With rookie minicamps underway for the remainder of the teams in the AFC West, it feels like a good time to take a look at what the Kansas City Chiefs rivals accomplished in the 2023 NFL draft.
Of the four teams in the AFC West, the Las Vegas Raiders had the most draft selections with nine. The Denver Broncos had the fewest, making just five picks across the three days of the draft. The Los Angeles Chargers made seven picks as did Kansas City.
Below we’ll take a look at the draft haul that each of the Chiefs’ AFC West rivals landed back in April:
Broncos
- Round 2, Pick 63 – Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims
- Round 3, Pick 67 (from IND) – Arkansas LB Drew Sanders
- Round 3, Pick 83 (From SEA) – Iowa CB Riley Moss
- Round 6, Pick 183 (From DEN via DET) – Boise State S JL Skinner
- Round 7, Pick 257 – Oregon C Alex Forsyth
Seeing that the Broncos’ draft capital is still suffering from the Russell Wilson trade, I think it’s hard to look at this draft poorly. Mims is one of the best field-stretching receivers in this class. Sanders was a first-round talent playing a low-value position. Moss felt criminally underrated among the cornerbacks in this draft class. I’m not certain that Skinner or Forsyth will amount to anything more than depth, but it feels like they nailed the first three picks.
Chargers
- Round 1, Pick 21 – TCU WR Quentin Johnston
- Round 2, Pick 54 – USC EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu
- Round 3, Pick 85 – Washington State LB Daiyan Henley
- Round 4, Pick 125 – TCU WR Derius Davis
- Round 5, Pick 156 – Clemson OL Jordan McFadden
- Round 6, Pick 200 – Boise State DT Scott Matlock
- Round 7, Pick 239 – TCU QB Max Duggan
It feels like the Chargers are banking on being able to out-gun the Chiefs this year. Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Quentin Johnston could make a hell of a top-3 receiver group. Derius Davis could sneakily be a great addition for them if they can steal some points on special teams with his punt return ability. It sure feels like they’re putting a lot of stock into TCU players with this draft class, though. I like the trio of Tuipulotu, Henley and Matlock when it comes to boosting the depth of the L.A. defense.
Raiders
- Round 1, Pick 7 – Texas Tech EDGE Tyree Wilson
- Round 2, Pick 35 (From IND) – Notre Dame TE Michael Meyer
- Round 3, Pick 70 – Alabama DL Byron Young
- Round 3, Pick 100 (From KC via NYG)* – Cincinnati WR Tre Tucker
- Round 4, Pick 104 (From HOU) – Maryland CB Jakorian Bennett
- Round 4, Pick 135 (from NE) – Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell
- Round 5, Pick 170 (from NYJ) – Georgia S Chris Smith
- Round 6, Pick 203 (from HOU) – Florida LB Amari Burney
- Round 7, Pick 231 (From NE) – Arizona State DT Nesta Jade Silvera
I’m going to sound like a big hater here, but I’m just not a fan of the Raiders’ draft class. The biggest impact player they landed in my eyes was Michael Meyer, but it feels so empty when you’re replacing a really good player at that position that you traded away (Darren Waller). I feel like they missed a golden opportunity to package some picks (maybe even No. 100, which originally belonged to Kansas City) to move up in Round 1 and select a quarterback. We all know that Jimmy G isn’t the answer.
My favorite pick might be Nesta Jade Silvera in Round 7. That felt like a really good value for a solid player.
