In a blog item posted on Monday, we looked at wide receivers who could be available to the Kansas City Chiefs with their first-round draft pick. But what if the Chiefs go with a different position with that choice? What about their prospects for getting a high-quality receiver with their next pick, in the third round and No. 87 overall?
As ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has indicated, this year's draft is deep with receivers and some good ones will be available in the middle rounds.
He are some names to look for:
"You have Jarvis Landry of LSU," Kiper said. "Didn't run [fast] but was a good player opposite [Odell] Beckham. Jordan Matthews at Vanderbilt. Robert Herron at Wyoming is a very underrated player. Paul Richardson at Colorado, if he can fill out that frame and get a little stronger, could be an interesting guy. Martavis Bryant, the receiver opposite Sammy Watkins (at Clemson), has a lot of talent. Josh Huff, a wide receiver out of Oregon, has a lot of talent. Dante Moncrief is a physical freak at Ole Miss but didn't play to those measurables and struggled against press coverage but has talent. Davante Adams at Fresno State, some thought he could be a [first-round pick] three months ago, now he's in the second-third round range.
"So there are other receivers in this draft. Dri Archer from Kent State is going to be another one of those guys. Another freak in terms of strength for his size, speed and athleticism and versatility. Dri Archer could be [the next] Darren Sproles in the third round. De'Anthony Thomas from Oregon could be that third-round pick who's a situational dynamo. There are a lot of potential scoreboard-changers that you can get in that third-round area."
More good news for the Chiefs: Within this group, they should be able to find the type of player they want, whether it's a bigger, physical receiver (Bryant, Matthews), a fast one (Richardson, Moncrief) or a quick slot receiver in the Dexter McCluster mold (Archer, Herron).