Camp began Friday as Todd Haley and his coaching staff started throwing the team’s programs and fundamentals at the 33 players on the field.

“I have strong convictions of doing it this way with just the rookies in here at this time,” said Haley. “I think it really gives them a chance to get their feet wet without that added pressure of guys that know what to do.”

Todd Haley welcomed seven draft choices, 11 college free agents, seven first-year players and eight tryout players.

“There is a positive energy about this whole group,” Haley said. “I continually remind them that they don’t really know anything right now. They don’t know what they don’t know.

“We don’t care how you got here. Once you are here you are just another helmet with a piece of tape on it and we are going to try to figure out if you can help us win.”

All of the team’s draft choices and college free agents were on the field. The Chiefs do not release the names of their tryout players, but the lone quarterback was Bill Stull (above) out of Pittsburgh. During his five seasons with the Panthers, Stull threw for 5,252 yards, 32 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions. …Read More!

Rookies Will Get An Earful … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

It was at last year’s rookie mini-camp that we got our first exposure to Todd Haley and his coaching style.

There had been hints here and there thanks to grumbling from veteran players about his demeanor and of course there was that incident/fantasy involving Brian Waters and the supposed “guys off the street” comment.

But when the rookies and tryout guys showed up at the Chiefs facility, they got an earful on the practice field. In helmets and shorts, Haley and his staff were very vocal in demanding quicker and faster plays. Mental mistakes were discouraged in a very loud and sometimes profane manner. Those of us allowed to view some of the workouts found out that Haley’s practices were going to be a lot different than Herm Edwards and Dick Vermeil before him.

Well, it’s another year and another crop of draft picks, free agents and tryout guys will hit the field on Friday afternoon at the Truman Sports Complex. They are scheduled for four practices on the weekend: one Friday, two on Saturday and then a finale on Sunday. More than likely they’ll undergo some physical testing on Friday morning.

And there’s been no indication that Haley has mellowed, certainly not with the addition of grouchy coordinators like Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. The head coach will establish the Chiefs mentality very quickly, right down to his first conversation with these guys.

Haley doesn’t reveal what he says to the players or even prospective players, but we’ve got an idea of what this opening talk might be like. That’s thanks to his mentor Bill Parcells. …Read More!

What You Say? … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

In these ultra-sensitive times one can create headlines when asking someone whether their mother was a prostitute.

Heck, there isn’t any time when asking if Mom was a professional slut wouldn’t cause a reaction; generally it would be a guaranteed knuckle sandwich in the proboscis no matter the year, decade or century.

But the controversy of the week involves Jeff Ireland (left), the GM of the Miami Dolphins.

Right off the top let me tell you that Ireland is a very good man. He spent four years working in the Chiefs personnel department back in the day (1997-2000) scouting the colleges in the southwest and southeast. Ireland helped the team evaluate and draft guys like Dante Hall and Greg Wesley.

Ireland is also the step-son of Chiefs great E.J. Holub, and his maternal grandfather was Jim Parmer, who was the college scouting director for the Chicago Bears for 35 years. He was responsible for drafting many of the players who made up the Bears Super Bowl team of 1985.

It was spending summers with his grandfather that sparked the desire to be a scout in Ireland. He joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2001. When Bill Parcells took over the football operation of the Dolphins in 2008, he named Ireland the team’s general manager. …Read More!

The Search Never Ends … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Already the Chiefs scouts have cleaned up after last weekend’s NFL Draft and are working on the class of 2011. The personnel process is a 365-day a year job.

In the days leading up to the Draft, during the three-day affair and in the three days afterwards, there has been plenty of personnel movement. Veterans of all kinds have been released, traded or sliced off their old roster for many different reasons.

Despite the opportunities, GM Scott Pioli and the Chiefs have not pulled the trigger on any trades or signings. There haven’t even been any rumors about their interest in a player until Monday when Jacksonville released DT John Henderson (right). He’s supposed to talk with the Chiefs on Wednesday, an obvious indication that they have an interest in him.

But what about some of the other players that have changed teams or remain available? Why were the Chiefs silent? Why did they not add them to a roster that needs more talent? Let’s discuss some of them:

LB AKIN AYODELE – He was released back in March by the Dolphins and was available until this past Saturday, when he signed with Denver. Certainly, Pioli had an avenue to check on Ayodele and why he was cut loose by Miami where he played two seasons. He joined the ‘Fins after two seasons with Dallas, where he was signed as a free agent by Bill Parcells. The 6-2, 245-pound native of Texas has played both inside and outside, with 630 total tackles, 95 sacks and seven interceptions. He will be 31 in September.

Did he fit the Chiefs? – They need help at linebacker, especially on the inside where Ayodele has played the last four seasons. Based on what happened to him and the Dolphins defense last year, he seems a duplication of players they already have on the roster. Whether he would have helped is something the Chiefs will see up close and personnel, since they’ll play him and the Broncos twice. …Read More!

Defining Character …. Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

It’s one of the great dichotomies of football. Teams like players that are willing to do things that would get them arrested if it happened on a city street. Teams would like those same players to check that aggressive and sometimes rude behavior at the white stripes and behave off-the-field like solid, law abiding citizens.

Inflict punishment on the field while off the field, help a little old lady cross the street; every team in the league seeks those types of players. That personality group is out there and available among the young men that play the game. But they are not always easy to find or cultivate.

No team in the league makes more noise about finding players of character than the Chiefs of Pioli/Haley. From the first day they were in the building, the general manager and the head coach have used the term “the right 53″ when describing their attitude towards personnel. A player’s talent is not what makes him attractive to Pioli/Haley. It’s his personality, work ethic, character and determination, or at least that’s what they say.

According to them, character is the biggest foundation block in re-building the Hunt Family franchise.

Over this past weekend, the local media got caught up in the character issue. Despite the fact it’s been repeated ad nauseam since they arrived in Kansas City, it seems the Chiefs 2010 Draft class finally convinced the scribes and golden throats that this is truly the Pioli/Haley approach.

They regurgitated the mantra of character and the “right 53″ so much in their stories from the Draft that Pioli felt obliged to mention that the team did select some guys who could play football. …Read More!

Wrapping Up The 2010 NFL Draft

It was the first time in 75 NFL Drafts that the event was held over three days.

And based on TV viewership of the selection meeting on Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday morning and afternoon, count on the league continuing with the three-day format.

Some 45.4 million people viewed at least some part of the 2010 NFL Draft over the weekend on ESPN, ESPN2 and the NFL Network. That was a 16 percent increase from last year’s telecasts

A record 32.9 million viewers watched at least six minutes of the draft broadcasts.

Ratings for telecasts of the NBA and NHL Playoffs lagged far behind the NFL Draft.

Here’s more on the three-day event that is so popular with the fans and media, and so important to the league’s 32 teams: …Read More!

Was It Too High For A Safety?

It was a truism in the NFL when it came to drafting college players: a team does not use the early slots in the first round on a safety. The thinking was this: why spend a valuable choice on a player who was going to line up 20 yards from the line of scrimmage?

Since 1967 when the AFL-NFL combined their drafts, only six safeties were selected among the first five players in any of the 34 drafts. That’s six of 170 draft slots. That’s four percent of the draftees.

Back in January, Scott Pioli was one of those NFL types that couldn’t imagine using a high first-round choice on a safety. Todd Haley was pretty much the same, especially based on the personnel background of his youth with his father. Those great Steelers teams had at safety an undrafted college free agent (Donnie Shell), an 11th-round choice (Mike Wagner) and an undrafted college free agent (Glen Edwards.)

But the evolution of the pro game changed their minds. They studied the trends, they parsed the statistics, they split the hairs and they came to a conclusion that everyone saw when they grabbed Eric Berry with the fifth choice. That’s SAFETY Eric Berry.

“When the game evolves and there have been a lot of things over time where the game has changed from an offensive perspective and what you have to defend,” Pioli said hours after the Chiefs had grabbed Berry in the first round. “You watch a lot of teams now that are getting very talented tight ends and they come out with regular personnel groupings and you have to try and cover a tight end like (San Diego’s) Antonio Gates or (Indianapolis’) Dallas Clark, these receivers/tight ends.

“There end up being a lot of mismatch issues. You get into teams that run multiple receiver sets and you are running sub packages on and off the field. …Read More!

Looking At The Chiefs Draft … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

Perspective is a funny animal. Four people can stand shoulder to shoulder and look at the same picture, in the same light and see different things. And they all might be correct in their interpretation of the vision before them. Even black and white has shades of grey and shadows that can be translated to mean different things.

It’s the same with the NFL Draft. One man sees the selection of a player as a reach, while another sees it as assurance that the team making the decision got their man. One group thinks a team’s draft class is filled with projects and over-valued players, while another sees potential and future stars.

So it goes with NFL Draft class of 2010 for the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s a class of seven players that will play an important role in whether the franchise can dig itself out of the hole that comes with a 10-38 record over the last three seasons.

Without question, the Chiefs were able to draft some talented players, a handful of playmakers that is so lacking on the roster. Eric Berry, Dexter McCluster, Javier Arenas could bring big plays and yardage and point production to the offense, defense and kicking game.

“We’ve got good football players,” said GM Scott Pioli. “Team speed has been improved. I think we’ve added smarter players, we added competitive players, physical, tough players and all those things that we added along with the speed improved the overall competitiveness. We feel we improved a lot of things, but we improved this football team.” …Read More!

Chiefs Sign College Free Agents Part 2

Here is the second batch of undrafted college players that the Chiefs announced contracts with on Sunday.

G LEMUEL JEANPIERRE/SOUTH CAROLINA, 6-3, 301 pounds (right)

Jeanpierre played in 36 games with 21 starts for the Gamecocks. He began his career there as a defensive lineman, playing there during his red-shirt season of ’05 and in ’06 where he played in all 13 games and finished with 17 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. Moved to offense in spring practice in ’08, and started games at both left and right guard before suffering a knee injury that ended his season. He was back in the starting lineup in ’09.

A native of Orlando, he earned all-state honors at Timber Creek High School, where he was regarded as one of the best defensive line prospects in the country. He pronounces his name La-Mule Jon-Pierre. …Read More!

Chiefs Sign College Free Agents Part 1

After the draft ended Saturday evening, the Chiefs along with their 31 NFL brothers went about the business of signing undrafted players as college free agents.

The Chiefs announced 11 of those signings on Sunday. Here’s the first part of that group.

NT GARRETT BROWN/MINNESOTA, 6-1, 309 pounds (No. 99 above)

Brown played in 47 games with 33 starts for the Golden Gophers, with 99 total tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He was a two-year starter and team captain in ’09. Brown graduated in January with a degree in sports management. He played three years at Fairfield Prep in Conneticut, racking up 315 tackles and 21 sacks. Before that he had not played football, participating in hockey and lacrosse.

“I haven’t been playing football very long, but I’ve developed a love and passion for the game,” Brown told the Stamford Advocate newspaper. “It’s something that I pride myself in. I would love to play football at the next level, instead of sitting at a desk every day. The last seven years have been incredible. I’m completely committed to becoming a Kansas City Chief now. Hopefully they have faith in me to play on Sundays.” …Read More!

Thoughts On The 2010 NFL Draft

There’s only one thing that generally smells worse than a day old diaper in the garbage can: a mock draft a day after he real thing has gone down.

A close second is handing out grades for a team’s draft class 24 hours after the selections are made.

But newspapers, magazines and websites are filled on Sunday with evaluations of the 32 teams and their 255 selections in the 2010 NFL Draft. Not a single one of those players has actually played a snap, so it never made sense to me how a team could pass or fail with its picks.

About the only set of grades that I seek out after a Draft are those from Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News. Believe me when I tell you that nobody in the media prepares more and has more information about the NFL Draft each year than Goose. When he posts his list of top 100 players each year, it’s the most stolen from post on the web by other football writers and broadcasters.

Here’s a link to his grades for the ’10 Draft, but here’s a summary:

• He ranked the Chiefs No. 1 with an A+ grade.
• Four other teams got grades of A – Denver, New England, New Orleans, Seattle.
• There were two D grades – Jacksonville and Washington.
• Every other team got a grade of B or C.

