The Kansas City Chiefs continue to bring players in for top-30 visits ahead of the 2023 NFL draft. They’ve brought in players who are considered among the best in the draft class and others who are expected to be Day 3 picks or priority free agent signings.
According to The Draft Network’s Ryan Fowler, the Chiefs have a top-30 visit scheduled with Western Kentucky CB Kahlef Hailassie. He’s the second WKU player they’ll have in for a top-30 visit alongside defensive lineman Brodric Martin. A transfer from Oregon, Hailassie has spent the past two seasons terrorizing offenses in Conference USA. In 26 games with the Hilltoppers across 2021 and 2022, Hailassie amassed 123 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, four interceptions and 15 passes defended.
The 6-foot and 195-pound corner turned some heads with his pro day workout, posting a 4.06s short shuttle and a 6.68s 3-cone time. Those numbers are well below the mean for defensive backs throughout NFL combine history and would have been second to only Kansas State CB Julius Brents at the combine.
Heck of a Pro Day for WKU CB Kahlef Hailassie (6002 // 195 // 32 1/4 arm).
A sleeper in a talented CB class.
SS: 4.06 👀
3-cone: 6.68 👀Has Top 30 visits scheduled with the Chiefs and Bengals.
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) March 30, 2023
If you’re not familiar with top-30 visits, these are the 30 allotted pre-draft visits that NFL teams are permitted to conduct with draft prospects. Teams use these visits in a variety of different ways, whether they’re looking to gather information on medical, background or simply gauge how a player might fit within their team culture.
Hailassie did participate in the East-West Shrine Bowl, so the Chiefs had a chance to meet with him prior to this top-30 visit. It’ll be interesting to see what transpires here given that Hailassie is also taking a pre-draft visit with one of Kansas City’s top AFC rivals — the Cincinnati Bengals.
