2023 NFL Draft: What Offensive Tackle Fits Chiefs In Round 1?

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We are just over a month away from the start of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs are always a difficult team to pinpoint for which prospects they may select early. In the first round, Kansas City loves to have the luxury of taking the best player available at that point in time. But in other instances, there is still a sense of fortifying another team need and hope of buttoning up a certain unit. One need that could make sense to fill in the 2023 NFL Draft is offensive tackle.

In free agency, the Chiefs lost their two starting offensive tackles from last season. Orlando Brown Jr. is now a Cincinnati Bengal. Whereas with Andrew Wylie, he followed former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to Washington to join the Commanders. Kansas City made a major addition of their own in free agency, signing former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor. Yet, the possibility of adding another offensive tackle still exists.

Could that happen in round one of the 2023 NFL Draft? If so, let’s look into the prospects that make the most sense for the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round. What are the top traits and most interesting facts about these players? Let’s kick it off.

Darnell Wright- Tennessee

As we get closer and closer to the 2023 NFL Draft actually happening, it feels like Darnell Wright may go earlier than some people expect. Thus, it could be a bit surprising if he is still in the range where Kansas City sits at the end of round one, assuming they stay there. Wright has experience playing both left tackle and right tackle in the SEC for the Tennessee Volunteers.

From a traits perspective, the top ones that stick out are Wright’s power at the point of attack, tenacious play style when he wants to be nasty and his hand technique in pass protection. Starting with that hand technique, Wright displayed noticeable patience on tape. He was able to win reps by not oversetting and being patient against opposing pass rushers. On the flip side, Wright can absolutely move defenders upfield with his natural strength in any instant. That power, mixed in with favorable length is crucial for someone like Wright.

With the Kansas City Chiefs, Darnell Wright would be an offensive tackle who could start at right tackle, if Taylor was indeed signed to play left tackle. He was a starter for all four seasons at Tennessee. Interestingly, he and current Chiefs right guard Trey Smith were once teammates in college. The fact that they have already played together is a fascinating tidbit entering the 2023 NFL Draft.

Dawand Jones- Ohio State

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Dawand Jones is blessed with one of the most tantalizing frames imaginable for an offensive lineman. At the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, he measured in at 6’8’’ and 374 pounds, with an arm length of 36 ⅜’’. If you want Patrick Mahomes to be protected by a brick wall, Dawand Jones is literally and figuratively providing that for any team that decides to draft him. Does he go in the first round? He has been seen as a fringe first-round pick, depending on where you look. With the Chiefs sitting at the end of round one, maybe he is the offensive tackle to go to Kansas City, if they go that position early.

Diving into the film, there is certainly an art to modifying your approach in pass protection, in order to keep opponents guessing. Jones did that a fair amount from series-to-series inside of games. For example, the Ohio State product will often take away a defender’s leverage by chopping down on their hands and taking away their balance. You may also see Jones attack with a sudden jab technique that allows his hands to remain free. Overall, there is a fair bit of physicality that Jones incorporated into his 2022 game. Add that in with his massive length, and Dawand is incredibly difficult to get around.

A fun fact about Jones, is that he had several Division I scholarship offers to play college basketball. With his size, that is probably not all that surprising. He averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game in high school basketball.

Anton Harrison- Oklahoma

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Once again, this is an offensive tackle that has seen his stock come in all over the place, depending on who you talk to. Anton Harrison has been a popular pick for the Chiefs in NFL mock drafts. In fact, both of our first two mock drafts at Full Press Coverage had Harrison going to Kansas City at the end of round one. For more on that, click here and here.

Possibly, one of the biggest reasons as to why some see him as a Chiefs fit, is due to the athleticism that Harrison offers. The movement skills and nimble feet were items that immediately stood out on his film. For instance, there appeared to be comfort from Harrison in both vertical and lateral pass sets. The angles that he took to counteract opposing pass rushers were crisp, while displaying subtle footwork, at the same time. His overall length (34 ⅛”) are exciting out on the edge as well. If anything, the strength and proper hand placement in pass protection are question marks from his tape.

With his experience at Oklahoma, Anton Harrison is used to playing in an offensive attack that is similar to Kansas City’s. The Sooners ran a fair bit of RPOs, executed with the quick passing game and play action pass game and ran an inside zone run scheme.

Matthew Bergeron- Syracuse

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Matthew Bergeron is probably more of a long shot to being a first-round pick, compared to these other names. Nevertheless, the film of the Syracuse blocker and his performance at the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl has caught some people’s attention even more. For what it is worth, it feels like if you miss out on any of Wright, Jones or Harrison from the second tier of offensive tackle prospects, Bergeron feels like the clear best name available.

From a traits standpoint, Bergeron really stood out with his athleticism and movement skills. His body control is extremely smooth when pulling, pivoting or working laterally. More importantly, his timing and range on his pass sets is always crisp. Bergeron appears to show off a great deal of awareness in pass sets, being able to fend off any style of pass rusher. If anything, his length and strength is modest entering the NFL.

A fun fact regarding Matthew Bergeron, he was ranked as the number two overall prospect in his recruiting class from Canada, according to ESPN.com. To boot, he was the first player in his high school’s history to receive an NCAA Division I football scholarship.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs 2023 NFL Draft articles and analysis in the coming days. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.