2023 NFL Draft: Kansas City Chiefs 7-round Mock 

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are once again on top of the mountain after winning the Super Bowl. The 2022 NFL season will live long in the memory at Arrowhead Stadium, with Andy Reid’s charges proving they didn’t need Tyreek Hill after all.

To say the Chiefs have a complete roster would be untrue, there is even an argument to be made that the Buffalo Bills have a more balanced set of players than the defending World Champions, but there are very few holes heading into the 2023 NFL Draft.

On offense, it’s difficult to see just where they can improve. As long as Reid’s scheme is in place, virtually everyone is going to produce impressive numbers on that side of the ball.

Travis Kelce remains the best tight end in football, although there are whispers coming out of Kansas City that Andy Reid would like a true replacement for Hill, with the Chiefs wanting to re-establish their deep-ball threat.

Offensive line issues have been largely resolved over the past two years. However, the departures of both starting tackles, Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie, have severely weakened the team in that area.

The Chiefs’ front-office are going to be acutely aware of these issues and will likely look to the middle rounds of the draft to recruit replacements.

In the NFL Draft, the Chiefs are heading into the event in the strongest possible position, and aren’t facing the desperation that other teams further up the board are.

2023 Kansas City Chiefs 7-round mock draft

The Kansas City Chiefs will be on the clock with the 31st and last pick of the opening night of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Nobody expects the team to trade up to secure talent, but it can’t be ruled out that they move down if there isn’t a really attractive wide receiver in play.

In our 7-round mock draft we aren’t going to be factoring in any such trades that haven’t yet occurred.

Unusually for the Kansas City Chiefs, they had two first-round selections in 2022. Both focused on the defense with the first being cornerback Trent McDuffie and then edge rusher George Karlaftis.

Offense is going to be the focus in 2023 though, and a repeat of that opening night blitz can’t be expected.

Significant Kansas City Chiefs free agency signings

· OT Jawaan Taylor

· DL Charles Omenihu

· Re-signed DT Derrick Nnadi

· LB Drue Tranquill

Significant Kansas City Chiefs free agency losses

· WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

· WR Mecole Hardman

· OT Orlando Brown Jr.

· OT Andrew Wylie

· RB Ronald Jones

· DT Khalen Saunders

Let’s look at Sportskeeda’s 7-round mock for the Kansas City Chiefs

31. WR Jordan Addison, USC

63. OT Blake Freeland, BYU

95. WR Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State

122. RB Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State

134. DT Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois

166. DE Viliami Fehoko, San Jose State

178. CB Starling Thomas V, UAB

217. S Daniel Scott, University of California

249. QB Aidan O’Connell, Purdue

250. TE Davis Allen, Clemson

Offense will be the focus for the Kansas City Chiefs early in the 2023 NFL Draft. With the 31st pick, they will look to secure a receiver who can bring back verticality to their offense.

Whilst it’s difficult to rediscover another Tyreek Hill, Jordan Addison out of USC is Sportskeeda’s predicted pick here.

Addison had a slow combine, which has helped the Chiefs, with the receiver a clear top-20 talent in terms of natural ability.

As previously mentioned, Reid’s offensive scheme will help Addison stand out, and his smooth route-running is exceedingly impressive.

Whilst he may not be a copy of Hill’s blistering speed, Addison can be a reliable heavy-target receiver on short to medium length passing plays, which Mahomes often makes through scrambling.

The signing of Jawaan Taylor has helped minimize the impact of the departures felt on the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line, but they will still need to add quality.

At #68 Blake Freeland makes so much sense. His draft stock is on the rise and all the teams in the NFL have taken notice. His tape shows a fantastic natural athlete who excels at run blocking.

Whilst his poor instincts with regards to pass protection may put several teams off, his athleticism attracts the Chiefs. He can move around and continue to assist Mahomes when he is on the move.

Xavier Hutchinson doesn’t bring blistering speed, but he is a quick enough target for Mahomes, especially in this offense.

The real speed comes with our projected fourth pick, Deuce Vaughn.

Having run a 40-yard dash speed of 4.44, Vaughn is a phenomenon. If he can see the receiving side of his game develop, then he will be a home-run hit for Kansas City.

They have already met with Vaughn, and he will definitely get opportunities on the ball in that offense. Teams may be worried about his ceiling or ability to progress into the world of NFL football, but the Chiefs are able to prioritize physical attributes over some fundamentals.

Sportskeeda believes that the Kansas City Chiefs will turn their focus to defense on day three, with four of their last six projected picks being on the defensive side of the ball.

Jer’Zhan Newton and Viliami Fehoko are scary individuals. This will cause quarterbacks problems with their size and the venom with which they rush to the signal-caller.

If the Chiefs can grab both, they will have added brilliant depth players on defense, with an eye on the future.

One area of defensive concern heading into the NFL Draft was in the secondary. Previous picks at safety haven’t panned out and we think the Chiefs will return to the well once more.

Daniel Scott is one of the older players in the class at 25, but his maturity could help him. He’s a longer safety with a great eye for a tackle, although there may be worries that his quickness isn’t high enough for such a physical franchise.

Given his age, there isn’t a lot of time to work on fundamentals with Scott, he is raw, but the talent is there to utilize in the NFL. He is a truly excellent tackler and could make the team’s secondary a little more intimidating. Being the defending champions, it is hard to make improvements.