Four players the Chiefs could pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft
By Rhys Knott
As ludicrous as it may be to criticise a team that has won 40 games in the last three regular seasons, Andy Reid needs to fix the Chiefs. The Kansas City offensive line has historically survived having the liability of Jawaan Taylor (only Laremy Tunsil drew more penalty flags in 2024) playing at tackle by having three elite interior linemen.
Joe Thuney signed with the Bears in free agency, and the remaining options have some issues. They franchise-tagged Trey Smith, but according to PFF’s metrics, he is only the 14th-best right guard in the league.
They did find themselves an underrated star in the 2024 draft in the shape of second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia. But expecting a 22-year-old to solidify a shaky offensive line as a rookie is a big ask. After having a few issues of his own, Reid says Penei Sewell’s cousin will now shift inside and play left guard.
The Chiefs have signed Jaylon Moore to play left tackle, but he only played 259 snaps in 2024; Trent Williams played the other 649 for the 49ers. There is still work to be done in the draft if the front office realises the urgency of the situation.
Brett Veach also faces a minor cap crunch in KC. For some reason, they will be paying Taylor (who ranked 82nd out of 140 tackles last year according to PFF) $27 million this year! Only Patrick Mahomes will earn more. Veach might have to re-work some veterans’ contracts once the team sign the draft class.
The financial issue is so severe that if they want to trade up to draft a day one starter, they need to re-work the contracts before signing the rookies. The Chiefs currently can’t afford to sign a top-eight draft pick unless they forgo some mid-round picks.
Seven of the Chiefs’ 11 free agent signings play on defense. Some may suggest that’s a bit strange, considering how many exceptional defensive players are available in the draft. But this is Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs team, and confounding logic is what they do.
Tyler Booker. Guard, Alabama
Andy Reid needs to keep his fingers crossed Booker is still in play when the 31st pick rolls around. Booker looked like an NFL guard playing against college defensive linemen in 2024. He just moves linemen with ease. Many of Booker’s blocks resulted in open running lanes for Jalen Milroe to show off his athleticism.
Booker’s 66.5 grade from PFF for his 2024 season makes him the number one guard on their big board. Last season, he demonstrated his versatility too, lining up at left guard for 702 snaps and 77 times at left tackle. The Connecticut native played 1,035 passing snaps at Alabama, allowing just two sacks!
The 21-year-old has the biggest span in the 2025 guard class, a huge 84 and 2/8 inches! He performed reasonably at the combine, but combine tests aren’t designed for offensive linemen.
Like Jihaad Campbell, Booker is an IMG Academy graduate. He ran a 5.38-second 40-yard dash, which ranks him in the 36th percentile of the class. His 27-inch vertical jump lands him in the 42nd percentile. But he isn’t ranked in the top 40th percentile for any other test.
The consensus opinion on Booker is he will be the 27th overall pick and wind up in Baltimore. But if the Ravens decide to take Malaki Starks instead then Veach needs to call Booker immediately.
looking at Alabama OG Tyler Booker after some of the combine testing questions, you can definitely see the play strength issues show up at times. BUT when his technique is right, a lot of that gets mitigated. plus he plays with an edge and is always looking to finish.
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 2:07 AM
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Donovan Jackson. Offensive Line, Ohio State
Ohio State's Josh Simmons & Donovan Jackson smoothly handling business on the left side. The most athletic G-T duo in America last season before Simmons got hurt.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 10:22 PM
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Jackson played both left tackle and left guard for the Buckeyes, but he looks more at home at guard. The Texas native lined up at left guard for 1,938 of his 2,467 total snaps in Columbus.
After only allowing three sacks in his first two seasons at Ohio State, Jackson gave up two in 2024. His physicality is a major reason for that efficiency. But his spatial awareness and uncanny ability to shift focus from one pass rusher to another lineman or pick up late blitzes stand out even more than his physicality.
The former five-star recruit turned plenty of heads at the combine. At 6 feet 4 inches tall, he is in the 17th percentile of the class, and at 315 pounds, he ranks in the 49th percentile. He looked good in the tests, though.