Understand Gooselin’s grades are based strictly on the quality of the selected players and their value based on what position they were drafted. The grading scale is not based on whether or not a team filled its needs with their selections. It’s also not based on who the team could have drafted rather than those that they did.

Here’s what Rick had to say about the Chiefs 2010 draft class: …Read More!

Chiefs No. 5B Profile: Cameron Sheffield

NAME – Cameron Corley Sheffield.

BORN – February 12, 1988

FAMILY – Son of Inez and Frank Sheffield, with two older brothers and two older sisters.

PERSONAL STATS – 6-2¼, 257 pounds, 33-inch arms, 10-inch hands.

MORE PERSONAL STATS – 4.87 seconds in 40-yard dash, 35-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 11-inch broad jump.

HIGH SCHOOL – graduated with the class of 2006 from Portal High School in Portal, Georgia. …Read More!

More Draft Coverage Coming

I’m not ashamed to admit it, but after weeks of long hours prepping, and then three days of non-stop activity around the 2010 NFL Draft, I’m pooped.

Actually the Dell has taken to smoking and refusing some key strokes. I think it’s trying to tell me something.

So we are going to take a break for a few hours. But there’s more draft coverage to come in the next day or two. You can expect to see:

• A player profile on OLB Cameron Sheffield.
• An overview of the entire 255-player draft.
• Why the Chiefs broke convention and selected a safety at the top of round one.
• Just what Pioli/Haley mean when they talk about “character.”
• My pick-by-pick analysis of the Chiefs seven selections and opinions on what they got done in this draft.

On the last story, here’s a hint: this was not a home run for Pioli, Haley and the Chiefs.

Look for those stories and more coming up after a few ZZZZZZZZZZs

Chiefs No. 5A Profile: Kendrick Lewis

NAME – Kendrick Lewis

BORN – June 16, 1988 in New Orleans.

FAMILY – Son of Clarrissa Lewis and Bennie Paul.

PERSONAL STATS – 5-11 5/8, 194 pounds, 30½ -inch arms, 8 5/8-inch hands.

MORE PERSONAL STATS – 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 16 reps at 225 pounds on bench press, 30½-inch vertical jump,

HIGH SCHOOL – Attended O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans until 2005 when he re-located to Gainesville, Georgia because of Hurricane Katrina. He finished his high school career at Gainesville High School, graduating with the class of 2006. …Read More!

Berry Will Wear No. 29

Chiefs first-round draft choice Eric Berry has decided he wants to wear No. 29 when he joins the team for the first time next weekend for the team’s Rookie Camp.

And luckily for him, that number is available.

But Berry told the folks back in Knoxville that he would have paid money, big money, to get that number. He wore No. 10 in high school and No. 14 with the Volunteers. Why No. 29?

Berry was born on the 29th day of December. Plus, Highway 29 runs through Fairburn, Georgia – that’s Berry’s hometown.

But there’s a much bigger reason for No. 29; here’s the story, thanks to the Knoxville News Sentinel:

That’s the number that was worn at Tennessee by Inky Johnson, a former defensive back for the Volunteers. In 2006, Johnson suffered a major shoulder injury while playing against Air Force and to this day has little use of his right arm.

But he remains around the football program and has been a friend to Berry. …Read More!

Chiefs No. 3B Profile: TE Tony Moeaki

NAME – Tony Moeaki

BORN – June 8, 1987 in Wheaton, Illinois.

FAMILY – Son of Sione and Lose Moeaki, they are natives of the South Pacific island of Tonga.

PERSONAL STATS – 6-3 1/8, 245 pounds, 33¼-inch arms, 10 1/8-inch hands.

OTHER PERSONAL STATS – 4.69 seconds in 40-yard dash, 18 reps at 225 pounds on bench press, 34-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 5-inch broad jump.

HE SAID IT: “There are many great tight ends in the NFL right now and in the past but i think I can identify with Jason Witten and Heath Miller. I’m not saying that I’m on the same level as them but they are every down tight ends and they are good at both blocking and receiving. Hopefully one day I can play at their same level.”

HIGH SCHOOL – He was part of the Class of 2005 at Wheaton Warrenville South High School in Wheaton, Illinois. …Read More!

Chiefs No. 3A Profile: G Jon Asamoah

NAME – Jonathan Yao-Lante Asamoah

BORN – July 21, 1988 in Park Forest, Illinois.

FAMILY – Son of Geraldine Terstegge and Samuel Asamoah.

PERSONAL STATS – 6-4, 305 pounds, 33-inch arms, 10¾-inch hands.

MORE PERSONAL STATS – 5.08 seconds in the 40-yard dash … 26 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press.

HIGH SCHOOL – Attended Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois and graduated with the class of 2006. He was a two-time Academic All-State pick. He earned the Cook County Circuit Court-Black History Award for academics and community service. …Read More!

Chiefs Go Defense In Fifth Round

From the Truman Sports Complex

With a pair of picks in the fifth-round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Chiefs grabbed two more defensive players:

S Kendrick Lewis of Mississippi.

OLB Cameron Sheffield from Troy.

Lewis, 6-0, 198 pounds, was a two-year starter at Ole Miss, positing 226 total tackles, six interceptions and a remarkable 24 forced fumbles. He came out of New Orleans and was recruited as a wide receiver. In fact, he and the Chiefs second-round selection Dexter McCluster were roommates at Mississippi when both were receivers as freshmen.

Sheffield, 6-2, 257 pounds, played defensive end at Troy and was a three-year starter. He finished his career with 161 total tackles, with 15 sacks, including seven last year. He was recruited out of Portal, Georgia.

The Chiefs no longer have any selections in what’s left of the Draft, but that does not mean they won’t try to trade back in during the sixth and seventh rounds.

Thoughts On Draft Day No. 2 … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

From the Truman Sports Complex

There’s so much to talk about with all the decisions that went down on Friday in rounds two and three of the 2010 NFL Draft.

The Chiefs alone produced plenty of discussion points, but we’ll save those for the next few days as they have two more picks to make and heaven knows what else might happen. You’ve got to hand it to GM Scott Pioli: he loves to trade picks so he can draft tight ends.

Last year, he traded the 2010 seventh-round pick to Miami so he could get back into the ’09 seventh-round to take TE Jake O’Connell. Then on Friday, he gave up fourth and fifth-round choices to move back into the late third round to take Iowa TE Tony Moeaki.

That leaves the Chiefs with just two choices early in the fifth round, and no picks in the fourth, sixth and seventh rounds.

One other Draft Day No. 2 note: once the 50th pick was made there was finally closure on last year’s trade of Tony Gonzalez to Atlanta. It came down to Gonzalez for CB-Returner Javier Arenas. Little Javy has some big shoes to fill.

WHEELIN’ AND DEALIN’ BILLY BELICHICK

Sure Pioli made a deal to get back into the late third round. That was his only move in the two-day draft. That’s nothing compared to his old boss Bill Belichick with the Patriots.

By the time the smoke cleared in the third round Friday night, New England had traded eight different draft choices and accumulated 10 more. They made deals with six different teams – Denver, Oakland, Houston, Arizona, Dallas and Carolina – and still drafted five players by the end of the night: CB Devin McCourty, TE Rob Gronkowski, LBs Jermaine Cunningham and Brandon Spikes and WR Taylor Price. …Read More!

Chiefs No. 2B Profile: CB Javier Arenas

NAME – Javier E. Arenas

BORN – October 28, 1987 in Tampa, Florida.

FAMILY – Son of Facunda Arenas. He has four brothers: Jeno, Armando, Michael and Marco and one sister Jetta. His older brother Armando Murillo played for two seasons as a defensive back with Nebraska, starting 24 of 25 games during the 2007-08 seasons. His cousin is NBA player Gilbert Arenas.

PERSONAL STATS – 5-8 5/8, 197 pounds, 30 7/8-inch arms, 9½-inch hands.

MORE PERSONAL STATS – 4.6 seconds in 40-yard dash, 9-foot 4-inch broad jump.

HIGH SCHOOL – Graduated with the class of 2006 at Thomas Richard Robinson High School in Tampa. …Read More!

Celebrating With Dex!

Look closely in the middle of this picture; there’s Chiefs second-round draft choice Dexter McCluster trying to hear on his cell phone as family and friends celebrate around him at a restaurant in Clearwater, Florida. McCluster was talking with Chiefs head coach Todd Haley.

Chiefs No. 2A Profile: WR/RB Dexter McCluster

NAME – Dexter Marquise McCluster.

BORN – August 25, 1988 in Florida.

FAMILY – Dad is Marcus McCluster, Mom is Wendy Hall. He has a three-year old daughter.

HIS MOM SAID: “When he was 10, he told me, ‘Mom, I’m going to go to college and go to the NFL and buy you a big house. And I always said, ‘Okay, whatever, just have fun with the game.’ He did, and this is how far he’s gotten.”

PERSONAL STATS – 5-8¾, 172 pounds, 29¼-inch arms, 8 3/8-inch hands.

MORE PERSONAL STATS – 4.53 seconds in 40-yard dash, 20 reps with 225 pounds on bench press, 37.5-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 10-inch broad jump, 18 in Wonderlic.

HIGH SCHOOL – graduated with the class of 2006 from Largo High School in Largo, Florida. He finished with a 2.8 GPA. …Read More!

In Third Round Chiefs Draft Offense

From the Truman Sports Complex

With their own choice and a selection they picked up in a late third-round trade with the Houston Texans, the Chiefs went offense as the second-day of the 2010 NFL Draft went down.

With the 68th selection, the Chiefs grabbed Illinois G Jon Asamoah in the third round.

Then, after engineering a trade with the Texans for the 93rd selection, they drafted Iowa TE Tony Moeaki.

Asamoah, 6-4, 305 pounds, was a three-year starter at right guard for the Illini, starting 37 consecutive games for head coach Ron Zook.  He earned second-team All-Big 10 honors as a senior. A native of Park Forest, Illinois, he attend Rich East High School where he received all-league honors.

Moeaki, 6-3, 252 pounds, had an injury-filled career at Iowa. He missed 16 games in his last three seasons with different injuries. The Illinois native caught 76 passes for 953 yards and 11 TD catches.

To get that 93rd selection, the  Chiefs gave up their fourth-round pick (#102) and one of their fifth-round selections (#144.)

That leaves them with two fifth-round picks for the third and final day of the Draft on Saturday.

In the Second Round It’s McCluster & Arenas

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs stayed in the Southeastern Conference Friday evening with their two selections in the second round of the NFL Draft.

With the 36th selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Chiefs drafted RB/WR/Returner Dexter McCluster out of the University of Mississippi.

At No. 5o they selected Alabama CB/Returner Javier Arenas.

McCluster, 5-9 and 172 pounds, handled running back duties  for Ole Miss, as well as working as a receiver and a returner.

Arenas, 5-9, 195 pounds, was one of the best career returners in college football history.

Thoughts on Draft Day #1 … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

From the Truman Sports Complex

So much to cover in what was a wild and wooly first round of the NFL Draft; here are random thoughts galore on what went down Thursday night.

CELEBRATING CHIEFS DECISION TO PASS ON OKUNG

It was a big day for the new GM-coach combo with Seattle in John Schneider and Pete Carroll.

And it started out very good for the Seahawks thanks to the Chiefs decision to pass on OT Russell Okung (left) at the fifth slot, drafting instead Tennessee safety Eric Berry.

The Seattle draft room watched the Chiefs move with some anxiety, especially offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, who definitely wanted to put Okung in a Seahawks uniform.

“I was scared to death because I know the line coach there (Chiefs OL coach Bill Muir) very well and he wanted this kid as bad, or worse, than I did,” Gibbs told the Tacoma News-Tribune. “And he didn’t get him. So we quickly texted him and said, ‘Ha, ha,’ and all that good stuff. We’re all in the same community and we all think together so that’s kind of the way it is.”

