In post-Combine CBS mock draft, Chiefs take a wide receiver

Mock drafts tend to change a bit after the NFL Combine — and this latest CBS mock is no exception.

In his first mock draft after the NFL Combine — which always shakes up projections — CBS Sports analyst Ryan Wilson began with an amusing thought:

Here’s the little talk we have with ourselves before the start of every combine: “Do not overreact to other-worldly 40 times or 3-cone drills or vertical leaps — this is football, it’s not middle school field day.” And every time, without fail, I overreact.

So here we go. Wilson sends cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Denver Broncos with the ninth pick, defensive lineman Jordan Davis to the Cleveland Browns with the 13th pick, quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Pittsburgh Steelers at 20 and defensive lineman Boye Mafe to the Las Vegas Raiders at 22. Previously, Wilson had sent defensive back Daxton Hill and EDGE George Karlaftis to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 30th pick. This time — with Hill off the board at 25 and Karlaftis unselected in the first round — Wilson goes with a wideout to Kansas City.

30. Kansas City Chiefs: WR Chris Olave, Ohio State

Prospect rank: 23
Position rank: 5

It looks like the Chiefs are going to soon re-up Tyreek Hill, but Byron Pringle and DeMarcus Robinson are soon-to-be free agents. Which means that, as crazy as it seems, K.C. could be in the market for more offensive weapons. Which brings us to Olave, who might be the best route runner in this group. He isn’t as explosive as former teammate Garrett Wilson (though Wilson told us that he thought Olave was faster — turns out, Wilson had the better 40 time) but he does a lot of things well and would be an immediate contributor on the Chiefs.

It’s not hard to buy that the Chiefs could move on from Robinson — but Wilson’s argument that the team could give up on Pringle is less convincing. Still, there are plenty who think that a talented route-runner like Olave could be a fearsome addition to the Chiefs’ offense. If general manager Brett Veach decides to make a significant free-agent move at EDGE and/or cornerback (or somehow finds a way to retain cornerback Charvarius Ward), then Olave might make sense here — particularly if Veach’s board has Olave ranked as highly as the CBS board does.

But there sure are a lot of ifs in that calculation.