The Kansas City Chiefs wouldn't be on their current run of sustained success if it wasn't for the team's exceptional draft record. Having Patrick Mahomes certainly helps, but sustained success is built through the NFL Draft. This is what the LA Chargers are now trying to replicate with Jim Harbaugh running the ship.
While the Chargers appear to have put together another strong draft class, unfortunately, so have the Chiefs. Nothing is guaranteed until the players actually suit up in the NFL but both teams appear to have drafted several impact players.
In classic Chiefs fashion, one of the impact players for Mahomes came on the last day of the NFL Draft. Some how, someway, the Chiefs ended up with another field-tilting player, taking Utah State wideout Jalen Royals with the No. 133 pick.
Chargers fans should lose sleep over Chiefs taking Jalen Royals
it was a major surprise that Royals ended lasted until the third day of the NFL Draft. If that wasn't surprising enough, it was even more shocking that no other team took the speedy wideout in the fourth round of the draft.
Royals ranked 76th on the consensus big board heading into the draft with many convinced h would be taken in the second round. Because of his game-breaking speed, the door was wide open for Royals to go even earlier than many expected.
Royals caught 71 passes for 1,080 yards with 15 touchdowns last season to earn a spot on the All-Mountain West First team. His numbers and accolades aren't what make him worrisome for the Chargers. It's how his particular skill set will fit in on the Chiefs.
The six-foot wideout ran a 4.42 40-yard dash and has the ability to play both inside and outside in a passing offense. While his top-line sprint speed may not be field-tilting, his game speed is a legitimate difference-maker.
Royals is going to be a menace for the Chiefs as someone the team can utilize in pre-snap motions and target all around the field. On the wrong team with a bad quarterback, Royals talents would not have been utilized. On the Chiefs, he has legitimate top-weapon appeal.
The Chiefs keep pulling a rabbit out of the hat and adding game-changing targets for Mahomes to throw to. Royals will be yet another example of this, and despite his draft position, he has a real chance to blossom into a true No. 1 option in the NFL.
It's bewildering that Royals fell all the way to the Chiefs at the tail end of the fourth round. The league will likely live to regret it.