The Chiefs inched closer to a Super Bowl three-peat after a solid 2024 NFL Draft. Kansas City took seven players in total over the weekend — five offensive players and two defensive players.
KC upgraded at a few positions of need but otherwise grabbed depth pieces that could turn into starters if veterans go elsewhere in the next few years. It's hard to gauge exactly how the Chiefs will deploy these newcomers right now, but more information will reveal their plans in the coming weeks and months heading into the 2024 NFL season.
Here are the full draft grades and an overall grade as well as favorite and least-favorite picks.
2024 NFL DRAFT: Full list of picks | Winners & losers
Chiefs Draft class grades and superlatives
Picks and player grades
- Round 1, Pick No. 28: Texas WR Xavier Worthy (B+)
- Round 2, Pick No. 63: BYU OT Kingsley Suamataia (A)
- Round 4, Pick No. 131: TCU TE Jared Wiley (B+)
- Round 4, Pick No. 133: Washington State S Jaden Hicks (B)
- Round 5, Pick No. 159: Penn State C Hunter Nourzad (A)
- Round 6, Pick No. 211: Tennessee CB Kamal Hadden (A-)
- Round 7, Pick No. 248: Holy Cross OG C.J. Hanson (B)
Overall Grade: A-
Best Pick — C Hunter Nourzad
Worthy is a fun pick for sure, but everyone knew that as soon as the Chiefs drafted him. So rather than go with the obvious, we'll shift focus to a late-round guy in Nourzad. He's intriguing not because he'll play immediately (he won't) but because he can play anywhere.
Nourzad started at right tackle at Cornell, then moved to guard at Penn State before he started the final 13 games at center. You can't coach that versatility in the NFL and the Chiefs get a player who can fill in as needed all over the offensive line.
Best Value — OT Kingsley Suamataia
Many pundits mocked Suamataia to the Chiefs in the first round throughout the pre-draft process. Instead, KC moved up to snag him late in the second round. Suamataia can easily start at the left tackle for the Chiefs and fill a huge void on the offensive line. So not only did the Chiefs get a great player, they got him at an insane value as well.
SN's NFL DRAFT HQ: Live tracker | Pick-by-pick grades | Top 250 big board
Least favorite — OG C.J. Hanson
There really isn't a bad pick in this class between how the Chiefs filled needs and drafted for value rather than reach on players. Some would argue Worthy is a candidate for this superlative because of how many other receivers were still on the board when the Chiefs traded up, but that would be discounting how the Chiefs plan to use Worthy's skillset.
Therefore, the pick is Hanson because of the likelihood he makes the 53-man roster. He was the third offensive lineman the Chiefs drafted, too, meaning he will already start deep down on the depth chart even before camp starts.
Wildcard — TE Jared Wiley
Wiley is a fun pick because he can go from the bottom to second on the Chiefs' tight end depth chart over the summer and learn from Kelce to potentially eventually replace him. He is almost exactly the same size as Kelce and plays a similar game to the Chiefs' star tight end.
While Wiley won't see a lot of action early on in a crowded Chiefs pass-catching room, this is the type of pick you make when you're looking toward the future. Remember when Kelce was a third-round pick and got to learn behind Anthony Fasano? This could be a similar trajectory.
