With the twenty-first pick of the draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Phil Taylor, Nose Tackle from Baylor.
Seven years ago, Scott Pioli was with the Patriots and selected Vince Wilfork NT at # 21. His choice in 2011 is nowhere near as clean and easy as his pick in 2004. While Taylor has flashed the ability to be a dominant Nose Tackle, he also comes with some heavy baggage and questionable desire and work ethic. He has been described as very much a "boom or bust" prospect and in some ways I feel very uncomfortable picking him here for the Chiefs. But he fills a large and important weakness on the KC defence and I will rely on Head Coach Haley and the leaders on the defence to keep Big Phil motivated and focused.
Others that were considered:
Muhammad Wilkerson DT/DE - I noticed that KC does not have a jumbo NT and thought that Wilkerson could fill that role and still be able to swing out to play as a 3-4 DE too. I passed as I thought that Taylor was the better player.
Akeem Ayers LB - a well rounded LB that could take over for Vrabel. He is very versatile and can play any LB position and rush, cover, or stuff the run. Questionable desire and instincts. Pass.
Gabe Carimi OT - I thought that Carimi offered the best value here, but the Chiefs are already pretty young at the Tackle spots and their performance may improve with experience. Their run blocking is pretty good, but their pass blocking needs some work.
Jonathon Baldwin WR - outstanding prospect with great upside, but again questionable desire and I felt the Chiefs could wait until the second round to fill this spot. Pass.
Mark Ingram RB - The wild card. Jamaal Charles is one of the top running backs in the NFL, but he needs a running mate to share the load for this run heavy team. Thomas Jones currently fulfills that job, but the Chiefs could use a significant upgrade. Ingram would be an ideal complement to Jamaal IMO. He would be a great value down here at # 21, and would cost no more than Jones does [$3 million] once the rookie cap is in place. I just really doubted that KC would go that way and did not have the cojones to go against the grain like that. They could upgrade the RB position later in the draft [third or fourth round]. Pass.
Pick made by: NorthLeft12
The Indianapolis Colts are now on the clock.
Past Picks:
21. Phil Taylor
20. Justin Houston
19. Nate Solder
18. Ryan Kerrigan
17. J.J. Watt
16. Brooks Reed
15. Mike Pouncey
14. Corey Liuget
13. Cameron Jordan
12. Julio Jones
11. Robert Quinn
10. A.J. Green
9. Tyron Smith
8. Blaine Gabbert
7. Prince Amukamara
6. Da'Quan Bowers
5. Von Miller
4. Nick Fairley
3. Patrick Peterson
2. Marcell Dareus
1. Cam Newton