Seattle has to go down as the gold medal winner in the first round, getting Okung and then adding Texas safety Earl Thomas with the 14th pick. Okung was considered the best offensive lineman in the Class of ’10, while Thomas was thought by some to be the equal if not better than Berry as a safety. Carroll also went for Thomas rather than his former Southern Cal safety Taylor Mays.

For a team that struggled last year, it was a nice double for Carroll to begin the rebuilding process.

Kudos to the Lions as well, getting the big man Ndamukong Suh, and then trading back into the bottom of the round to pick up RB Jahvid Best out of California. …Read More!

From the Mouth of Eric Berry

During the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis back in February, Eric Berry met with the media for several minutes to talk about his situation and his hopes and dreams for the NFL Draft.  He’ what he had to say.

From the Mouth of Eric Berry – Part #2

Berry’s Intangibles Make Him Tangible Choice

From the Truman Sports Complex

The work ethic that lifted Eric Berry into the position as a top NFL draft choice was learned on hot summer days in his native Georgia. He made $5.50 an hour painting houses with his father.

“It was very hard, especially outside during the summertime and it was like 96 degrees and you would be on the ladder at 12 noon and the sun was beating down on you,” Berry remembered. “But that definitely showed me why the lights were on in our house.”

Now, Berry can pay for the electric bill … heck, he can pay the mortgage for his mother and father Carol and James Berry and his younger twin brothers. He’s going to have millions of dollars to spend as the fifth player selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Berry is in that position because he thoroughly impressed the Chiefs in the last four months as they evaluated him and hundreds of other potential draft picks. It was not only his All-America-level of play for Tennessee over the last three years. It was his personality and character that had the Chiefs jumping at the chance to draft him.

“We did a lot of research, we worked out a lot of players, we put in a lot of time with a lot of different players,” said head coach Todd Haley. “As time went on, it became more and more clear that this was the fit for us.”

Said GM Scott Pioli: “I’m happy with the player we drafted and I’m happy with the person we drafted … he was a player at a position of need and the best player.” …Read More!

Chiefs No. 1 Profile: Eric Berry

FULL NAME – James Eric Berry.

BORN – December 29, 1988 in Fairburn, Georgia.

FAMILY – Father James. Dad was a three-year starter for Tennessee as a running back, serving as team captain in 1981 season.

KEY PERSONAL STATS – 5-11 5/8, 211 pounds, 33¼-inch arm length, 9 5/8-inch hand.

MORE PERSONAL STATS – 4.47 seconds in 40-yard dash, 19 reps with 225-pounds in bench press, 43-inch vertical jump, 10-foot 10-inch broad jump. …Read More!

Chiefs Take Eric Berry

The Truman Sports Complex

With the fifth-choice in the first-round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the Chiefs selected:

S Eric Berry of the University of Tennessee. Considered the best defensive back in this year’s draft class, Berry was a three-year starter for the Volunteers and was twice named All-America and the Southeastern Conference’s defensive  player of the year. He’s leaving school with a year of eligiblity remaining. Berry is 5-11 5/8 and weighs 211 pounds.

More to come.

75th NFL Draft Getting Ready To Start

From the Truman Sports Complex

The phone lines around the National Football League are on fire right now as the 32 teams get ready for the start of the 2010 NFL Draft, the 75th version of the selection meeting.

It all begins just after 6:30 p.m. with the St. Louis Rams on the clock. Teams in the first round will have 10 minutes to make their pick.

The latest news out of the Loo has the Rams keeping the first pick and selecting QB Sam Bradford. A team source told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch there will be “no surprises.” They have fielded calls all day from teams checking to see what St. Louis wanted to trade out of the top spot. Cleveland Browns head football honcho Mike Holmgren told ESPN that he would be willing to trade most of the Browns’ 10 picks and maybe some 2011 picks for Bradford. “They shouldn’t do it,” Holmgren said. “They need a quarterback more than anyone in the world.”

With the second choice, Detroit appears to be considering linemen, either DL Ndamukong Suh or OT Russell Okung. At No. 3, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seemed headed for selecting DT Gerald McCoy.

It’s the No. 4 spot that remains in doubt, as Washington continues to send out different smoke signals, the latest being a big interest in S Eric Berry.

That brings the Chiefs and the fifth choice into play. If the league follows their clock, the Chiefs choice should come right around 7:30 p.m.

It’s Decision Day … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

Will it be a big, burly offensive tackle like Russell Okung or Bryan Bulaga? Is a defensive player like Eric Berry or Rolando McClain about to become the newest member of the Chiefs? Is there a name coming out of the blue, matching what happened last year when Tyson Jackson was Kansas City’s first-round choice.

The question of who will be the Chiefs first-round selection should be answered Thursday evening with the start of the 2010 NFL Draft. Maybe the biggest question is whether Scott Pioli and Todd Haley stay at the fifth choice of the first round, or will they take the bait offered by another team and move down in the order?

When a football team has won just 10 games in the last three NFL seasons there are always a lot of question that must be answered. This three-day selection meeting is hugely important to Pioli/Haley in their attempt to reverse the fortunes of the Chiefs. With eight selections in the first 144 players, they must use those choices to infuse the roster with badly needed talent.

With three of the first 50 picks and four of the first 68 selections, there can be no mistakes by the Chiefs personnel operation. Those four spots must produce help, both long-term and immediately, for the team’s offense, defense and special teams. The remaining four selections – including three choices in the fifth round – must also provide players who can step into various roles with the team. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Dennis Pitta

NAME – Dennis Pitta

Position – Tight End.

College – Brigham Young.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6- ½, 245 pounds

Important numbers – 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 27 reps on bench press, 34-inch vertical jump, 0-foot 5-inch broad jump.

Age – 25.

Honors – Second-team All-America ’09 … first-team All-Mountain West offense ’07-’08-’09 … team captain ’09.

College career – Pitta’s journey through Provo, Utah is quite a story. He was a walk-on back in 2003 out of Moorpark High School in California. He got on the field in the ’04 season as a red-shirt freshman and then spent two years in the Dominican Republic on an LDS church mission. He returned for the ’07 season and became a force in the BYU offense immediately. In his junior season, he caught 83 passes for 1,083 yards and six TDs. He holds most of the tight end receiving records for the Cougars and that’s saying something because they’ve been producing draft-choice tight ends for years. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Linval Joseph

NAME – Linval Joseph

Position – Nose tackle/Defensive end.

College – East Carolina.

Status – Junior.

Size/Weight – 6-4¼, 319 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 39 reps on bench press, 31.5-inch vertical jump, 8-foot 6-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in October.

Honors – First-team All-Conference USA defense ’09 … honorable mention All-Conference USA defense ’08.

College career – Big man out of Florida who was recruited by former Pirates head coach Skip Holtz; when Holtz left for South Florida, that’s when Joseph decided he was ready to move on as well. A big man with a lot of athletic ability, he was very active in his career at East Carolina for an interior lineman, marked by his 143 total tackles in 41 games. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Kyle Wilson

NAME – Kyle Wilson

Position – Cornerback/Punt returner.

College – Boise State.

Status – Red-shirt Senior, graduated in December ’09 with degree in communications.

Size/Weight – 5-10, 94 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.43 seconds in 40-yard dash, 25 reps on bench press, 38-inch vertical jump, 10-foot 2-inch broad jump.

Age – 23 in late May.

Honors – Second-team All-America ’08-’09 … first-team All-WAC defense ’08-’09 … second team All-WAC defense ’07 … Boise State defensive captain ’09.

College career – Essentially a four-year starter on the corner for the Broncos, Wilson’s college career ended with a 14-0 season and a victory in the Fiesta Bowl over TCU. He had a sack and forced a fumble in that game against the Horned Frogs. Big plays were part of his m.o. at Boise, with 2 INTs returned for TDs and 3 punt returns for scores including a 90-yarder. …Read More!

NFL Suspends Big Ben

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger found out on Wednesday how much it cost him to be drunk and stupid:

$1,894,117.64.

That’s how much Roethlisberger will lose in pay if he serves the minimum four-game suspension that was handed to him by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The league disciplinary action is for six games, but can be dropped to four if Roethlisberger completes mandated counseling that must begin now.

If he Steelers quarterback continues his stupid behavior and doesn’t take the chance being given to him, he would not only miss six games, but would also be suspended during Pittsburgh’s bye week. That would cost him $3,314,705.87.

Basically Roethlisberger has four months to convince a therapist that he’s changed and understands that his behavior towards women and alcohol must change. He has over $1.4 million in motivation to make sure that happens.

At minimum, he will miss the first 25 percent of the Steelers schedule, games against Atlanta, Tennessee, Tampa Bay and Baltimore. After a bye week, Pittsburgh faces Cleveland and Miami. …Read More!

The Lights Are On … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Quite possibly the biggest upset of the 2010 NFL schedule that was announced Tuesday evening came in the season’s first week. That would be the Chiefs making it to a prime-time broadcast.

Lobbying by the Hunt Family convinced the league powers to give the nation a look at the first regular season game in the revamped Arrowhead Stadium. On Monday evening, September 14, the San Diego Chargers will be in town for Game No. 1.

That’s all well and good. Considering the amount of money the Hunts have spent themselves on the renovation of Arrowhead, they have every reason to want to show off the building. Of course one must also take into consideration that the reason Arrowhead became one of the NFL’s most famous stadiums wasn’t the cement and steel, the concourses and the club level.

Arrowhead became an iconic stadium thanks to the crowds that filled the seats in the 1990s and the enthusiasm they brought to watching Chiefs football. Of course that bloom is long off the rose as the team has struggled for the last three years to sellout their home games, just as the team struggled on the field to win games.

The visit by the Chargers on that Monday night will certainly give the Chiefs something to sell to potential ticket buyers. For fans that want to be part of that evening on a single ticket basis, expect to be forced to buy a ticket to the December 19th game against Tennessee as well, or maybe the October 31st Halloween home game against Chan Gailey and his Buffalo Bills. …Read More!

What Others Are Saying About The Draft Part #3

As the 2010 NFL Draft draws closer, we take a trip around the AFC West to see what the decision makers on the three other division teams are talking about.

Enjoy the comments of Denver’s Josh McDaniels, who was actually talked about some of the draftable players.

JOSH MCDANIELS/HEAD COACH DENVER BRONCOS

What are your thoughts on the quality of this year’s draft class?

“We think it’s a very deep draft and we are excited about where we’re at in terms of having multiple selections in the second round and we feel like we’re in a good spot in the first round. There has already been some activity and some calls back-and-forth in terms of moving up or down. No telling exactly what will happen at this point, but there’s definitely going to be some interest. We’re going to be interested in those types of things as well.”

How much trade action do you think there will be this year?

“There are quite a few teams — we’re one of them, obviously — that have multiple second-round selections. So it will be interesting to see what happens and how flexible other people want to be, moving down or moving up. We’re one of the teams that obviously has some flexibility to try to move up if we choose.
“I think we’ll be flexible and we’ll listen, but there are a lot of other teams that are still trying to put together their plans and priorities. So once we see how that is all going to unfold we’ll make that decision. But I think the odds would be in favor of us moving backwards probably because the most opportunity lies there.” …Read More!

Draft Profile: Rob Gronkowski

NAME – Rob Gronkowski

Position – Tight end.

College – Arizona.

Status – Junior.

Size/Weight – 6-6¼, 258 pounds

Important numbers – 4.68 seconds in 40-yard dash, 23 reps on bench press, 33.4-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 11-inch broad jump.

Age – 21 in May.

Honors – Third-team All-America ’08 … first-team All-Pac 10 offense ’08.

College career – Gronkowski sat out the entire ’09 season at Arizona after back surgery. This came after his strong ’08 season when he caught 47 passes for 672 yards and 10 TDs, earning all-conference and All-America mentions. During his two seasons on the field, he showed the ability to block and catch. …Read More!

Chiefs Get Wish For Monday Night Game; 2010 Schedule

The Hunt Family asked the NFL schedule makers for a national TV broadcast to highlight the first regular season game in the revamped Arrowhead Stadium.

