Peter King wrote in his MMQB section for Sports Illustrated that teams should stay away from taking linebackers up near the top 10 in the draft because of the success rate of guys in the past. That would include the Kansas City Chiefs who pick at No. 11 this year and have been linked to Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly. via Sports Illustrated.
Look at the top 10 picks in the draft from 2001 to 2010. Six have been linebackers (if you count Terrell Suggs as a defensive end). The six are A.J. Hawk, Ernie Sims, Keith Rivers, Jerod Mayo, Aaron Curry and Rolando McClain. One of the six has made a Pro Bowl -- Mayo -- and he's made just one.
Contrast that to defensive linemen: Twenty-six were picked in the top 10 of the draft from 2001 to 2010 -- obviously counting Suggs as a defensive end -- and those 26 have made 29 Pro Bowls.
So could Peter King be telling us that a guy like Michael Brockers or even a Dontari Poe, who, in Poe's case especially, seem to be more risky picks than Kuechly?
I can definitely see Brockers being the pick if it was between he and Poe personally, but whoever ends up being the pick if it is a defensive player, that means that Romeo Crennel had signed off on that guy being someone he wants on his defense and that should be good enough for any Chiefs fan right now. His track record has been pretty good here.
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