 | Mark Schremmer is a major contributor to KPREPS.com, a website dedicated to covering Kansas high school football. A Pittsburg native and Pittsburg State University graduate, he is assistant news editor at The Topeka Capital-Journal and has covered sports in Kansas since 2000. |
Sports
2013-05-29 12:24:43
Chiefs draft pick
Much of the luster was absent from the 2013 NFL Draft.
Potential franchise quarterbacks like Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III weren’t available this time around.
However, this year’s draft was critically important for the Kansas City Chiefs. Plus, this draft has more in common with 2012 than you might think.
As you know, the Kansas City Chiefs used the No. 1 overall selection to pick offensive tackle Eric Fisher. The 6-foot-7, 305-pound lineman from Central Michigan is known as a good pass blocker with a great frame.
The 2-14 Chiefs needed an upgrade to an offensive line that had trouble protecting quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn last season. Kansas City believes Fisher will be a step in the right direction.
Kansas City liked Fisher so much that it chose the small-school prospect over Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel, who many considered to be the best player in the draft.
After the Chiefs opted for Fisher, the Jacksonville Jaguars quickly swooped in and grabbed Joeckel with the No. 2 pick. In Joeckel, the Jaguars obtained a 6-6, 306-pound lineman who protected the blind sides of quarterbacks Ryan Tannehill and Johnny Manziel in recent years. Scouts like his athleticism and power.
And this is where the 2012 and 2013 drafts become similar.
As Luck and RGIII will always be linked and forever compared against each other, so will Fisher and Joeckel. Add in that the Philadelphia Eagles used the No. 4 pick on Oklahoma offensive tackle Lane Johnson and the San Diego Chargers selected Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, this draft will always be remembered as the year the linemen ruled.
Any time a team owns the No. 1 pick, there will always be scrutiny over whether it picked the best available player. But with this draft, that scrutiny will increase since the Chiefs had so many reasonable options at offensive tackle.
If Fisher is a bust and Joeckel becomes a Hall of Famer, the Chiefs will forever be ridiculed for that choice.
Obviously, this is an extreme example, but it illustrates the importance of the pick. The Kansas City Royals had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 MLB draft and selected pitcher Luke Hochevar over third baseman Evan Longoria and pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum and Max Scherzer. The Royals are still feeling the effects of that poor choice.
That’s why ESPN reports before this draft were so concerning. The reports indicated the Chiefs were leaning toward Fisher because they weren’t able to trade current left tackle Branden Albert and that the Central Michigan lineman would be an easier adjustment to right tackle.
If that is indeed why the Chiefs selected Fisher and not because they believe he is a better football player than Joeckel, then a terrible mistake was made.
Years later, all that will be remembered is who the lineman was. If it turns out to be Joeckel, then no one will care that it was more convenient to move Fisher to right tackle for a year or two.
The new management of the Chiefs was given a golden opportunity of selecting the best college football player in the nation.
Did the Chiefs make the most of that opportunity? Only time will tell.