They got their wish, as the Chiefs will open at home against the San Diego Chargers in the second-game of the opening weekend Monday night doubleheader. Kickoff is 9:15 p.m. CDT and the broadcast will be on ESPN.

It’s the Chiefs first home Monday night game since November 22, 2004 when they hosted the New England Patriots.

The remainder of the Chiefs home schedule all features noon kickoffs at this point. Flex scheduling at the end of the season could change that, but the remainder of the home games against Denver, Oakland, Arizona, Buffalo, Jacksonville, San Francisco and Tennessee will all be early Sunday games.

Two of those home games come in the season’s final weeks, against Tennessee and Oakland. They also open with two of their first three at home against the Chargers and San Francisco.

Toughest road stretch comes in November and early December when they have road games in five of seven weeks. Other than their home games, the Chiefs don’t face much in the way of bad weather games on the road, with Cleveland coming in September and Denver in mid-November. The Chiefs play just once in the Eastern Time Zone, at Indianapolis on October, 10.

The Chiefs schedule includes just four games against three opponents who made the playoffs last season: San Diego twice, Arizona and the Colts.

Here’s the Chiefs 2010 schedule: …Read More!

Draft Profile: Terrence Cody

NAME – Terrence Cody

Position – Nose tackle.

College – Alabama.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-3 5/8, 354 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.62 seconds in 40-yard dash, 22 reps in bench press, 22-inch vertical jump, 7-foot 9-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in June.

Honors – First-team All-America ’08-’09 … first-team All-SEC defense ’08-’09 … first-team All-America Junior College ’07.

College career – Known as Mount Cody because of his size, the Florida native rolled into Tuscaloosa in 2008 and became an immediate force in Nick Saban’s defense at nose tackle. In the ’09 season, the Tide defense was No. 1 against the run in the country and No. 3 in fewest yards allowed. Cody faces a minimum of two blockers on each play, thus he didn’t produce much in the way of statistics, but he was a dominating force that helped the rest of the defense. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Aaron Hernandez

NAME – Aaron Hernandez

Position – Tight end.

College – Florida.

Status – Junior.

Size/Weight – 6-2 5/8, 245 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 30 reps on bench press, 33-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 3-inch broad jump.

Age – 20, will turn 21 in November.

Honors – First-team All-America ’09 … John Mackey Award winner for college football’s best tight end ’09 … first-team All-SEC offense ’09. …Read More!

The Picks History … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

The Chiefs have eight of the first 144 selections in this week’s NFL Draft.

On paper, those numbers sound impressive. Eight of the first 144 selected players should provide a big infusion of talent to a roster that badly needs just that: talent.

But what can the Chiefs really expect to get from those selections? We went back and dug through the last 10 NFL Drafts and matched up the selections in the slots the Chiefs currently hold in this year’s selection meeting. Like last year’s fifth pick in the first round was Jets QB Mark Sanchez (right).

Not surprising, the results show a mixed bag in successfully finding players. That’s very much the plot line that runs through any look at the NFL Draft. Despite the millions of dollars spent on scouting and evaluation, there are no guarantees when it comes to selecting young players and then developing them into contributors to success.

And, there are no guarantees that the Chiefs are going to score with these choices; in so many cases the teams that have drafted in those spots in the last decade failed to find or develop an outstanding player. Sometimes they got no contribution at all. All eight of the Chiefs picks are in the first five rounds and those are always players that are expected to make the roster and play for at least several seasons. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Kareem Jackson

NAME – Kareem Jackson

Position – Cornerback.

College – Alabama.

Status – Junior.

Size/Weight – 5-10½, 196 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.4 seconds in 40-yard dash, 13 reps on bench press, 37.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 10-inch broad jump.

Age – 22.

College career – A three-year starter at cornerback in the Alabama defense, he improved from season to season, even though he never achieved All-SEC status in any of his three seasons. Jackson was an active tackler in the Tide defense with 159 total tackles in 41 games, but he did not have a lot of interceptions, finishing with five. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Damian Williams

NAME – Damian Williams

Position – Wide receiver/Punt returner

College – Southern Cal.

Status – Transfer junior, graduated in December ’09 with degree in sociology.

Size/Weight – 6-0 5/8, 197 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.53 seconds in 40-yard dash, 19 reps on bench press, 38-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 10-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in May.

Honors – Third-team All-America ’09 … First-team All-Pac 10 receiver and returner ’09 … Southern Cal MVP in ’09 … Honorable-mention All-Pac 10 receiver ’08.

College career – An Arkansas native, Williams began his college career with the Razorbacks but transferred after his freshman season to Southern Cal. After sitting out the ’07 season under NCAA rules, he became a starter with the Trojans offense in ’08 and put up 128 catches over two seasons with 15 TDs. …Read More!

Checkin’ The Latest Line … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli was talking the other day about how information on potential draft picks keeps flowing right up until moments before selection.

The 2010 NFL Draft got a taste of that on Saturday when Alabama LB Rolando McClain (right) told a Birmingham, Alabama newspaper that he does not have Crohn’s Disease, an inflammation of the intestines that can sometimes be very painful and disruptive to a person’s health.

It was McClain who surprised everyone at the Alabama Pro Day workout last month when he said he had the malady since he was in the ninth grade.

Saturday in Tuscaloosa as he was having his handprint and cleat print set in cement at a Walk of Fame on the University of Alabama quadrangle, McClain said he has now been told he does not have Crohn’s.

“In all my talks with my doctors in the past two weeks, with all the tests we’ve done, they don’t even feel I have Crohn’s disease,” McClain said. “The tests came out good and positive. Every team knows it’s not going to affect me at all.

“I don’t have any signs of it right now.” …Read More!

What Others Are Saying About The Draft-Part 2

Tick, tick, tick goes the draft clock with the first round coming up this Thursday.

That generates a lot of talk around the league, and we are checking in on some of the decision makers and what they are willing to say about their teams, their plans and the players in the draft pool. Here’s part No. 2. If you missed part No. 1, here’s the link.

BILL BELICHICK/HEAD COACH NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

What are his thoughts on this year’s class of players available to draft?

“I think there’s pretty good depth at a number of positions. Some we haven’t seen as much of in recent years – less at some positions where we’ve seen more of in recent years, so I think that’s kind of evened out a little bit. There are a lot of medical questions about players particularly at the top of the draft or players in some cases that I’m sure will be drafted high that didn’t even play football last year. I think that’s a little bit unusual to have probably the number of players that will be first round players, high second round players – whatever it will be – that were out of football a year ago. I think that part of it is a little bit unusual. There are a lot of interesting guys and with all the early declaring players I think in a number of cases you are going to have to look at those players and try to see where they’re going to be a year from now or four years from now. What kind of improvement, what kind of jumps they are going to make relative to where they are against other players that had the extra year. That’s always the case. It’s just more of them this year.” …Read More!

Draft Profile: Navarro Bowman

NAME – Navarro Bowman

Position – Outside linebacker/Inside linebacker.

College – Penn State.

Status – Junior, graduated in December with degree in crime, law and justice.

Size/Weight – 6-0 5/8, 236 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.62 seconds in 40-yard dash, 35.5-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 9-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in late May.

Honors – Third-team All-America ’09 … first-team All-Big 10 defense ’08-’09.

College career – There were times in Bowman’s career in State College where he was one of the biggest impact players in major college football. There were other times when he was not, certainly not after his arrest for fighting and his admission of marijuana use. He averaged nearly seven tackles per game during his three-year career, along with eight sacks and six takeaways. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Vladimir Ducasse

NAME – Vladimir Ducasse

Position – Offensive tackle/Guard

College – Massachusetts.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-4 3/8, 332 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.21 seconds in 40-yard dash, 29 reps on bench press, 26-inch vertical jump, 7-foot 7-inch broad jump.

Age – 23 in October.

Honors – First-team All-America for Football Championship Series … first-team All-Colonial offense ’08-’09 … team captain ’09.

College career – A late comer to football, not playing the game until his junior year in high school, Ducasse developed quickly enough to move onto the college game at UMass. He became a starter as a sophomore and spent the next three seasons handling left tackle. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Dexter McCluster

NAME – Dexter McCluster

Position – Wide receiver/Running back.

College – Mississippi.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 5-8¾, 172 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.53 seconds in 40-yard dash, 20 reps on bench press, 37.5-inch vertical, 9-foot 10-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in August.

Honors – First-team All-SEC all-purpose runner ’09 … second-team All-SEC running back ’08-’09 … third-team All-America ’08 … offensive MVP of Cotton Bowl ’09.

College career – McCluster arrived at Ole Miss as one of the most successful schoolboy RBs in Florida. But because of his size, he was moved to WR and that’s essentially what he was until the last two seasons, when he was a combination RB and WR. In the last two seasons in 26 games, he ran for 1,824 yards and caught passes for 1,145 yards. He became one of the most dynamic offensive forces in the SEC. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jerry Hughes

NAME – Jerry Hughes

Position – Outside linebacker/Defensive end.

College – TCU.

Status – Senior, expected to graduate in May with degree in communications.

Size/Weight – 6-2, 255 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.65 seconds in 40-yard dash, 26 reps on bench press, 34.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 10-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in August.

Honors – Two-time consensus All-America ’08-’09 … Ted Hendricks Award as nation’s best DE ’09 … Ronnie Lott Trophy as nation’s best defender ’09 … First-team All-Mountain West defense ’08-’09. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Devin McCourty

NAME – Devin McCourty

Position – Cornerback.

College – Rutgers.

Status – Red-shirt senior.

Size/Weight – 5-10¾ , 193 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.48 seconds in 40-yard dash, 16 reps on bench press, 36-inch vertical jump, 10-feet 6-inch broad jump.

Age – 23 in August.

Honors – First-team All-Big East defense ’09 … Rutgers team captain ’09 … Rutgers MVP on defense and special teams ’09 … semi-finalist for Draddy Trophy, the academic Heisman.

College career – McCourty had a solid, sometimes spectacular stay at Rutgers, where he was part of a very successful program. In the last four years the Scarlet Knights played and won consecutive bowl games and finished with at least 9 victories each season. McCourty played three seasons with his twin brother Jason, a 6th-round choice last year of the Tennessee Titans. A three-year starter on the corner, he was also a special teams standout and finished his career with seven blocked kicks. …Read More!

What Others Are Saying About The Draft

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli spoke about the upcoming NFL Draft on Friday. It’s a process that goes on around the league at this time of the year.

As the days tick off to this Thursday’s start of the 2010 Draft, we’ll spend some time providing comments from other decision makers around the league, as they talk about all things draft related. Like Pioli, they are trying to reveal as little as possible, but they always have interesting things to say. Here’s the first batch, starting with the team picking at No. 2 in the first round.

MARTIN MAYHEW/GM DETROIT LIONS

Mayhew said several days ago that the Lions had not decided who they will select with the second choice in the first round. The question to the Lions GM went from there.

On if it would be accurate to say he is picking between a pool of four players at No. 2?

“No. That would not be accurate.”

On what would be accurate?

“That we’re keeping our options open.”

How tight are the grades at the top of the draft board?

“Very tight – it’s as tight as I’ve ever seen it. Like I said before, we feel… We were in the draft meetings and we were just talking about the board and we said, ‘This is a good year to have the No. 2 pick.’ That’s not always the case; it’s not always that situation. This is a really good year to have the No. 2 pick.” …Read More!

Draft Profile: Anthony McCoy

NAME – Anthony McCoy

Position – Tight end.

College – Southern Cal.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-4½, 259 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.71 seconds in 40-yard dash, 19 reps in bench press, 35.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 5-inch broad jump.

Age – 22.

Honors – Honorable-mention All-Pac 10 offense ’08.

College career – Inconsistent career with the Trojans, making his mark primarily as blocking tight end, McCoy put up a dazzling 20.8-yard average per catch in the ’09 season. That was on 22 receptions. His big game was against Notre Dame, with five catches for 153 yards. The Fresno native had 46 career catches but only three scores. He was suspended twice for academic reasons, including missing the ’09 Emerald Bowl. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Nate Allen

NAME – Nate Allen

Position – Free safety.

College – South Florida.

Status – Senior, graduated in December ’09 with degree in communications.

Size/Weight – 6-0½, 207 pounds.

Important numbers – 16 reps on bench press, 34.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 6-inch broad jump (he’s yet to run 40-yard dash for NFL teams because of a left quad injury.)

Age – 22.

Honors – Second-team All-Big East defense ’09. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Arrelious Benn

NAME – Arrelious Benn

Position – Wide receiver.

College – Illinois.

Status – Junior.

Size/Weight – 6-0 7/8, 219 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.42 seconds in 40-yard dash, 20 reps on bench press, 37.5-inch vertical jump, 10-foot 1-inch broad jump.

Age – 21, he will turn 22 in September.

Honors – First-team All-Big 10 offense ’07, ’08 … honorable mention All-Big 10 offense ’09 … team captain ’08, ’09 … selected Illini MVP ’08 … unanimous selection as Big 10 Freshman of the Year ’07. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Anthony Dixon

NAME – Anthony Dixon

Position – Running back.

College – Mississippi State.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-0¾, 233 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.67 seconds in 40-yard dash, 15 reps on bench press, 33-inch vertical jump, 10-foot 1-inch broad jump.

Age – 22, will turn 23 in late September.

Honors – First-team All-SEC offense ’09 … Mississippi State’s all-time leading rusher. …Read More!

Pioli Has Something To Say

From the Truman Sports Complex

Scott Pioli talked for 36 minutes Friday morning. From that conversation with the local media horde we can draw this definite information:

The Chiefs will draft somebody next week.

That’s it. Anyone who thought they would get more was sadly disappointed. Expecting Pioli to show his hand on a warm June day is unrealistic; it’s silliness to think he’s going to flash his cards a week before the 2010 NFL Draft.

In all fairness to Pioli, that makes him no different than 31 other GMs and Player Personnel Directors who are preparing to bring 255 players into the NFL. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Chad Jones

NAME – Chad Jones

Position – Strong safety.

College – LSU.

Status – Junior.

Size/Weight – 6-2, 221 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.57 seconds in 40-yard dash, 9 reps on bench press, 36-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 7-inch broad jump.

Age – 21, will turn 22 in early October.

Honors – Second-team All-SEC defense ’09.

College career – In just three seasons with the Tigers, Jones became a major contributor on special teams and defense. In his freshman season, he had 23 special teams tackles and also returned punts and kickoffs. He got some starts at free safety in ’09 and then moved into the starting lineup at strong safety in ’09, with 74 total tackles, 3 interceptions and a 93-yard punt return for a TD. …Read More!

The Busts Of Busts … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

Here’s our premise for today:

Who were the worst first-round draft choices in the NFL since the merger in 1970?

The selections are based on their position in the round. In other words, who was the worst 12th player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft from 1970 to 2008? Who was the least productive player taken with the 25^th pick?

We will leave out last year’s draft since those players have not had the chance to show themselves as busts just yet.

For instance, our pick as the worst No. 1 draft choice in the last 38 drafts is DL Steve Emtman (right), taken by the Colts with the first choice of the 1992 NFL Draft.

When I picked the best first round picks it was very subjective. I’ll use a more objective reference for picking the worst first round selections. The No. 1 ability any player can have is availability and that’s how we’ve made our selections: games played. It’s not a perfect barometer of their contributions, but they couldn’t begin to be productive if they weren’t on the field. Injuries, in some cases death and in one case even murder led to departures from the league by first round selections. We violated this rule only once in 32 picks, and that’s the first choice.

Again remember that picks No. 27 through 32 have not always been in the first round. It was in 1976 that picks No. 27 and 28 joined the first round, with No. 29 and No. 30 coming in 1995, No. 31 in 1999 and No. 32 in the 2002 Draft. There were various exceptions along the way, like the ’95 draft when new teams in Jacksonville and Carolina received a pair of first round selections.

So here we go, the worst first-round picks, spot by spot: …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jason Worilds

NAME – Jason Worilds.

Position – Defensive end/Outside linebacker.

College – Virginia Tech.

Status – Red-shirt junior.

Size/Weight – 6-1 1/8, 254 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.65 seconds in 40-yard dash, 24 reps on bench press, 38-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 6-inch broad jump. (Reportedly ran a 4.49 in the 40 at his Pro Day workout.)

Age – 22.

Honors – Second-team All-ACC defense ’08 and ’09.

College career – Worilds’ career started slowly, as he had to battle dislocated shoulders in both the ’06 and ’07 season. When he got the chance to play in 2008, he produced with 12.5 sacks over two seasons and became one of the team’s leading tacklers. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Reshad Jones

NAME – Reshad Jones

Position – Strong safety.

College – Georgia.

Status – Red-shirt junior.

Size/Weight – 6-1, 214 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.54 seconds in 40-yard dash, 24 reps on bench press, 39.5-inch vertical jump.

Age – 22.

Honors – First-team All-SEC defense ’09 … second-team All-SEC defense ’08. …Read More!

Lilja’s Loving His K.C. Return

From the Truman Sports Complex

Every player strives to help his team reach the Super Bowl.

But getting there is not the end-all and be-all. It’s winning the championship that matters.

Ryan Lilja knows. During his six seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He was a starter in Super Bowl 41 when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in the rain in south Florida. It was the highest of highs.

Then earlier this year, Lilja was a starter for the Colts in Super Bowl 44, when the New Orleans Saints walked away with the victory.

“It’s ten times worse to lose one,” Lilja said Thursday. “I can’t believe I even said that. It doesn’t make sense. As good as it is to win one, this last one stung, it stung more.

“I came in here and talked to Mike Clark before I signed. He’s the strength coach and came here from Seattle. The first thing he said to me is what does it feel like to lose a Super Bowl? We sat there and talked for 20 minutes about how miserable it is.” …Read More!

Draft Profile: Koa Misi

NAME – Koa Misi

FULL NAME – Nawa’akoa Lisiate Foti Analeseanoa Misi.

Position – Outside linebacker/Defensive end.

College – Utah.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-2 5/8, 251 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.75 seconds in 40-yard dash, 38-inch vertical jump, 10-foot 7-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – First-team All-Mountain West defense ’09 … voted team captain ’09 … second-team All-Mountain West defense ’08. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Chris Cook

NAME – Chris Cook

Position – Cornerback/Free Safety

College – Virginia.

Status – Red-shirt senior.

Size/Weight – 6-2, 212 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.44 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 7 reps on bench press, 38-inch vertical jump, 11-foot broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – Selected team captain ’09.

College career – An athletically gifted player, Cook has a checkered career with the Cavaliers. A broken leg in ’05 cost him seven games. He lost three games in the ’07 season due to a sprained knee and then he was suspended for the Gator Bowl for academic reasons; that suspension continued through the entire ’08 season. He came back for the ’09 season and had 40 total tackles and four interceptions. …Read More!

Best 1st-Rounders Ever …Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

Here’s our premise for today:

Who were the best first-round draft choices in the NFL since the merger in 1970?

Our picks are based on their position in the round. It’s not whether they were taken in the first round, but where they were selected. In other words, who was the best 12^th pick taken in the first round of the NFL Draft from 1970 to 2005? Who was the most productive player taken with the 25^th pick?

We are going to leave out last year’s draft since those players haven’t gotten the chance to prove themselves worthy of all-time status yet. But that leaves 39 other drafts, with very familiar names and others who do not come as quickly to mind.

Obviously, this is very subjective, which is why I’ve included honorable mention selections at almost every slot. Also remember that picks No. 27 through 32 have not always been in the first round. It was 1976 that picks No. 27 and 28 joined the first round, with No. 29 and No. 30 coming in 1995, No. 31 in 1999 and No. 32 in the 2002 Draft. There were various exceptions along the way, like the ’95 draft when new teams in Jacksonville and Carolina received a pair of first round selections.

So here we go, the best first-round picks, spot by spot: …Read More!

Draft Profile: Daryl Washington

NAME – Daryl Washington

Position – Inside linebacker/Outside linebacker.

College – TCU.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-1¾, 230 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 17 reps on bench press, 31-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 6-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in October.

Honors – First-team All-Mountain West defense in ’09. …Read More!

Restricted Free Agency Coming To An End

Thursday is Tax Day in the United States, where the three biggest initials are not NFL but IRS.

But April 15 is an important day on the NFL calendar as well. That’s the deadline for restricted free agents to receive offer sheets from other teams around the league.

The elimination of the salary cap in the NFL and changes that brought to the league labor structure created more than 200 RFAs, the highest number in league history. To date only one RFA received an offer sheet, and that was New Orleans RB Mike Bell (right) from Philadelphia. The Saints decided not to match the offer. They received no compensation from the Eagles for Bell because they only presented him with a right of first refusal tender offer.

Someone can join Bell if a team makes an offer before the close to league business on Thursday. As of Wednesday, 98 RFA’s have signed contracts or their tender offers. That obviously left well over 100 RFAs available out there, including four members of the Chiefs: QB Brodie Croyle, C Rudy Niswanger, OT Ryan O’Callaghan and LB Corey Mays.

Once passed the deadline, the RFAs can only negotiate with their old team and must either sign the tender offer, or negotiate a new contract. Here are the players who have signed so far: …Read More!

Draft Profile: Matt Tennant

NAME – Matt Tennant

Position – Center/Guard.

College – Boston College.

Status – Red-shirt senior.

Size/Weight – 6-4 5/8, 300 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.15 seconds in 40-yard dash, 27 reps on bench press, 25-inch vertical jump, 8-foot 2-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – Second-team All-ACC offense ’09 … offensive co-captain ’09 … finalist for ’09 Rimington Trophy that goes to college football’s best center … honorable mention All-ACC offense ’08.

College career – Over the last three seasons, Tennant has been at the pivot in the B.C. offense and handling the duties quite well. He’s had major elbow surgery after the ’07 season, but was back and ready to play in ’08, not missing a game. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Morgan Burnett

NAME – Morgan Burnett

Position – Free safety.

College – Georgia Tech.

Status – Junior

Size/Weight – 6-2, 209 pounds

Important numbers – 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 16 reps on bench press, 39.5-inch vertical jump, 11-foot broad jump.

Age – 21.

Honors – Second-team All-ACC defense ’08 … All-Freshman team ACC ’07.

College career – Coming out of high school in Georgia, Burnett did not wait to make his mark, as he had a sack and six tackles against Notre Dame in the ’07 season opener. He remained very active throughout his career, averaging almost six tackles per game. His best season was in ’08, his first as a starter with 93 total tackles and seven interceptions.

Stats of note – 40 games/28 starts … 235 total tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack … 14 INTs, 15 passes broken up, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovered fumble. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jon Asamoah

NAME – Jon Asamoah

Position – Guard.

College – Illinois.

Status – Senior

Size/Weight – 6-4 1/8, 307 pounds

Important numbers – 5.08 seconds in 40-yard dash, 22 reps on bench press, 27-inch vertical jump, 8-foot 11-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 in July

Honors – Second-team All-Big 10 offense ’09 … First-team Academic All-America ’09 … honorable mention All-Big 10 offensive ’08.

College career – For the last three seasons, Asamoah has held down the right guard spot in the Illini offense and did it with honors …Read More!

Surviving The Top 5 … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Carl Peterson used to say it all the time.

“I don’t ever want to be drafting in the top five,” the former Chiefs GM said. “That means your team is struggling and you didn’t win a lot of games the year before.”

During Peterson’s reign in charge of the franchise, the Chiefs had a top five draft choice three times: 1989, 2008 and 2009. Derrick Thomas was the fourth choice in ’89 and went on to a Hall of Fame career. Glenn Dorsey was the fifth pick of the ’08 Draft and has been a solid, if unspectacular player. Peterson didn’t get the chance to use the third choice of the ’09 Draft that went for DE Tyson Jackson.

