Kansas City Chiefs

DRAFT 2006: Chiefs looking at defense

Despite all the changes for the Kansas City Chiefs in the last four months, plenty has stayed the same.
Herman Edwards took over for retired coach Dick Vermeil, and inherited an offense that returns nearly everyone on offense.
And once again, the Chiefs will probably use their first draft pick Saturday to help a defense that ended up near the bottom of the league for the fourth straight year.
Kansas City picks 20th, and will probably go for a cornerback or a pass-rushing defensive end.
"Hopefully, the guys we're going to pick come in and help us right now," Edwards said. "I'm a firm believer when you draft players, you don't wait to let them play."
But few recent draft choices have helped shore up the Chiefs' perennially leaky defense, which has been a big reason why they have been out of the playoffs since 2003.

Linebacker Derrick Johnson, last year's top pick out of Texas, became a starter but lacked the big-play pop president and general manager Carl Peterson was seeking. Defensive lineman Ryan Sims, the No. 4 overall pick in 2002, has struggled to become a starter.
Hulking defensive lineman Junior Siavii, their first pick in 2004, has made more news for his part in a training camp fracas in Minneapolis last summer than for his play.
But Kansas City has no choice but to look again toward defense.
Peterson finally cut loose cornerback Eric Warfield and backup Dexter McCleon, when it looked as though the Chiefs would be several million dollars over the salary cap, and now has nobody to play opposite Patrick Surtain.
Peterson and Bill Kuharich, vice president of player personnel, have all but conceded that cornerback and defensive end will be priorities, despite signing Lenny Walls, Chris Johnson and Carlos Hall in free agency.
"We'd like to think that's a position that has some depth and quality," Peterson said of the defensive backs available. "There are going to be some in the first or second round which you would hope could come in and help immediately."
That should suit Edwards, a former defensive back, just fine.
Edwards helped draft Brian Kelly, and Donnie Abraham and Ronde Barber became Pro Bowl players in Tampa Bay under his watch. He also picked nine cornerbacks in five years with the New York Jets.
But if the Chiefs wait until the second round to draft a cornerback, they most certainly will look to defensive end first - another position that has a decent amount of depth and talent in the draft.
North Carolina State's Manny Lawson and Boston College's Mathias Kiwanuka are both possibilities, as is Florida State defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, whom Kuharich showered with praise but whose stock would have to slip.
"When you're evaluating, you go through the breakdown of a player of his ability to get off the ball, use his hands to get off the blocker. Wimbley has a lot of those things," Kuharich said. "He's a good prospect."
If the Chiefs look to offense, it could be at wide receiver, where reserves Marc Boerigter and Chris Horn both left in free agency. Peterson also mentioned the need for offensive line and quarterback projects in the later rounds, who could be developed to help replace aging stars Willie Roaf, Will Shields and Trent Green.
"I like to think, if you look at our roster, there are some good, young, talented players at every position," Peterson said. "You try to look ahead there, but sometimes you just have to make decisions."
And making the right decisions in the draft could be the difference between another year spent squandering a high-powered offense, and Kansas City winning its first playoff game since 1993.
"We've won a lot of games here and we've been very successful, but we want to take the next step," Edwards said. "Our guys are well aware of that. This is a winning team. Now we have to get to the next level."