The Chiefs make a jump up in the first round to add a wide receiver a few picks earlier.
The majority of 2024 NFL mock drafts seem to have the Kansas City Chiefs selecting a wide receiver with the No. 32 overall pick at the end of the first round. In a supremely talented draft class, it’s reasonable to think that the Chiefs would be able to land an impact pass-catching prospect, even if they stay patient and wait for the board to fall to them at 32.
However, in a new CBS Sports mock by Jordan Dajani, the result is the same, but the process changes for KC. In a chain reaction of wide receiver trade-ups, the Chiefs trade up to No. 28 overall with the Minnesota Vikings, who had a mock trade with the Buffalo Bills earlier in the round.
The Chiefs potentially needing to jump higher than No. 28 makes sense; if Buffalo stays at 28 and waits for a wide receiver to lessen the loss of Stefon Diggs, the Bills should be locked in to selecting a WR at that spot. But in Dajani’s mock, the Bills jump up to No. 23 overall to select LSU WR Brian Thomas Jr., making him the fourth WR off the board. The Chiefs make Mitchell the fifth with their move up:
“Another trade! Another trade where the Vikings move back! The Chiefs don’t want to chance Adonai Mitchell falling to No. 32 overall, so they jump up to grab the 2023 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, who led the conference in receiving touchdowns last season with 11,” Dajani wrote.
Mitchell landed in the second tier of Jordan Foote’s Chiefs wide receiver rankings, only behind the all-but-consensus “big three” of Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, and Malik Nabers:
“Mitchell had a breakout final season at Texas, which fueled projections for his ceiling as a lengthy boundary wideout with a suddenness to his route-running process,” Foote wrote. “He also tested extremely well and boosted his draft stock.”