In theory, the top five choices should be the top five players available in that year’s draft. Funny, how it doesn’t always end up that way. Even though the teams picking in the first five slots get a head start, they take just as many busts as teams picking at other areas of the first round.

What are the odds on getting a good player at one through five? …Read More!

Draft Profile: Tony Pike

NAME – Tony Pike

Position – Quarterback.

College – Cincinnati.

Status – Red-shirt senior.

Size/Weight – 6-5¾, 223 pounds

Important numbers – 4.9 seconds in 40-yard dash, 28.5-inch vertical jump, 9-foot broad jump.

Age – 24.

Honors – First-team All-Big East offense ’09 … second-team All-Big East offense ’08.

College career – Over his first three years at his hometown school, Pike barely got on the field, throwing 20 passes in that time. He finally got his opportunity in ’08, with 10 starts. Pike overcame a fractured left forearm during the season that required surgery. He returned three games later and finished the season. He missed four games in ’09 when the plate in his arm needed repaired. But Pike finished with more than twice as many TD passes than INTs. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jordan Shipley

NAME – Jordan Shipley

Position – Wide receiver, also returner and holder.

College – Texas.

Status – Redshirt senior, graduated in Dec. ’08 with degree in Kinesiology.

Size/Weight – 5-11¼, 193 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.6 seconds in 40-yard dash, 16 reps on bench press, 36.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 8-inch broad jump.

Age – 24.

Honors – All-America first-team selection ’09 … unanimous All-Big 12 selection in ’09 … second-team All-Big 12 pick in ’08 … all-time leader for Texas in receptions.

College career – Shipley arrived in Austin for the ’04 season as the most prolific receiver in Texas schoolboy history. But it was two years before he got on the field. He was a red-shirt as a freshman after surgery on his left knee, then he missed all 12 games in ’05 due to the knee and a hamstring injury. It was the ’07 season before Shipley started getting regular playing time. He received another season of eligibility with a medical red-shirt and in ’08 and ’09 had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Perrish Cox

NAME – Perrish Cox

Position – Cornerback.

College – Oklahoma State.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 5-11 3/8, 195 pounds

Important numbers – 4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 12 reps in bench press, 32.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 5-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – First-team All-Big 12 defense ’09 … Big 12 Conference all-time leader in kick return yardage … Honorable mention All-Big 12 defense ’08 … Honorable mention All-Big 12 returner ’07. …Read More!

Ben Escapes Legal Sack … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The words of Dean Vernon Wormer of Faber College came to mind:

“Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life son.”

That unforgettable scene from the Hollywood classic Animal House had Dean Wormer speaking to freshman Kent Dorfman who had just registered a 0.2 grade point average thanks to excessive partying as a pledge at Delta House.

District Attorney Fred Bright did not mention those words on Monday when he announced that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will not be prosecuted over an incident in early March in Milledgeville, Georgia. But he did tell the 28-year old quarterback that it was time for him to grow up.

Roethlisberger is the NFL’s version of Kent Dorfman. Big Ben is Flounder.

“If he were my son, the best way I could say it is, Ben grow up,” Bright said. “You are supposed to stand for something. You are the leader. You should be a role model. You don’t need to put yourself in this situation anymore.

“Grow up. Cut it out.”

The reason Roethlisberger will not be arrested or charged with rape came down to a simple fact: his actions could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

That does not mean Big Ben was innocent of the allegations. In fact, as Bright laid out his decision and talked about the investigation of the events that went down that night, it’s obvious something did happen between the quarterback and the 20-year old coed who said she was assaulted. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jason Fox

NAME – Jason Fox

Position – Offensive tackle.

College – Miami, FL.

Status – Senior, graduated with business management degree in Dec. ’09.

Size/Weight – 6-6 7/8, 303 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.45 seconds in 40-yard dash, 23 reps on bench press. Rehab from knee surgery kept him from doing other drills.

Honors – First-team All-ACC in ’09 … voted by his teammates co-MVP of the ’09 team.

College career – As a true freshman, Fox was starting at the right tackle spot until injuries forced his move to the left side for the last four games of the season. That’s where he stayed over the next three years, handling the left tackle position for 39 games. Fox missed time throughout his career because of a dislocated left elbow, sprained ankle, right knee injury that required surgery and he was held out of a game in ’09 with an irregular heartbeat. …Read More!

The Big Boom in Big D … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

They blew up Texas Stadium on Sunday.

Good. It should have been dynamited about 20 years ago. It was one of the five most decrept stadiums in the National Football League. Fans of the Cowboys should thank Jerry Jones for building a far better place for his team to play their games than the clutter of concrete and steel that went up in 1971.

I remember the first time I saw Texas Stadium. It was sometime in 1978 or 1979 when the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Dallas to play the Cowboys in a pre-season game. I was excited about seeing the place because after years of seeing the stadium on television with all those great Dallas teams, I had come to believe that the spot with a hole in the roof was a sacred place in the NFL. Thanksgiving Day games, Monday night games, post-season battles … it was a building of memories.

I was very disappointing after taking a tour and seeing the stadium that August. It was a dump even then, seemingly thrown together in pieces, none of which fit very well. I made many more trips to Irving and I can tell you that there was nothing special about Texas Stadium itself. …Read More!

A Case For Sean Weatherspoon

We always like to hear from our readers and sometimes they even send comments we think everyone would like to read. That’s what Matt Verderame did and what follows are his thoughts on the player the Chiefs should grab with the fifth choice. If you can put together your thoughts as well as Matt, feel free to send them to . No guarantees of being published, but don’t let that stop you should the muse tickle you.

Many draft experts talk about the value pick. Taking the best player available vs. a team’s biggest need is commonly discussed with the NFL draft. Also, there’s where a team picks (especially early on) dictates who they take. I think all that is overrated.

Every team in the NFL does scouting years in advance preparing for certain players in each draft. Most of the time these players coming out are assigned a value by men such as Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, and everyone goes along with it. With all due respect to these men who put months upon months of work into their craft, they aren’t NFL scouts. They also don’t follow every team as close as their respective fans because there just isn’t enough time in the day, so they aren’t as acutely aware of every team’s needs.

Many people are saying the Chiefs will draft OT Bryan Bulaga or S Eric Berry because that’s what “value” says. I propose a question: say after the Chiefs workout of LB Sean Weatherspoon they feel he is the best player in the draft at a position of need. If they feel he has more upside than say Rolando McClain, but McClain may be a safer, more fan friendly pick, what is Mr. Pioli to do? …Read More!

Draft Profile: Austen Lane

NAME – Austen Lane

Position – Defensive end/Outside linebacker.

College – Murray State.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-5¾, 276 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.84 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 34.5-inch vertical jump, 10-feet 5-inch broad jump.

Age – 22.

Honors – Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year … first-team All-OVC in ’08-’09 … finalist for Buck Buchanan Award, given to Division I-AA defensive player of the year.

College career – Coming out of Iola, Wisconsin, Lane was not highly recruited, receiving attention from schools like Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth and Division II schools. He made an official visit to UMass, but ended up at Murray. Lane contributed immediately, getting his first college sack as a freshman. His victim? Missouri QB Chase Daniel. He worked his way up to the OVC’s defensive player of the year. Lane had 23 sacks over the last two seasons. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Tyson Alualu

NAME – Tyson Alualu

Position – Defensive tackle.

College – California-Berkley.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-2 3/8, 295 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.87 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 21 reps on bench press, 35.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 8-inch broad jump.

Age – 23 in May.

Honors – First-team All-Pac 10 ’09 … second-team All-Pac 10 ’08 … team captain ’09.

College career – On his first trip to Berkley, Alualu lasted less than week before returning home to Honolulu. He eventually returned, but this time brought his wife and young son. That touch of home allowed him to adjust to college and Pac-10 teams suffered the consequences. In the last two seasons he’s had 22 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.

Stats of note – 52 games/40 starts (39 in a row) … 195 total tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 16 sacks … 1 INT, 4 forced fumbles, 4 recovered fumbles … 1 blocked kick. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Ed Dickson

NAME – Ed Dickson

Position – Tight end/H-back.

College – Oregon.

Status – Redshirt senior.

Size/Weight – 6-4¼, 249 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.6 seconds in 40-yard dash, 23 reps on bench press, 34-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 7-inch broad jump.

Age – 23 in late July.

Honors – Second-team All-Pac 10 Conference in ’08.

College career – When Dickson arrived on campus he was moved to the defensive line because of depth concerns from injuries. He moved back to offense for the last four games of the ’06 season and stayed there for three more years. Dickson’s contributions improved from sophomore to junior to senior seasons. Strongest season was ’09, with 42 catches for 551 yards and six TDs. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Cam Thomas

NAME – Cam Thomas

Position – Defensive tackle.

College – North Carolina.

Status – Redshirt senior.

Size/Weight – 6-4, 330 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.29 seconds in 40-yard dash, 31 reps on bench press, 29-inch vertical jump, 8-feet 6-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

College career – Broke into the starting lineup in his second playing season and stayed there, working as part of a defensive line rotation for the Tar Heels. Thomas is a space-eater, and became very adept at closing two games and frequently handling two blockers. With the presence of North Carolina coach Butch Davis, Thomas has gotten a chance to play in pro style defensive schemes. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Toby Gerhart

NAME – Toby Gerhart

Position – Running back/Fullback/H-back.

College – Stanford.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-0, 231 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 22 reps on the bench press, 38-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 10-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – Consensus All-America ’09 … second in voting for the ’09 Heisman Trophy, 28 points behind the winner, Alabama RB Mark Ingram … Pac-10 Conference Offensive Player of the Year ’09 … Doak Walker Award winner ’09.

College career – Second on Stanford’s all-time rushing list, Gerhart put together back-to-back 1,000-yard+ seasons, including a school record 1,871 yards last season. His first two seasons were cut short by injuries, including a knee problem in ’07 that ended his season after just one game, a 141-yard effort against San Jose State. He finished up with two seasons with 553 carries for 3,007 yards and 43 rushing TDs. Gerhart also played on the Stanford baseball team, where he was a hard-hitting center fielder who helped lead his team to the College Baseball World Series. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jerome Murphy

NAME – Jerome Murphy

Position – Cornerback/safety.

College – South Florida.

Status – Redshirt Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-0¼, 196 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.52 seconds in 40-yard dash, 16 reps in the bench press, 38-inch vertical jump, 10-feet 5-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – 2nd-team All-Big East in ’09.

College career – Nobody in the history of South Florida football played as any games for the Bulls as Murphy did over the last four seasons. He was very active on defense,  as he took part in 15 takeaways and was frequently one of the team leaders in tacklers each week. Showed himself to be a contributor on special teams, not only in the return game, but in blocking kicks. …Read More!

Lick This Wonder! … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

Consider the possibilities – would you rather be San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith or Hall of Fame passer Dan Marino? If you could trade places with these two NFL quarterbacks who played with the Buffalo Bills, would you pick Ryan Fitzpatrick or Hall of Fame QB Jim Kelly?

Say you want to replay your football career as a college quarterback in the state of Virginia. Would you pick Marques Hagans of the University of Virginia, or would you rather be Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick, without all the pit bull baggage?

By most measures, there is little doubt that trading places with the likes of Marino, Kelly and Vick, would be preferable to living the football life of Smith, Fitzpatrick or Hagans. But not by every measure, especially not by one important element in the evaluation process.

The Wonderlic Test is a 12-minute, 50-question exercise that is given to potential NFL draft picks each year. It has become famous at this time of year as the Wonderlic results leak out.

Smith scored a 40 on the Wonderlic before the 2006 NFL Draft; back in 1983, Marino’s score was just 15. Coming out of Harvard, Fitzpatrick hit 48 in the test; Kelly was a 15. Hagans – remember he was with the Chiefs early in the 2008 season as a wide receiver – scored 37; Vick hit for a 20 on the Wonderlic.

Sometimes the results of a Wonderlic Test are just as confusing as taking the test. It’s one reason why some teams have chosen to diminish the importance of the score, whether high or low.

