AFC West draft grades: Early offense across the board, except for Broncos
The majority of the AFC West spent its early draft capital on offensive players The Broncos went the other direction landing Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with the No overall pick Thursday night Las Vegas and the Los Angeles Chargers meanwhile took running backs in the first round and Kansas City took attempts to shore up its leaky offensive line Here s a quick look at the rest of the draft hauls in the division Denver Grade B- Denver stayed true to its board and took Barron at No Vance Joseph will be orchestrating a defense that should be hell on wheels Fresh off a season in which the Broncos led the NFL in sacks and pressures the group returns nearly everybody and now adds a versatile playmaking chess piece in Barron From there the rest of the Broncos draft was about fit Sean Payton and George Paton fell in love with UCF back R J Harvey Illinois receiver Pat Bryant fits Payton s eye Fourth-round edge Que Robinson and seventh-round tight end Caleb Lohner are light on college playing experience but have athletic traits and upside Sixth-round punter Jeremy Crawshaw should fill a need created by Riley Dixon s free agency departure A bit light on sizzle but the perception will change speedily if Harvey and Bryant hit the ground running Kansas City Grade A- Yeah it s great to have a premium draft pick up high in the order but it invariably seems to work out well for those that sit down at the bottom of the first round and wait patiently For the Chiefs that meant Ohio State tackle Josh Simmons coming right to them Kansas City traded up one spot to make sure it got the talented offensive lineman who would have been long gone if not for a knee injury Kansas City can be recipient and perhaps fill a long-term need on Patrick Mahomes blind side Tennessee defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott is disruptive and good value at the end of the second round He was the second-highest defensive athlete taken in the division at No after Barron in Denver The real steals in the Chiefs draft class could be the Day additions of Utah State receiver Jalen Royals and seventh-round SMU running back Brashard Smith They re both fun to watch have big-play ability and should be easy to fit into the Chiefs offensive arsenal Las Vegas Grade B Related Articles Broncos first-round draft pick Jahdae Barron finds the fuel to his fire in mother Techonia Broncos agree to terms with Missouri s Johnny Walker Jr other undrafted free agents Grading Broncos NFL draft Evaluating Sean Payton and George Paton s weekend Broncos analysis Denver likely to count on several from this draft class in quest for AFC contention Broncos NFL draft picks Day What to know about Denver s three selections on final day The Raiders under new general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll needed a combination of difference-making talent and roster depth as they begin what is a pretty serious rebuilding project They appear to have accomplished both first in landing running back Ashton Jeanty at No overall and then by taking players total for their class Of discipline those picks have to work out to truly jump-start a healthy roster The Day haul of TCU receiver Jack Bech Iowa State corner Darien Porter and a pair of third-round offensive linemen will be critical to track Adding a pair of former FCS quarterbacks in Montana State s Tommy Mellott who will play receiver in the NFL and North Dakota State s Cam Miller on Day is fun The only knock on taking Jeanty is you don t want to waste a lot of mileage on a premium back before you re truly ready to compete How fast can Vegas get there Los Angeles Chargers Grade B Jim Harbaugh ended up with the running back numerous people thought Denver was after in North Carolina s Omarion Hampton In the end the Broncos weren t indeed going to take him at No they considered trading back and taking Ohio State s TreVeyon Henderson but the Chargers gladly did He ll pair with Nahjee Harris to form a powerful - punch L A doubled up on offensive skill players by taking Ole Miss receiver Tre Harris in the second round before going defense later on Day The fifth-round pairing of receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Syracuse tight end Orande Gadsden II has specific bust anticipated but both players are big-time athletes and if they hit they ll represent terrific value Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis
