ESPN projects Arizona's versatile safety as the ideal defensive pickup for the Kansas City Chiefs following some action on Day 1.
The Kansas City Chiefs had one of the biggest surprises of Round 1 on Thursday night in the NFL Draft.
The Chiefs gave the Cleveland Browns two extra draft picks to go from No. 9 to No. 6 and take LSU Tigers cornerback Mansoor Delane.
While Delane at No. 6 might be a bit rich, teams always want their guys, and cornerback is a massive need for Kansas City.
The Chiefs then selected Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods, so it is obvious what they want to address early on in the NFL Draft.
Going into Round 2, the Chiefs have the No. 40 overall pick but no Round 3 selection since that pick was traded to the Browns.
ESPN's Matt Miller named the best fit for some teams going into Day 2, and for the Chiefs, it is another defensive player: Arizona Wildcats safety Treydan Stukes.
Stukes drew some late Round 1 hype, but he is one of the best safeties in this class and would instantly provide Kansas City a replacement for Bryan Cook, who left in free agency and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.
"He was my All-Film team safety. I think that's his best position in the league, but he played everywhere with the Wildcats, with 817 snaps at outside corner, 1,333 in the slot and 205 at safety. Stukes will turn 25 in September and had a 2024 ACL tear, so much of his "fall" into Day 2 is for non-football reasons. The film is excellent, with great angles, excellent ball skills and do-it-all versatility," Miller wrote.
Stukes also brings positional versatility, which will be a big plus to a team that needs help in the secondary, even after selecting Delane.
The best part is that Stukes is NFL-ready, and the Chiefs are a team with Super Bowl hopes.
"Stukes has the football IQ of a classic Steve Spagnuolo defensive back and the CB/S versatility of players like Cook (a college corner) and L'Jarius Sneed. He's NFL-ready for a defense that needs immediate contributors as the Chiefs return to Super Bowl contention," Miller added.
The issue here is that Miller had a Day 2 mock draft, and in it, he had the Las Vegas Raiders selecting Stukes at No. 36 overall, a few picks before the Chiefs are on the clock.
The Chiefs also need a wide receiver, but this WR class is deep, so they can wait until Round 4 or even later to add one, especially with defense being a much bigger need for this team at the moment.
If the Chiefs walk out of the first two rounds with Delane, Woods and Stukes, Brett Veach deserves a pat on the back, even though it cost a few picks going to Cleveland.