“The Wonderlic does not tell us about a player’s football intelligence,” said former Chiefs President-GM Carl Peterson, who in over 30 years of evaluating potential players saw a lot of Wonderlic scores. “The player’s score is just an indication of a player’s ability to read and comprehend what he has just read.” …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jermaine Cunningham

NAME – Jermaine Cunningham

Position – Defensive end/Outside linebacker.

College – Florida.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-3 3/8, 266 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.68 seconds in 40-yard dash, but missed rest of NFL Combine work recovering from shoulder surgery.

Age – 22 in late August.

Honors – Second-team All-SEC in ’08-’09 … team captain in ’08.

College career – A three-year starter in the Gators defense, his overall tackles have gone down each year, while his sack totals have gone up. He’s always been a guy who can make big plays, as he forced six turnovers with those 19.5 sacks.

Stats of note – 45 games/38 starts … 152 total tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks … 5 FF, 1 INT, 1 FR and 7 PBU. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Taylor Price

NAME – Taylor Price

Position – Wide receiver.

College – University of Ohio

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-0 3/8, 204 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 16 reps on bench press, 37-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 6-inch broad jump.

Age – 22.

College career – Price has been a three-year starter for Ohio and while he didn’t produce big numbers, he was pretty consistent and improving the last three seasons with 33, then 51 and 56 catches last season. He showed his athletic ability by throwing 3 TD passes.

Stats of note – 52 games/38 starts … 149 receptions for 2,019 yards and 14 TDs … 24 carries for 165 yards … three pass completions for 79 yards and 3 TDs … 10 kickoff returns for 179 yards … 5 punt returns for 26 yards. …Read More!

The Latest Line … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

There are 14 days until the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Seems like a good enough time to guess, conjecture, dissect and throw darts to divine the name of the Chiefs No. 1 draft choice.

Understand that no magic information has slipped under the door at the Truman Sports Complex to reveal their interest. No puffs of smoke, black or white. Various players have come to Kansas City to meet with the club. Team officials have headed out around the country to meet with players on their home turf. What it all means is unknown at this point. These assignations could be evidence of interest on the part of the Chiefs, or could be smokescreens to shield the true objects of their football desires.

We sit on the periphery of the media world so like our bigger brothers in the print, television and yakkers world, we are not going to allow facts or in this case non-facts to clutter up our story. That’s a long sentence to say we are guessing on the No. 5 choice.

Here’s what I think can be established at this point: QB Sam Bradford, DT Ndamukong Suh and OT Russell Okung will not be available when the Chiefs turn to draft in the first round begins. Bradford will go either No. 1 to St. Louis or No. 4 to Washington or a team the Redskins trade with. Suh will go No. 1, No. 2 to Detroit or No. 3 to Tampa Bay. Okung figures to be drafted at No. 2 or No. 4.

One other player will also be off the board and thus unavailable to the Chiefs.

Right now, I think these are the players that Pioli/Haley will consider with the start of their time on the clock: …Read More!

Draft Profile: Syd’Quan Thompson

NAME – Syd’Quan Thompson

Position – Cornerback.

College – California-Berkley.

Status – Redshirt senior.

Size/Weight – 5-9 ¼, 186 pounds.

Important numbers –4.62 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 33-inch vertical jump, 9-foot 9-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – First-team All-Pac 10 in ’08 and ’09 … named Cal’s most valuable freshman in ’06.

College career – After serving a redshirt season, Thompson jumped into the starting lineup in ’06 and never left the field in 52 games. He played his first game with a cast on a broken wrist but still contributed. His big year came in ’08 when he had four interceptions, two sacks, a 12.3-yard average on punt returns, including one he took back 73 yards for a score. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jared Veldheer

NAME – Jared Veldheer

Position – Offensive tackle.

College – Hillsdale College.

Status – Senior, earned degree in biology.

Size/Weight – 6-8 1/8, 312 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.06 seconds in 40-yard dash, 32 reps on bench press, 33.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 1-inch broad jump.

Age – He will turn 23 in mid-June.

Honors – Consensus Division II All-America … was elected team captain in both ’08 and ’09.

College career – When Veldheer got to Hillsdale as a freshman he was a skinny 255 pounds. He was 285 pounds as a sophomore and has been over 300 pounds for the last two years. He became a starter in his freshman season and remained at left tackle for four years.

Stats of note – 44 games and starts at left tackle; blocked for a 1,000-yard rusher in all four seasons. …Read More!

Using Picks For QBs … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

This NFL week started with a one of the league’s most established quarterbacks changing teams as Donovan McNabb was traded by the Eagles to the Redskins for a pair of draft picks.

On Tuesday, the subject was the most likely player to be chosen with the first selection in the 2010 NFL Draft – QB Sam Bradford. The Rams, whether at home in Los Angeles or St. Louis, have not drafted a quarterback in the first round in 46 years.

That’s the longest drought without drafting a first-round passer in the league. The Chiefs are tied for the third longest streak at 27 years, or since they grabbed Todd Blackledge with the seventh choice in the first round of the 1983 Draft.

But that doesn’t mean the Chiefs haven’t used first-round draft choices to get their starting quarterback. And, it doesn’t mean they haven’t used plenty of draft choices on QBs over 27 seasons.

Since Blackledge was picked by head coach John Mackovic, only two other quarterbacks drafted by the Chiefs have started for the team: Brodie Croyle and Doug Hudson, a little-known 1987 draft choice who was signed during the players strike that year and started one of the replacement games. Since Blackledge’s last start with the Chiefs on September 20, 1987, there have been 10 games where the starting quarterback was a Kansas City draft choice. That’s 10 out of 377 regular and post-season games – one for Hudson, nine for Croyle.

That’s 3 percent of the games! …Read More!

Draft Profile: Mike Johnson

NAME – Mike Johnson

Position – Guard/Tackle/Center

College – Alabama

Status – Redshirt senior, earned degree in consumer affairs and has taken graduate school classes.

Size/Weight – 6-5¼, 312 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.37 seconds in 40-yard dash, 21 reps on bench press, 25-inch vertical jump, 7-feet 7-inch broad jump.

Age – 23.

Honors – First-team All-America selection and first-team All-SEC in ’09 … second-team All-SEC in ’08 … voted team co-captain by his teammates … named co-MVP for Alabama offense with Heisman Trophy winning running back Mark Ingram. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Thaddeus Gibson

NAME – Thaddeus Gibson

Position – Outside linebacker.

College – Ohio State.

Status – Redshirt junior, scheduled to graduate in June.

Size/Weight – 6-2, 243 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.72 seconds in 40-yard dash, 32 reps on bench press, 9-feet 7-inch broad jump. He was timed in the low 4.6s during his Pro Day workout.

Age – 22.

Honors – Second-team All-Big 10 Conference in ’09.

College career – Gibson broke into the Buckeyes starting lineup during the ’08 season, beginning at outside linebacker, before moving in ’09 to defensive end. He made gradual improvement each season, finishing last year with 45 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss and four sacks. …Read More!

Rams Must Take Bradford … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

The 2010 NFL Draft is just two weeks and two days away. The St. Louis Rams are already on the clock with this year’s first choice.

They absolutely, positively, without a doubt must select QB Sam Bradford. For the Rams to do anything else would be a football folly of stupendous proportions. There is no other possible scenario for St. Louis. None.

The last time the Rams franchise selected a quarterback in the first round of the NFL Draft was 46 years ago. That year the Los Angeles Rams drafted Bill Munson with the seventh selection of the 1964 Draft.

No team in the NFL has gone longer without drafting a first-round quarterback. The next longest stretch without that choice in the opening round belongs to the New Orleans Saints, going back to 1981. The Chiefs are next on that list – but more on that later.

Last year the Rams went 1-15. They had two victories the year before, and three the season beyond that. That’s a 6-42 record in the past three seasons.

There’s only one positive that comes out of football that bad – the chance to draft the type of quarterback who has the skills to become one of the game’s best. When that opportunity presents itself, a team cannot let it pass. They must grab a quarterback who has the physical, mental and emotional tools to be “the man.” Bradford has all those qualities.

Nobody knows that better than Rams GM Billy Devaney. He was working for Bobby Beathard and the San Diego Chargers in 1998 when they had the second pick of that year’s Draft. The first choice belonged to Indianapolis and the Colts grabbed Peyton Manning. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Garrett Graham

NAME – Garrett Graham

Position – Tight End/Fullback/H-Back.

College – Wisconsin.

Status – Redshirt senior.

Size/Weight – 6-3, 243 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.67 seconds in 40-yard dash, 20 reps on bench press, 34.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 4-inch broad jump.

Age – 24 in August.

Honors – Team captain and team co-MVP in ’09 … first-team All-Big 10 selection in ’08 and ’09.

College career – Another in a line of good tight end prospects to come out of Wisconsin, Graham led the Badgers in receiving last year and was part of the passing game the last three years.

Stats of note – 40 games/33 starts, 121 catches, 1,492 yards, 16 TD catches. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Larry Asante

NAME – Larry Asante

Position – Strong safety.

College – Coffeyville CC; Nebraska, earned degree in economics in December.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-0 3/8, 212 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.62 seconds in 40-yard dash, 14 reps on bench press, 37.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 10-inch broad jump.

Age – 22.

Honors – First-team All-Big 12 in ’09 … honorable mention All-Big 12 in ’07-’08 … All-Jayhawk League at LB in ’06.

College career – Asante named himself “The Assassin” and made a name in the Big 12 for his aggressive – sometimes too aggressive – play. After starting his career in the junior college ranks at Coffeyville, KS. Community College, he made a smooth transition to the Nebraska defense. Asante started 10 games in ’07 and finishing second on the team in tackles. He was not out of the opening lineup for the rest of his career. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Mike Williams

NAME – Mike Williams

Position – Wide receiver

College – Syracuse

Status – Junior

Size/Weight – 6-0 5/8, 197 pounds

Important numbers – 4.53 in 40-yard dash, 8 reps on bench press, 33.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 8-inch broad jump.

Age – He will be 23 in May.

Honors – named second-team All-Big East in ’07.

College career – Very checkered career with the Orange. Williams did not play in ’08 after being suspended under allegations of cheating during the ’08 spring semester. Came back in ’09, but quit the team after being suspended for one game, and then facing another suspension. When he was on the field as a freshman and sophomore he was very productive and a game-breaker. Williams led the team in receiving as a freshman, the first time that happened at Syracuse in 23 seasons. …Read More!

A Gutsy Move With McNabb … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

The most talked about, written about and speculated about trade in recent NFL history finally went down Sunday night. The balance of power in the AFC West was not tipped by the Eagles decision to deal quarterback Donovan McNabb.

By all media reports, the Oakland Raiders were the team that was going to add McNabb. That certainly would have changed some of the landscape for the Chiefs and others in the division. But instead, it was the Washington Redskins that paid the price the Eagles were looking for in exchange for their starting quarterback.

The Redskins gave up their second-round choice in this year’s NFL Draft and then either a third or fourth-round selection next year, depending on circumstances that were not publicly announced. Quite frankly it must go down as a pretty ballsy move by the Eagles – trading their 31-year old icon to a team in their own division. Everyone will get to see how smart they are twice a year in the NFC East, especially the always vocal Eagles fans.

With the deal, all sorts of dominoes fall around the NFL, and while they were nowhere near this entire scenario, the move has an effect on the Chiefs.

By all indications, Washington was enamored with Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford. The McNabb deal is a sign that Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen did not think that Bradford was going to be there on the fourth pick, or that they were going to be willing to put together the type of package that would entice the Rams to make a deal.

So why McNabb? Shanahan wants to win now. …Read More!

Draft Preview: Sean Lee

NAME – Sean Lee

Position – Inside Linebacker

College – Penn State

Status – Redshirt senior, graduated in December with finance degree.

Size/Weight – 6-2, 236 pounds

Important numbers – 4.74 seconds in 40-yard dash, 24 reps on bench press, 37.5-inch vertical jump.

Age – 24 in late July.

