Arrowheadlines: The Chiefs draft needs are clear

Chiefs headlines for Wednesday, April 3

The latest

10 NFL Players Who Could Retire After the 2024 Season | Bleacher Report

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

Unlike the other retirement candidates that we’ve highlighted here, Travis Kelce is still playing at a Pro Bowl level. In fact, Kelce surpassed Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most postseason receptions in NFL history during the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.

Kelce finished the 2023 season with 93 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns. He probably would’ve eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for an eighth consecutive campaign had the Chiefs not rested him in Week 18.

This past season, some people wondered if Kelce would retire after the 2023 campaign. However, he intends to play in 2024 as the Chiefs go for a three-peat.

If Kansas City succeeds in that mission, Kelce could retire at the top of his game with the only team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

At that point, Kelce would have nothing more to prove as a surefire Hall of Famer on a dynastic team.

A Look Back at Every Sixth-Round Draft Pick in Chiefs History | The Mothership

Notes:

– Thirty-nine of Kansas City’s 63 sixth-round draft picks went on to appear in a game for the Chiefs.

– Offensive guard Trey Smith may have been the steal of the entire draft in 2021. The No. 226 overall selection that year, Smith has started 50 of 51 possible games over the last three years, earning the No. 8 overall Pro Football Focus grade among all guards in 2023 (min. 1,000 snaps).

2024 NFL draft team needs: Depth chart holes, prospect fits | ESPN

Kansas City Chiefs

Top three needs: WR, OT, RB. Last season’s starting left tackle, Donovan Smith, is a free agent. The Chiefs have Wanya Morris, a third-round pick last season, as the obvious in-house candidate to replace him, but is Morris ready? And do the Chiefs trust him with such a role?

Elsewhere on offense, the Chiefs have holes to fill at wide receiver even after signing Marquise Brown. And Isiah Pacheco returns at running back, but both of last year’s backups — Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon — are free agents. — Adam Teicher

Nick Allegretti details why he left Kansas City Chiefs after Super Bowl heroics | Mirror Online

‘This was a great opportunity,” Allegretti added. “I have a ton of respect for coach Quinn and what he’s been able to accomplish in his career. It looked like I had a great opportunity to come in here and compete. That’s all I wanted.”

Allegretti is aware that even after signing in free agency, he’ll still need to fight for his position on the offensive line. His journey back into the starting lineup from a serious Super Bowl injury will be a long one. Yet he remains confident.

“I felt like a starter,” Allegretti declared. “I knew that I could be a Day 1 starter, and that’s what I’m here to prove.”

Lance Zierlein 2024 NFL mock draft 3.0: Giants trade up for QB Drake Maye; WR Ladd McConkey to Chiefs | NFL.com

32 – Kansas City Chiefs

Ladd McConkey

Georgia · WR · Junior (RS)

The Chiefs snag an inside/outside receiver who is one of the most polished, game-ready targets in this class.

Vikings, Raiders trade up for QBs in Nick Wright’s 2024 NFL mock draft | FOX Sports

32. Kansas City Chiefs — WR Ladd McConkey, GeorgiaOdds to select WR: +100

Around the NFL

Vikings’ Wes Phillips suspended after careless-driving resolution | ESPN

The Minnesota Vikings suspended offensive coordinator Wes Phillips for three weeks without pay following the legal resolution of a 2023 traffic stop in Minneapolis, the team confirmed.

The suspension began Tuesday and will conclude April 22, with Phillips returning to work on April 23. He’ll miss a key portion of draft preparation as the Vikings pursue their next quarterback, as well as the first week of the team’s offseason strength and conditioning program, which begins April 14.

Phillips, who joined the Vikings as part of coach Kevin O’Connell’s original staff in 2022, was stopped Dec. 8 on Interstate Highway 394 at approximately 9:45 p.m. CT. He showed signs of impairment and ultimately his blood alcohol content tested at 0.10, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. The legal limit in Minnesota is 0.08.

Linebacker Denzel Perryman returns to Chargers | Bolts From The Blue

Linebacker Denzel Perryman has re-signed with the LA Chargers after being absent from the team since 2020. Perryman played six seasons with the Chargers after being selected in the second round (48th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft. He started 51-of-69 career games played with the Bolts, totaling 349 tackles (250 solo), 26 tackles for loss, five sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and a recovery, according to the Chargers website.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs Draft: Ohio State DT Michael Hall Jr. could spell Chris Jones

What is a “top-30 visit?”

Although the term implies that the visits are for the most coveted draft prospects, NFL teams are allowed a total of 30 in-person visits to their facilities.

The Chiefs often use these visits for prospects who are likely to be available on Day 3 or as undrafted free agents since they will have more control over selecting them than the draft’s top players.

Last year, Kansas City’s eventual second and fifth-round selections — SMU wide receiver Rashee Rice and Stephen F. Austin edge rusher B.J. Thompson — visited the team facilities during the pre-draft process.

Here’s what to know about Hall.

Background

A native of Streetsboro, Ohio — a Cleveland suburb — Hall proved to be a game-wrecking defensive lineman by his junior year of high school. As a senior, he broke his hand three games into the season, but played through it; he still totaled 112 tackles and 29 tackles for loss over his last two years. After receiving offers from Florida State, Penn State and other Power 5 schools, he committed to the school down the road in Columbus: Ohio State.

After redshirting as a freshman, Hall racked up 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss over five games in 2022. In his final season, Hall’s production slipped to 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss — but even with those low totals, he earned third-team All-Big 10 honors.

Social media to make you think

Follow Arrowhead Pride on Social Media

• Facebook: Click here to like our page
• AP Instagram: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP on X: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP Staff on X: see complete list
• 610 Sports on X: Follow @610SportsKC