On the meaning of Day 3 of NFL Draft, which provided Chiefs 5 Super Bowl LVII starters

At least in the immediate aftermath of the 2023 NFL Draft, the marquee Chiefs selections with the most obvious potential to make an immediate impact are the three picks they made on the first two days of the event:

Defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the 31st selection overall out of Kansas State and Lee’s Summit High, receiver Rashee Rice, 55th overall, from SMU, the alma mater of franchise founder Lamar Hunt and chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, and, at 92nd overall, offensive tackle Wanya Morris, who played with current Chiefs linemen Trey Smith at Tennessee and Creed Humphrey after transferring to Oklahoma.

Nothing is assured, of course. But for the reigning Super Bowl champions’ positions of need, such as they are, each has his own dynamic appeal vetted through credible industry experts and the scouting work and administration of the franchise that has won two of the last four Super Bowls and has legitimate dynastic ambitions.

Reflected by the decidedly diminished crowd at Union Station on Saturday, rounds 4-7 on Day 3 typically are brimming with less high-profile commodities who quite naturally make for less of a sure thing.

Which tends to show up in deeply emotional reactions of the draftees, such as those selected by the Chiefs — who in the Brett Veach general manager era have demonstrated an aptitude for making even these lesser-percentage picks count.

Defensive end BJ Thompson, plucked from Stephen F. Austin at No. 166 overall in the fifth round, spoke about what it meant to represent his hometown of England, Arkansas (population: approximately 3,000).

Over the years, he said via Zoom, he’s seen “countless” athletes who had the potential to make it but never did for various circumstances that spoke to what he called “kind of a loss of hope here.”

It’s become his belief that he’s “kind of been destined” to be the one to break that barrier and make something of himself to help “restore faith in my hometown.”

Then there was University of Texas defensive tackle Keondre Coburn, taken 194th overall in the sixth round after apparently agonizing for 24-hours plus and suddenly being ready to share everything.

“I probably watched every pick,” he said. “I probably checked my phone probably a million times. And I don’t even think that’s possible to check your phone a million times. But I think I did.”

Trouble was, when the call came his hands were wet from using the sink to wash his girlfriend’s breastfeeding tool and now he was agonizing over not being able to swipe the phone on and worried the caller thought he wasn’t going to answer.

Finally drying his hands, though, he picked up to the thrill of it being the Chiefs that were the ones who’d given him a chance. He broke down and cried, he said, but then in his stream-of-consciousness excitement wondered if he actually had.

Only time will tell if Coburn, Thompson and fellow third-day picks Chamarri Conner (a defensive back from Virginia Tech taken in the fourth round at No. 119 overall, and Nic Jones (a cornerback from Ball State selected in the seventh round at 250th overall) can help.

But it would be nothing new for the Chiefs, who last week introduced former fifth-round selection Dante Hall as the latest member of their Hall of Fame, if the Day 3 selections stick and contribute.

As Jones, the seventh-round pick on Saturday, put it, the Chiefs seem to “have a thing with” playing defensive backs they take late.

Among other positions.

Eleven of the last 12 players they’ve selected on the third day of the last three drafts still are with the team, among a dozen overall from the last four drafts.

Most notably, the group includes five Super Bowl LVII starters: L’Jarius Sneed (fourth round in 2020), Trey Smith (sixth round in 2021), Noah Gray (fifth round in 2021), Jaylen Watson (seventh round in 2022) and Isiah Pacheco (seventh round in 2022).

Yes, past performance is no guarantee of future results. And last year’s overall draft class, which earned 61 combined starts and produced four rookie Super Bowl starters (with first-rounders Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis joining Watson and Pacheco), was a sensation that will be nearly impossible to duplicate.

But the recent history under Veach, who in his previous assistant GM role relentlessly drove the movement that led to trading up to select Patrick Mahomes in 2017, also says that they’ll have a considerable chance to be in the mix instead of being mere afterthoughts obscured by the top picks.

For a notion of the depths to which the Chiefs have gone to build into that part of the draft, consider how they came to draft Watson last year.

“He was a guy that … we met at the (NFL) Combine, and we weren’t sure that this would be a great fit,” Veach said at a pre-draft news conference. “But we liked him and we wanted to bring him back in (to Kansas City to be evaluated). And … both my staff and the coaches kind of did a 180 on him.”

The group might not be the sizzle of the draft, particularly after all the theatrics that go with the first-round selections. But it’s a fine part of its substance … and may even some provide some sustenance once again for the Chiefs.