The Chiefs were happy to see one of the best corners in the draft waiting for them in the second round.  Brandon Flowers is a tad short at 5′10″, 200 pounds but he’s built well enough to be very tough in run support.  He lacks top end speed as he runs a 4.55 40 but he has very good ball skills when it’s in the air.  Flowers could eventually move to safety if his speed winds up being an issue.  Flowers played in 41 games (28 starts) at Virginia Tech and he made 158 tackles, broke up 40 passes, had 10 interceptions, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.  This was another solid pick by the Chiefs.

The Chiefs decided to move back up a couple of spots to snare OG/T Branden Albert in the first round.  Albert is a big guy at 6′7″, 315 pounds and he runs a 5.2 40.  Albert is a little bit raw as he has only played football for 5 years but he has a huge upside.  The Chiefs envision him as a tackle down the road but he may start his career at guard as he was the highest ranked guard in this draft according to many draft gurus.  Albert played in 37 games (all starts) at Virginia.  This was another solid pick for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs were excited to see the top player on their draft board fall to them at #5.  Dorsey is a 6′1″, 313 pound tackle that runs a 5.0 40.  Dorsey is a very good athlete that blows up the run when teams take him on.  He’s not much of a pass rusher from the inside but he could develop that skill with experience.  Dorsey played in 52 games (31 starts) for LSU and he made 157 tackles, 29 tackles for a loss, had 13 sacks, batted down 5 passes, forced 1 fumble and recovered 1 fumble.  Dorsey should start from Day #1 at tackle for the Chiefs and he could develop into a Pro Bowler in the very near future.

Boy are the Chiefs dumb.  They have traded the NFL’s sack leader from last season, DE Jared Allen, to the Minnesota Vikings.  In return for Allen, the Chiefs will receive  the Vikings’ 1st round pick (#17) and both of their 3rd rounders (#72) and (#82) for Allen.  Allen played in 14 games for the Chiefs last season and he made 64 tackles, had 15.5 sacks (#1 in NFL) and he defensed 10 passes.  Allen has now played in 61 games (55 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 227 tackles, has 43 sacks, defended 25 passes and had 1 interception.  Add DE to the Chiefs’ needs at the NFL Draft this weekend.

The Chiefs have signed OT/G Wade Smith to a 2-year contract.  Smith played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Jets last season.  Smith has now played in 43 games (18 starts) in his 6-year NFL career.  The Chiefs better hope that they don’t have to start Smith or it could be a very, very long season.

The Chiefs have signed return man B.J. Sams to a 1-year deal.  Sams returned 4 punts for 37 yards (9.3 avg) and 5 kickoffs for 140 yards (28.0 avg) last season for the Ravens.  Sams has now returned 121 punts for 1,320 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD returns in his career.  Sams also has returned 138 kickoffs for 3,161 yards (22.9 avg) in his career.  This was a decent signing as Sams can help out the Chiefs if he stays healthy.

Sure, the Chiefs got a couple of nice players for the offense in WR Dwayne Bowe and RB Kolby Smith, but the rest of the draft was a disaster.  Dwayne Bowe was the 1st round pick of the Chiefs last season and he was outstanding despite the poor play turned in by the QBs of the Chiefs.  Bowe played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he caught 70 passes for 995 yards (14.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Bowe will really breakout in the future if the Chiefs fix their QB problem.  DT/DE Turk McBride was supposed to help with the pass rush for the Chiefs but he played pretty poorly last season.  McBride played in 16 games (1 start) last season for the Chiefs and he made 14 tackles, had 1 sack and he defensed 1 pass.  DT DeMarcus “Tank” Tyler was the 3rd round pick of the Chiefs and he was a huge disappointment last season.  Tyler played in 15 games (1 start) for the Chiefs last season and he made 11 tackles.  Running back Kolby Smith was the first of two 5th round picks of the Chiefs and he played well.  Smith played in 16 games (6 starts) for the Chiefs and he carried the ball 112 times for 407 yards (#2 on team, 3.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 148 yards (6.7 avg).  Smith should be a good backup for the Chiefs in the future but he will have problems if forced to start.  Placekicker Justin Medlock was the other 5th round pick of the Chiefs last season and he failed miserably before getting cut.  Medlock only kicked in 1 game for the Chiefs and he made 1 of 2 field goals.  OT/OG Herb Taylor was the 6th round pick of the Chiefs and he might stick as a reserve.  He played in 2 games (0 starts) last season for the Chiefs.  TE Michael Allan was the 7th round pick for the Chiefs last season and he didn’t get in any games.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C

The Chiefs have signed WR Devard Darling to a 3-year contract.  Darling played in 16 games last season for the Ravens and he made 18 grabs for 326 yards (18.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Darling has now played in 30 games in his NFL career and he has caught 20 passes for 331 yards (16.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Hopefully the Chiefs didn’t give Darling a lot of money because he hasn’t shown much in his NFL career to date.

The Chiefs have signed linebacker Demorrio Williams to a 5-year, $16 million dollar contract.  Williams played in 16 games last season for the Falcons and he made 78 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he intercepted 2 passes.  He has now played in 64 games in his NFL career and he has made 355 tackles, defensed 8 passes, sacked the QB 6.5 times, forced 3 fumbles and intercepted 5 passes.  Williams will probably replace Napoleon Harris in the starting lineup.

Injuries to Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes doomed the running game of the Chiefs in 2007.  Larry Johnson never got it going in 2007 before he was injured.  He played in 8 games (all starts) for the Chiefs last season and he carried the ball 158 times for 559 yards (3.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 30 passes for 186 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Johnson has now played in 56 games (36 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,050 times for 4,764 yards (4.5 ypc) with 50 TD runs.  He also has caught 127 passes for 1,219 yards (9.6 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

Rookie Kolby Smith was the only running back that stayed healthy all season for the Chiefs.  He played in 16 games (6 starts) for the Chiefs in 2007 and he carried the ball 112 times for 407 yards (3.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 22 passes for 148 yards (6.7 avg).

Priest Holmes made it all the way back to the field in 2007 for the Chiefs but it didn’t last as he suffered a career ending injury.  Holmes played in 4 games (2 starts) last season for the Chiefs and he carried the ball 46 times for 137 yards (3.0 ypc).  He also caught 5 passes for 17 yards (3.4 avg).  Holmes has now played in 113 games (82 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,780 times for 8,172 yards (4.6 ypc) with 86 TD runs.  He also has caught 339 passes for 2,962 yards (8.7 avg) with 8 TD grabs.

Jackie Butler played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs this season and he carried the ball 14 times for 47 yards (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  Gilbert Harris played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he carried the ball 9 times for 9 yards (1.0 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 38 yards (12.7 avg).

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