KANSAS CITY, Mo. – There’s not a Kansas City Chiefs player listed in the top 20 of this week’s installment of Mel Kiper’s NFL rookie rankings.
Let’s hope you weren’t disappointed or surprised by this. Who was he supposed to throw in there?
A proper judgment on this year’s draft class can’t be made for some time yet, but it’s a fact this year’s Chiefs group is off to a very slow start. The Chiefs were missing their second-round pick, having sent it to the San Francisco 49ers in return for quarterback Alex Smith.
Still, with the Chiefs holding the first overall pick and a choice at or near the top of every round from the third on, it was reasonable to expect them to get more than what they’ve received so far from their eight draft picks.
Maybe with the Chiefs at 3-0 we shouldn’t complain. But looking into the near future, it’s easy to see where they’re going to need help from players like Travis Kelce and Knile Davis. That doesn’t look likely to happen.
Here is a look at what the Chiefs have received so far from each of their eight draft picks:
First-round OT Eric Fisher. I’ll have a more detailed look at Fisher’s play in a Friday post, but it hasn’t been pretty. Say this for Fisher: At least he’s playing. He’s their starting right tackle and played on all but one offensive snap.
Third-round TE Travis Kelce. He looked during the offseason as if he was a major part of the Chiefs’ offensive plans. He hasn’t played a snap during the regular season other than on special teams because of soreness in his knee. Kelce Thursday referred to the injury as “a microscopic stress fracture in a bone in my knee. I’ve never dealt with this before so it was kind of all new to me. It’s been frustrating. I’m getting better slowly but surely. It’s feeling a lot better than what it was but I’m not quite there yet. I’ll definitely be back out there within the next couple of weeks." But he hasn’t practiced yet this week, so it appears unlikely he will be available for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants at Arrowhead Stadium.
Third-round RB Knile Davis. He has played on 24 of the Chiefs’ 212 offensive snaps, or about 11 percent. He has 37 rushing yards and caught one pass but the Chiefs obviously are still uneasy about using him in a lot of situations. His signature play was his fumbled kickoff in the game against the Dallas Cowboys.
Fourth-round LB Nico Johnson. A high-ankle sprain he received during the preseason has set him back. Johnson has resumed full practice but has yet to dress for a regular-season game.
Fifth-round DB Sanders Commings. He broke his collarbone during the first practice at training camp and is on the injured-reserve list. He could return later in the season, but of what value is a rookie who hasn’t practiced for months?
Sixth-round C Eric Kush. It was obvious in the preseason that Kush, from tiny California University of Pennsylvania, needed more time to develop. Sure enough, he got in for the last snap of the game in the opener in Jacksonville but has been inactive for each of the past two games.
Sixth-round FB Braden Wilson. The former Kansas State player was released during the preseason.
Seventh-round DE Mike Catapano. In terms of playing time, he’s been the most productive of this year’s draft picks other than Fisher. Catapano played 31 snaps in Jacksonville, though he has played only on special teams since.