The Kansas City Chiefs are going offensive tackle in Dion Caputi’s latest mock of the 2012 NFL Draft and the name is a familiar one to draftniks. Jonathan Martin is the offensive tackle at Stanford rated near the top of the tackle rankings, and he’s often linked to the Chiefs along with Riley Reiff and Mike Adams of Iowa and Ohio State respectively. Clearly most people believe the Chiefs need help on the bookends of the offensive line.
Caputi writes, “Could be a prime spot for the Chiefs to trade down, but if they stand pat Jonathan Martin offers the best value. With the selection, Kansas City holds added flexibility up front and can move around Branden Albert, who’s currently plugged in at left tackle, if they’d like to.”
If Martin is chosen, it will likely be for the right side so that the team can leave Albert in place. To move Albert is to still have issues elsewhere and the guard position is deep in this draft, meaning the Chiefs can add depth in later rounds and even a possible substitute for Ryan Lilja if the cards are dealt well enough. It’s a good guess and one we could likely see in late April.