Honors – second team All-Big 10 in ’07 and ’09 … Alamo Bowl defensive player of the game

College career – A productive career at Linebacker U. for Lee was hampered by knee injuries. He missed the entire ’08 season when he tore the ACL in his right knee during spring practice. During pre-season work in ’09, he sprained the ACL in his left knee and missed three games. When he was able to play, he was very good. As a sophomore against Wisconsin, he had 13 tackles, two sacks, recovered two fumbles and forced a fumble. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Amari Spievey

NAME – Amari Spievey

Position – Cornerback

College – Iowa

Status – Junior

Size/Weight – 5-10 7/8, 195 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.53 seconds in 40-yard dash, 6 repos on bench press, 34.5-inch vertical jump, 10-foot broad jump.

Age – He’ll be 22 on Income Tax Day.

Honors – 1^st-team All-Big 10 Conference selection as junior … second team as sophomore.

College career – After struggling with academics and losing his scholarship, Spievey fought back and had two very productive seasons (’08-09) where he had six interceptions, including one that he returned 57 yards for a TD against Minnesota. He left school a year early. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Carlton Mitchell

NAME – Carlton Mitchell

Position – Wide receiver.

College – South Florida.

Status – Redshirt junior.

Size/Weight – 6-2 7/8, 215 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.49 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 16 reps on bench press, 33-inch vertical jump, 10-feet 2-inch broad jump.

Age – 22 on Tuesday.

Honors – third-team All-Big East offense in ’09 … career pass receiving yardage leader at USF.

College career – Contributed in his first two seasons on the field, but did not become the Bulls go-to receiver until ’09, when he caught 40 passes for 706 yards and four TDs. Left school early. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Greg Hardy

NAME – Greg Hardy

Position – Defensive End/Outside Linebacker

College – Mississippi

Status – Senior

Size/Weight – 6-4, 281 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.96 seconds in 40-yard dash, 21 reps on bench press, 35-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 9-inch broad jump.

Age – He will turn 22 late in July.

Honors – As a sophomore, he was a first-team All-SEC defensive end, and was part of the second team defense as a junior.

College career – Hardy became his career at wide receiver, but was quickly switched to defense and in his sophomore season (’07), he was a first-team All-SEC defensive end. From there his performance with the Rebels trended downward due to injury and attitude problems. He missed playing time in ’08 due to a stress fracture and surgery on his right foot. The same injury led to another surgery in ’09 and he missed the final three regular season games of last season with a fractured left wrist. He was suspended in ’07 for two games by the head coach for violating team rules and was pulled from a game in ’08 for lack of effort. He played with Mississippi basketball team in his freshman year. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Torell Troup

NAME – Torell Troup

Position – Defensive tackle.

College – Central Florida.

Status – Redshirt senior.

Size/Weight – 6-2 ¾, 314 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.18 in 40-yard dash, 34 reps on bench press, 8-feet 2-inch broad jump.

Honors – second-team All-Conference USA for the last two seasons … elected team captain for the ’09 season.

College career – Troup was a three-year starter on the nose for one of the better defensive units against the run in major college football. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Rodger Saffold

NAME – Rodger Saffold

Position – Offensive Tackle/Guard

College – Indiana

Status – Senior

Size/Weight – 6-4 5/8, 316 pounds.

Important numbers – 5.22 in 40-yard dash, 27 reps on bench press, 29.5-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 5-inch broad jump.

Age – He will turn 22 in early June.

Honors – Second-team All-Big 10 selection as senior … served as a game captain for the offense five times during the ’09 season.

College career – Saffold was a three-year starter at left tackle for the Hoosiers, moving into the starting lineup as true freshman when he opened the last six games of the season. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Mardy Gilyard

NAME – Mardy Gilyard

Position – Wide receiver/Returner

College – Cincinnati

Status – Redshirt senior

Size/Weight – 5-11 7/8, 187 pounds

Important numbers – 4.56 in 40-yard dash, 13 reps on bench press, 39-inch vertical jump, 9-feet 9-inch broad jump.

Age – 23

Honors – A unanimous selection to the All-Big East first-team in ’09, Gilyard also was named to the No. 1 conference squad as a junior … second all-time in Big East receiving … named Big East special teams player of the year in ’08 … offensive player of the game at the 2010 Senior Bowl with five catches for 103 yards and a TD. …Read More!

DRAFT PROFILE: Alex Carrington

NAME – Alex Carrington

Position – Defensive end

College – Arkansas State, graduated with psychology degree and a 3.52 GPA.

Status – Redshirt senior

Size/Weight – 6-5¼, 285 pounds

Important numbers – 4.98 in 40-yard dash, 26 reps at 225 pounds in bench press.

Age – 23 in the middle of June

Honors – He was twice named to the All-Sun Belt Conference first-team defense. Carrington was named the conference’s defensive player of the year as a junior when he had 10.5 sacks.

College career – After his redshirt freshman season was stopped short by an injury after eight games, Carrington never missed a game with the Red Wolves.  The game of his career came against Western Kentucky back in December when he had four sacks, five tackles for loss, seven total tackles and returned a fumble 27 yards for the game winning TD. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Montario Hardesty

NAME – Montario Hardesty

Position – Running back

College – Tennessee

Status – Redshirt senior.

Size/Weight – 5-11¾, 225 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.49 in 40-yard dash, 21 reps on bench press, 41-inch vertical jump, 10-feet, 4-inch broad jump.

Age – 23

Honors – All-SEC first team as senior … twice was voted team captain by his teammates, including the ’08 season when he was not a starter.

College career – He had just one season as the feature back, rushing for 1,345 yards in ’09. Hardesty averaged 21 carries a game last year with a touchdown per game. Over his career he missed some time due to injury, including most of the ’05 season due to a torn right ACL. He also had problems with ankle injuries and a minor stress fracture in a leg. …Read More!

Draft Profile: Jimmy Graham

NAME – Jimmy Graham.

Position – Tight end.

College – Miami (FL), earned double degree in marketing and management, graduating in May ’09.

Status – Senior.

Size/Weight – 6-6¼, 260 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.53 in 40-yard dash, 15 reps with 225 pounds in bench press, 38.5-inch vertical jump, 10-feet in broad jump.

College career – Played four years of basketball for the Hurricanes before he hit the football field. Graham played 120 basketball games, and was known more for his defense; he finished with 104 career blocks. He averaged 4 points and 4 rebounds per game. Graham did not play football for seven years, from his freshman year in high school to last season at Miami. …Read More!

The Readers Picks & More … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

We asked and we received. The request was your top 10 Chiefs draft choices of all time, and you responded.

By the time we finished up tallying the votes, there were more than 43 different players nominated on over 70 ballots. That group included Gale Sayers, Bob Lilly and Roger Staubach.

Yes, they were all Chiefs draft choices, but they never played for the franchise. All were taken during the signing wars between the AFL and NFL in the early 1960s. Sayers went to Chicago, while Lilly and Staubach ended up with the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, all three made the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but we were interested only in those players who actually played for the franchise.

We also had several votes for Len Dawson; all three voters knew that he wasn’t a draft choice of the Chiefs. But they felt Dawson’s pro career was so tied to the Chiefs that he should be considered a selection of the team. Len was selected in the first round of the 1957 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Remarkably, five players were named on almost all the lists. To break ties, we tallied up the number of times the player was named No. 1. Even then, we had to break a tie between three players going down to how many times they were voted No. 2 on the ballots.

In the end, it’s really a remarkable collection of football talent at the top of the list, lead by three Hall of Fame linebackers: Bobby Bell, Derrick Thomas and Willie Lanier.

Here’s how it all broke down: …Read More!

DRAFT PROFILE: Brandon Ghee

NAME – Brandon Ghee

Position – Cornerback

College –Wake Forest, earned his degree in communications.

Status – Redshirt senior (enrolled in ’05)

Size/Weight – 5-11½, 192 pounds

Age – turns 23 in early June

Important numbers – 4.37 in 40-yard dash, 15 reps on bench press, 37 inches in vertical jump, 10-feet 7 inches in broad jump.

College career – Three-year starter for the Demon Deacons, Ghee did not play in ’06 because of academic problems after his redshirt season. He did not earn any all-conference honors in three seasons. He spent ’09 as senior leader of the defense. …Read More!

Three Weeks And Counting

The NFL Draft is now just three weeks away and we are going to kick our coverage into high gear starting Thursday.

Coming up for the next 21 days will be a series of profiles of draftable players. These will not be the Sam Bradford, Eric Berry, Gerald McCoy types. There are plenty of stories about the players at the top of this draft available from literally hundreds of outlets.

Our profiles will concentrate on the players that will likely fall between No. 33 and No. 100. These are guys that could be the Chiefs second, third and even fourth round selections.  Our list of names was provided to scouts from three NFL teams and with a few exceptions, they agreed that these players fall into that range of the draft spectrum.

These profiles will pop up with about three or four per day through April 22nd. We will have a category on the right rail for the profiles in case you should happen to miss any of them.

Enjoy!

Draft Profile: LB Eric Norwood

NAME – Eric Norwood.

Position – Outside Linebacker, but could move inside.

College – South Carolina.

Status – Senior, earned his degree in criminal justice.

Size/Weight – 6-0 7/8, 245 pounds.

Important numbers – 4.74 in 40-yard dash, 36.5 inches in vertical jump, 9-feet 7 inches in broad jump.

Age – 22 in late May

Honors – Three- time first-team All-SEC; first Gamecock to achieve that honor … team captain as a senior … school’s all-time leader in sacks.

College career – Highly recruited out of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, Norwood began his career with South Carolina as a defensive end, eventually moving to outside linebacker for his final two seasons. He tied NCAA record in ’07 by returning two fumbles for touchdowns in the same game, from two and then 53 yards out. …Read More!

Smashburger with Waters

A new burger joint to Kansas City is teaming up with the NFL Man of the Year to benefit under privileged children.

Smashburger will open its first store on Thursday on 119th Street in Overland Park just east of Metcalf Avenue. They will donate $1 for every Smashburger sold over the first week of operation to Brian Waters and his 54 Foundation.

Since its inception in 2004, the 54 Foundation has awarded 82 college scholarships to low-income students, along with providing all sorts of supplies to thousands of children that had no other way to get a backpack or immunizations and dental care. Waters has also taken part in numerous other charitable actions and organizations. The breadth and depth of his involvement is what led to his winning the 2010 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, presented back in February at the Super Bowl.

Named for the cooking method used to create the perfect burger, Smashburgers are a one-third or half-pound ball of 100-percent fresh Certified Angus Beef that is smashed on a flat grill to sear in flavor. They are then served on a toasted artisan bun and topped with a selection of real cheeses, the freshest produce and top-quality condiments.

“I am proud to partner with Smashburger to raise awareness about the work of The 54 Foundation and join in celebrating Smashburger’s grand opening in Kansas City,” Waters said in a statement.

We Always Have Answers … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

This is Dickie Dunn and welcome to today’s edition of Sports Yak here on KFUL, All Sports Radio for the 22nd Century.

Coming up in our second hour, we’ll have an interesting conversation with TV bigwigs Brent Musburger and Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight as they evaluate local sports talk radio. That should be interesting.

Until then we will go to the phone lines and talk about the Chiefs and NFL football. Our first caller is Jay who used the toll-free line from Jefferson City. What’s your question Jay?

Hey Dickie, long-time listener, first-time caller. I’m very upset that the Chiefs and Rams will not be playing a Governor’s Cup Game (right) in the pre-season this year. What’s up with that? I thought that was tradition? Why did they get rid of this game?

Well Jay, rest easy because the Chiefs and Rams will play in the regular season, so there will be an awarding of the Governor’s Cup in 2010. As to why they decided to not play in the pre-season as well I’m not sure. They have done that before, most recently in 2006 when the Chiefs swept both games.

I’m going to bet that the Chiefs took one look at their opponents for the 2010 home schedule and immediately started campaigning with the league office to get some bigger names in the two pre-season home games. The Chiefs are having trouble selling tickets and when your home schedule features teams like Arizona, Buffalo, Jacksonville, San Francisco and Tennessee, along with the AFC West, that doesn’t help sales. …Read More!