It has been a decade since the Kansas City Chiefs selected Chris Jones with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has since become one of the best defensive players in the team’s history.
However, it has emerged that some within the organisation favoured a different direction at the time.
Nkemdiche Initially Had More Support
While there was agreement that defensive line help was needed, opinions differed on the player. The choice came down to Jones and Robert Nkemdiche. Nkemdiche initially had the votes, according to a recent piece from ESPN’s Nate Taylor.
Ryne Nutt, current Chiefs vice president of player personnel, recalled the events. At the time, he was an area scout. The Kansas City draft room included owner Clark Hunt, head coach Andy Reid, then-general manager John Dorsey, and several future high-level executives.
These executives included Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts GM), Ryan Poles (Chicago Bears GM), Mike Borgonzi (Tennessee Titans GM), Brandt Tilis (Carolina Panthers VP of football operations), and Brett Veach, who replaced Dorsey as the Chiefs’ GM in 2017.
How the Chiefs Traded Down
The Chiefs originally held the No. 28 overall pick in the first round. They felt that Chris Jones and Robert Nkemdiche were both within reach.
Nutt recalled that he personally preferred Jones. However, that was not the overall preference in the room.
Nutt said that it came down to Jones and Robert Nkemdiche, adding, “I don’t want to go through who said what, but it was a pretty heavy consensus of [people wanting] Robert Nkemdiche.
Dorsey then traded the team’s first-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers to secure more overall picks. The Chiefs traded their first- and seventh-round selections (28th, 249th overall) to the Niners. In exchange, they received second-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections (37th,105th, 178th overall).
Nkemdiche’s Uneventful NFL Career
The Arizona Cardinals selected Nkemdiche at No. 29 overall near the end of Round 1. He appeared in just 27 games for the Cardinals over three seasons, starting only six of them.
He played just two games in 2019 for the Miami Dolphins, missed the entire 2020 season, and then played nine games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2021. He then signed with the Niners in 2022 at the start of training camp but was cut after just three weeks. He played in 38 total games.