The Kansas City Chiefs have completed their NFL Draft process, taking University of Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy in Thursday night’s first round and following that with the selection of BYU tackle Kingsley Suamataia to start Friday’s second round. Both Worthy and Suamataia were chosen after general manager Brett Veach made trades to move up in the respective rounds. On Thursday, Kansas City traded with Buffalo to move up to the #28 position from #32, with the Chiefs making a swap with San Francisco on Friday to acquire the 63rd overall pick, turning into Suamataia.
Worthy ran an eye-popping 4.21 second 40-yard dash in the NFL combine, leading prognosticators to believe Kansas City now has a receiving weapon to replace the speed lost in the Tyreek Hill trade two years ago. Suamataia is a 6-foot-5 inch, 326-pounder considered a better pass blocker than run blocker, ideal for the Chiefs and a pass-heavy offense led by Patrick Mahomes.
Kansas City was able to build roster depth in Saturday’s selections, with Rounds 4 through 7 announced in Detroit. With two selections in the fourth round, the Chiefs went with TCU tight end Jared Wiley and Washington State safety Jaden Hicks. In the fifth round, Penn State offensive lineman Hunter Nourzard went to Kansas City, with the Chiefs choosing Tennessee cornerback Kamal Hadden in the sixth round, and Holy Cross offensive guard C.J. Hanson in the 7th round.
Numerous Missouri Tigers were either taken in the draft, with defensive lineman Darius Robinson becoming the first Mizzou product taken in the first round since 2017, taken 27th overall by the Arizona Cardinals. The Detroit Lions took defensive back Ennis Rakestraw in the second round, with linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper going to Green Bay in the third round.
In Saturday’s fourth round, Mizzou offensive lineman Javon Foster went to the Jaguars, with defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine to the Denver Broncos in the fifth round, and fellow defensive back Jaylon Carlies to the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round.
Running back Cody Schrader went to the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent, with that same path to the NFL found by kicker Harrison Mevis to Carolina, running back Nate Peat to Dallas, and offensive linemen Marcellus Johnson (Giants) and Xavier Delgado (Buccaneers).
Maryville High School graduate and North Dakota State offensive lineman Jalen Sundell signed a free-agent deal with the Cleveland Browns, giving the 6-foot-5, 300 pounder an opportunity to make an NFL roster. Sundell moved to the starting left tackle position with the Bison in 2023, after spending the first part of his NDSU career playing center.
