If the Kansas City Chiefs are going to acquire a quarterback in the 2012 NFL Draft to compete with Matt Cassel for the starting position (and possibly Ricky Stanzi depending on his development), the Chiefs are likely going to have to reach for that player. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are coming out as the top quarterbacks in every draft, obviously, but now Charlie Campbell has them coming out as the top two picks overall — meaning there’s no chance of anyone like the Chiefs trading up to get someone like that. The bottom line is that the Chiefs might have to reach for a guy like Ryan Tannehill to get someone in camp.
Of course, Campbell doesn’t have him going to the Chiefs. Instead, he has Trent Richardson. He writes, “Jamaal Charles will be back next year, but the Chiefs have never been convinced that he can carry the load. That’s even a more unreasonable expectation in 2012 given that he’s coming off a torn ACL. Trent Richardson is by far the top player available. He would give Kansas City the top one-two punch at running back in the NFL.”
Perhaps the second round could bring in a candidate — someone like Brandon Weeden or Kirk Cousins. But given the clamor over quarterbacks in last year’s draft at the top — from the Jags trade for Blaine Gabbert to the earlier than predicted selections of Jake Locker and Christian Ponder by the Titans and Vikings respectively — it’s clear that quarterbacks will go higher than anticipated now. Tannehill and even Weeden are good bets to rise before the draft and that means the Chiefs might have to stretch a bit to get their guy.