A.J. Epenesa
Getty
A.J. Epenesa celebrates after a Buffalo Bills win over the Washington Commanders.
NFL draft season is nearly upon the Kansas City Chiefs, and an unfortunate development happened elsewhere in the AFC that could impact what players are available for the franchise with its first pick at No. 9 overall.
The Cleveland Browns on Sunday, March 29 pulled out of a deal for former Buffalo Bills pass-rusher AJ Epenesa following the results of a physical.
While that decision was hardly as seismic league-wide as the Baltimore Ravens withdrawing their trade offer of two first-round picks for Las Vegas Raiders edge defender Maxx Crosby, it does potentially impact the Chiefs by changing the fabric of the Browns’ draft needs just three picks ahead of Kansas City at No. 6.
Nearly every national mock draft of late has Cleveland picking either an offensive tackle or a wide receiver in that spot.
But considering that the Browns no longer have their preferred starting defensive end opposite Myles Garrett, and considering that one or two of the top three pass-rushers in this year’s class may well be available with the sixth overall pick, Cleveland is now potentially in the market for an edge-rusher inside of the top 10.
“Potential wrinkle here for the Browns picking at 6,” Ben Standig posted to X. “Epenesa was expected to be part of a DE rotation opposite Myles Garrett. Seems reasonable that [David] Bailey or [Rueben] Bain could be higher on Cleveland’s board than any WR or LT.”
Chiefs Predicted to Draft Rueben Bain Jr. With No. 9 Pick if He’s Still on Board
Miami DL Rueben Bain Jr.
GettyMiami Hurricanes pass-rusher Rueben Bain Jr.
The Chiefs have significant needs at edge-rusher, cornerback, right tackle and wide receiver. All of those are highly-paid, so-called premier positions, and using the No. 9 pick to draft an inexpensive talent at any of them will be a solid move for Kansas City.
That said, pass-rusher is probably the most valuable position of any in the game other than quarterback, and the ready-made NFL talent that a player like Bain represents is the exact profile Kansas City is hunting, as the team hopes to jump back into Super Bowl contention immediately following its worst season in more than a decade.
As such, Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN predicted Bain to Kansas City at No. 9 in his most recent mock draft.
“LSU’s Mansoor Delane and Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy have to be considerations here,” Kiper wrote of the top two cornerbacks in the draft. “But remember, the Chiefs now have two first-round picks. And Bain would be very tough to pass up at this spot.”
“Bain is dominant off the edge,” Kiper continued. “He simply finds ways to get to the QB, whether it’s with his speed, power or savviness. He had 71 pressures last season en route to 9.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss.”
Chiefs Will Have Access to Elite Defensive Player Inside Top 10 Regardless
GettyLSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
The cornerbacks Kiper mentioned are likely to be there for the Chiefs if the Browns take Bain at No. 6, and that would be far from a disaster. And even if Cleveland goes with a tackle or a wideout in that spot, there is no guarantee Bain drops to three more rungs to the Chiefs.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry brought up the notion of trading out of the No. 6 spot during an interview from the league’s annual meetings in Phoenix Sunday. One of the most likely scenarios in which that might happen is if one of the top three edge-rushers, most likely Bain, drops out of the top five and some team further down the draft order trades up ahead of the Chiefs to nab him.
That said, the best-case scenario for Kansas City is that either Bain, Bailey or Arvell Reese falls to them at No. 9, and the crumbling of the Browns’ deal with Epenesa rendered such an outcome that much less likely.