{"id":43920,"date":"2025-03-25T00:51:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T00:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43920"},"modified":"2025-03-25T00:51:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T00:51:01","slug":"chiefs-get-a-defensive-tackle-in-new-usa-today-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43920","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs get a defensive tackle in new USA Today mock draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday, USA Today\u2019s<\/em> Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz published his second mock draft, which sent a defensive tackle to the Kansas City Chiefs with the 31st pick of the first round.<\/p>\n

\n

31. Kansas City Chiefs: DT Walter Nolen, Mississippi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Further investment in the offensive line can\u2019t be entirely ruled out here, but trading Joe Thuney to the Bears and ponying up big for Jaylon Moore might wrap up the team\u2019s offseason plan of drastic action for its biggest vulnerability. Dropping Nolen in next to Chris Jones would ensure opponents will have their hands full with the Chiefs\u2019 interior line for some time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In his first mock a couple of weeks ago, Middlehurst-Schwartz had the Chiefs taking Ohio State wideout Emeka Egbuka.<\/p>\n

This time \u2014 even though Egbuka is still on the board when the Chiefs go on the clock \u2014 he sends Nolen to Kansas City with the 31st pick.<\/p>\n

When I chided ESPN\u2019s Mel Kiper for picking offensive tackle Kelvin Banks for the Chiefs last week, I noted that for Kansas City, \u201cit\u2019s almost universally understood that now, its biggest priority is along the defensive line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, the Chiefs have re-signed defensive end Charles Omenihu and defensive tackle Mike Pennel \u2014 while also adding cornerback Robert Rochell. In my mind, these moves have put Kansas City into a position where it really can <\/em>focus on the best player available with each of its picks. Nolen could be that player \u2014 as could Banks, for that matter. (I simply disagree with Kiper that Banks will be available at 31).<\/p>\n

As we expected, other analysts are starting to get this message. When we last examined the data six days ago, 49% of the mock drafts since January 1 had gone with offensive linemen to Kansas City, compared to 34% with defensive linemen. But when we consider only the 20 mocks we\u2019ve covered since March 15, (as shown below), it\u2019s 45% to 40%. It might turn out that it will be very difficult to predict the position <\/em>the Chiefs will cover with the 31st pick \u2014 much less who <\/em>it will be.<\/p>\n

Also note: starting with this article, we are listing guards and tackles separately in these tables, rather than combining them into an \u201cOL\u201d category. <\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n

National Mock Draft Positions
\nMarch 15-24<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Position<\/td>\nPct<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n
Tackle<\/td>\n30%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Defensive tackle<\/td>\n25%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Guard<\/td>\n15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Edge rusher<\/td>\n15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Defensive back<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wide receiver<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tight end<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

National Mock Draft Picks
\nMarch 15-24<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pos<\/td>\nName<\/td>\nSchool<\/td>\nPct<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n
T<\/td>\nJosh Simmons<\/td>\nOhio State<\/td>\n15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DT<\/td>\nWalter Nolen<\/td>\nMississippi<\/td>\n15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T<\/td>\nKelvin Banks Jr.<\/td>\nTexas<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EDGE<\/td>\nJames Pearce Jr.<\/td>\nTennessee<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G<\/td>\nGrey Zabel<\/td>\nN. Dakota St.<\/td>\n10%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T<\/td>\nAireontae Ersery<\/td>\nMinnesota<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DT<\/td>\nDerrick Harmon<\/td>\nOregon<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DT<\/td>\nTyleik Williams<\/td>\nOhio State<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G<\/td>\nTyler Booker<\/td>\nAlabama<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DE<\/td>\nJT Tuimoloau<\/td>\nOhio State<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CB<\/td>\nShavon Revel Jr.<\/td>\nEast Carolina<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
WR<\/td>\nMatthew Golden<\/td>\nTexas<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TE<\/td>\nColston Loveland<\/td>\nMichigan<\/td>\n5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Poll<\/h3>\n

What do you think of this pick?<\/h4>\n
\n
    \n
  • <\/li>\n
  • \n
    \n
    9%<\/h6>\n
    \n
    It\u2019s the wrong position<\/h6>\n

    (26 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n
    \n
    7%<\/h6>\n
    \n
    It\u2019s the wrong player<\/h6>\n

    (20 votes)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    278 votes total Vote Now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In his latest mock, Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz sends Ole Miss prospect Walter Nolen to Kansas City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":43922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nChiefs get a defensive tackle in new USA Today mock draft - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chiefs get a defensive tackle in new USA Today mock draft - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In his latest mock, Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz sends Ole Miss prospect Walter Nolen to Kansas City.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-25T00:51:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/avtvip-77-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrThanh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43920\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=43920\",\"name\":\"Chiefs get a defensive tackle in new USA Today mock draft - 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