The Kansas City Chiefs are setting out to defend their title as Super Bowl Champions in the 2023 offseason, and they’re off to a pretty impressive start. The Chiefs brought in Jawaan Taylor and Charles Omenihu as two of their biggest free agent acquisitions but what’s obviously most important for this team is the return of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. Together, those guys are tough for even the best contenders in the NFL to deal with.
And they seemingly just keep getting better.
Roster-wise, the Chiefs can always look to improve, and they certainly will in the 2023 NFL Draft. General manager Brett Veach has been outstanding in recent years, especially with that vaunted 2022 class, and he’ll look to build on it here next week. Who can the Chiefs add to defend their crown in 2023?
Kansas City Chiefs mock draft: Defending their title in 2023
31st pick: Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma
The Chiefs’ offensive line has been so much better in recent years that you tend to forget just how badly they were beaten and beaten up in that Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers just a couple of seasons ago. The Chiefs took action in the 2020 and 2021 offseasons to really upgrade their offensive line, and I think they effectively accomplished that, finding long-term pieces at a variety of positions.
With that said, they have made some changes to the tackle position in 2023, swapping left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. with free agent Jawaan Taylor, who will take on a similar conversion as Brown going from playing right tackle to now playing the left side in KC.
At the right tackle spot, the Chiefs let Andrew Wylie hit free agency and he followed Eric Bieniemy to the Washington Commanders. As of right now Lucas Niang — a third-round pick in 2020 — is penciled in there, but I don’t know that the Chiefs would pass on a guy like Dawand Jones, Darnell Wright, or Anton Harrison if they end up on the board here at pick no. 31 overall.
In this scenario, Wright was off the board (as I think he will be in real life as well) so the Chiefs land Harrison to be their new right tackle of the present and future.
63rd pick: Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati
Over the last two years, the Kansas City Chiefs have now lost both Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman at the wide receiver position. They’ve been effectively replaced by the likes of Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, and others on the Kansas City Roster, at least where you would pencil them in on the depth chart. But I think the Chiefs could look to find a nice value at receiver in this draft just like they did last year when they landed Moore at the bottom of round two.
Tyler Scott is a speedy receiver out of Cincinnati who would fit in perfectly with what the Chiefs like to do offensively, getting the ball out to their receivers quickly and letting them create in space after the catch.
95th pick: Zach Harrison, EDGE, Ohio State
If you pay attention to any of Chiefs Kingdom on Twitter, you might see a lot of different people who really are trying desperately to manifest Zach Harrison to Kansas City. It makes sense. There’s been plenty of transition on the defensive front for Kansas City over the last couple of years, including the team saying goodbye to Frank Clark this past offseason.
Of course, they drafted George Karlaftis in round one last year and added Charles Omenihu in free agency, but you can never have too many quality guys off the edge and Harrison has traits worth betting on at this juncture. He’s considered somewhat of a risk because his productivity has not always matched those traits, but the Chiefs seem to get the best out of guys.
Kansas City Chiefs 2023 mock draft: Rounds 4-5
Pick 122: Karl Brooks, DL, Bowling Green
It may not feel like the biggest loss, but the Kansas City Chiefs did finally get a big breakout year in 2022 from former third-round pick Khalen Saunders, who departed in free agency for the New Orleans Saints. Saunders signed a three-year deal to join the Saints, so perhaps we could see the Chiefs dip into the defensive line on Day 3 to try and find a long-term replacement.
Karl Brooks has some of the most impressive productivity out of any defensive lineman in this class, racking up 17.5 sacks and 30.5 tackles for loss over the last two seasons at Bowling Green. He may not have tested off the charts, but he plays hard and he plays fast.
Pick 134: Rejzohn Wright, CB, Oregon State
A fast riser in the 2023 NFL Draft it seems, Rejzohn Wright is a worthwhile candidate for any team on late day two or early on day three to take a shot on. At 6-foot-2, he’s got tremendous length for the outside cornerback position and he turned that into plenty of ball production for the Beavers with 17 passes broken up and four interceptions the last two seasons. The Chiefs have been hitting on gem after gem in the defensive backfield in recent years, and this guy could be the next in line.
Pick 166: Tanner McKee, QB, Stanford
The Kansas City Chiefs may have a need for a backup quarterback in this year’s draft after Chad Henne’s retirement, riding off into the sunset. The question is, what kind of backup will they target to be the guy behind Patrick Mahomes? It seems like the Chiefs have preferred “boring” guys at this spot rather than playmaker types, which is why I chose Tanner McKee over Dorian Thompson-Robinson given the chance to take either of them.
McKee is a see-it, throw-it type of quarterback, and that can play well for a coach like Andy Reid, especially if you just need him to come in as a reliever for Mahomes. You need someone who’s going to master the offense, make the easy throws and reads, and keep things on schedule.
Pick 178: Brenton Strange, TE, Penn State
One of the most underrated players at arguably the deepest position in this draft, we finish off this Kansas City Chiefs mock draft scenario with arguably the steal of the class. Brenton Strange doesn’t have tremendous receiving production from his time at Penn State but you watch him play and you’re going to see a good athlete, a capable blocker, and someone who is going to outplay his draft status at the next level.