A 5.20-second 40-yard dash ranks in the 63rd percentile of the class. The first-team All-American ranks in the 74th percentile with a 107-inch broad jump and the 79th percentile for his 4.60-second shuttle run. But the three-time All-Big 10 lineman excelled in the vertical jump and bench press.
His 32.5-inch vertical jump ranks in the 92nd percentile, and Jackson performed 32 reps in the bench press test, which ranks in the 94th percentile!
Jackson projects as a late first-round pick, but one mock draft believes he could be headed to the Cardinals at 16. His versatility, combined with his physical power, appears to be going under the radar. He would be the perfect pick for the Chiefs.
Tate Ratledge. Guard, Georgia
Tate Ratledge, RG, #69 Good climbing to second level and sealing the gap
— alexcastrofilho.bsky.social (@alexcastrofilho.bsky.social) April 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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On the subject of underrated athletic linemen, Ratledge is another whose combine performance turned heads. The former high school basketballer and track and field athlete only played one college game back in 2021, but he won two national championships as a Bulldog.
Ratledge only allowed two sacks on 1,117 passing snaps during his college career! But it’s his run-blocking that really stands out. When he spoke to the media at Georgia’s Pro Day, the Tennessee native said he enjoys run blocking because “you get to take someone out”. Isiah Pacheco already loves Ratledge.
The former high school shot putter is in the 86th percentile of this gargantuan class for his height despite being 6-foot-6. He weighs 308 pounds, which ranks him in the 31st percentile. But he absolutely dominated the combine tests.
Ratledge is in the 92nd percentile of the class with a 32-inch vertical jump, the 95th percentile for the 3-cone drill, clocking a 7.38 second time! And the 23-year-old lands in the 97th percentile for both broad jump and 40-yard times. His 113-inch broad jump is mightily impressive, but clocking a 4.97-second time (the same as Gardner Minshew and Jameis Winston) is amazing.
His combine performance alone should make Ratledge a first-round pick, but he seems to split opinion. Some experts believe he will fall to the third round, others believe the Bears will trade back and take him 18th overall. If he’s available at 31 the Chiefs should grab him.
Jack Sawyer. EDGE, Ohio State
The Chiefs’ passing defense ranked 18th for yards allowed in 2024. They also ranked 18th for sacks, part of the issue was Chris Jones’ regression after receiving his huge contract. Jones’s five sacks are the fewest he’s managed in a single season. But the main reason for the malaise is that five defensive ends not named George Karlaftis only contributed seven sacks.
The 2025 defensive line class has been described as “generational,” and elite prospects will be available on the second day. But the Chiefs can’t wait that long if they want to help out Karlaftis and Jones.
Karlaftis is a powerful defensive end who outworks blockers and uses his smarts to get to the quarterback. Sawyer is just flat-out fast; they would make a dynamic pairing.
During four years in Colombus Sawyer made 144 tackles in 54 games. He also had 29 tackles for a loss and 23 sacks! Sawyer didn’t stop there; he also defended 11 passes, forced six fumbles, recovered three fumbles and made an interception.
The former high school tight end (and quarterback) is pretty useful with the ball in his hands too, returning two of his fumble recoveries for touchdowns.
The 22-year-old did not attend the combine, but he clocked a staggering (for a 260-pound defensive lineman) 4.60-second 40-yard dash away from Indy. That’s the same time a 207-pound Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran in 2020!
Sawyer seems to have been lost in the weeds in this generational class of defensive linemen, but he will add serious athleticism wherever he is drafted. His draft stock fell recently, and he’s now the favourite to go to the Lions late in the first round. If he does make it to 32, Steve Spagnolo would love to see him in KC.
JACK SAWYER HEROICS🌰 THE BUCKEYE SENIOR CAPTAIN SENDS THEM TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP🏆 #CFB
— College Football Clips (@cfbclips.bsky.social) January 11, 2025 at 4:01 AM
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RHYS KNOTT
NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST
Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes