When trying to predict the personnel a team will take in the 2012 NFL Draft, the scheme that team runs means everything. A 3-4 team like the Kansas City Chiefs will look at players differently than a 4-3, so a player like Michael Brockers or Devon Still might slide past the Chiefs even though they are rated higher. If the Chiefs, for example, are interested in a B.J. Raji type to sit at the point of attack, Dontari Poe should be their guy.
Charlie Campbell says that Poe is the best overall 3-4 DT in the draft in his latest defensive tackle ratings. While Poe comes a bit later on the list after Still and Brockers among others, he could be a good fit in the second round for a team like the Chiefs.
Poe totaled 33 tackles with eight tackles for a loss, one sack and one forced fumble this year. He did not play well against Mississippi State in the first game of the season and closed out the 2011 without a tackle for a loss in the last four games. Poe’s best game came against SMU when he registered a sack-fumble and three tackles.
Poe is a space eater who takes on multiple blocks. Even when his pad level is off, he is hard to move at the line of scrimmage. Poe should drop some weight to increase his agility so that he can make some plays that don’t go directly at him.
The Chiefs currently have Anthony Toribio and Jerrelle Powe as players to count on at the position and both have very little playing experience, if any. It’s clear the team will make upgrades there at some point — the only question is how soon they might address it in the draft.