Defensive line is arguably the Chiefs’ biggest need coming into draft day.

This year’s defensive line class is one of the best in recent history, with talented players from top to bottom. The Chiefs will be heading into 2025 desperately looking to add some serious help for superstar defensive lineman Chris Jones. Kansas City will likely look to add a run stuffer, maybe even two in this year’s class, and today I took a look at their potential options.

First Rounders: Kenneth Grant, Walter Nolen, Mason Graham, Derick Harmon, Tyleik Williams

The top of the defensive tackle class is maybe the best of any position group in the draft, with at least five guys I think should be taken in the first round. There is a nice variety of talent in this year’s class, with guys like Kenneth Grant and Tyleik Williams being athletic beasts with massive frames, or someone like Walter Nolen, who is a smaller but quicker player on the interior.

Picking at 31, I would love to see any of these five names in a Chiefs uniform going into 2025, with Kenneth Grant sitting at the top of my list. Ideally, I would love to see the Chiefs go get a big anchor for their run defense and eat up blocks to allow Chris Jones to get more freedom. Kenneth Grant (as well as several others) fit this profile and would have a significant day one impact in Kansas City.

Others in Top 100: Omarr Norman-Lott, Alfred Collins, Shemar Turner, Jordan Phillips, Jamaree Caldwell, Joshua Farmer

Day two of the draft has a lot of talented options for the Chiefs. If they elect to go another direction in the first round, they could look to add one of these guys, who could also have a significant early impact.

What separates many of these guys from the top tier of first-round prospects is simply a lack of polish and consistency. There are several incredible athletes with good frames and impressive movement skills that will set them up for success. They all have the potential to be productive and skilled NFL players, but will need some work to find consistency and earn a role in the NFL.

Omarr Norman-Lott and Shemar Turner are electric pass rushers with burst and quickness at the line of scrimmage. Alfred Collins is a solid nose tackle who proved to have some pass rush upside this season after his best season at Texas. Caldwell, Phillips, and Farmer are all stocky defensive tackles who have a strong base and move incredibly well for their size.

The Chiefs have three picks on day two, one in the second round and two in the third, any of which could be used on one of these guys. Even if Kansas City elects to go with a defensive tackle in the first round, I would love to see them go get one of these guys as a depth option on the interior.

Fourth and Fifth Rounds: JJ Pegues, TJ Sanders, CJ West, Deone Walker, Ty Robinson, Darius Alexander, Nazir Stackhouse

This year’s draft has a lot of depth, and while I am not in love with the guys that will likely be available early in day three, there are some intriguing names.

JJ Pegues is at the top of my list and is a prospect that is very interesting, but has a ways to go before he is able to maximize his potential. Pegues came to Ole Miss as a tight end prospect, but converted to the defensive line early in his college career. He also has played some fullback at Ole Miss, something I think the Chiefs could value.

CJ West showed off an impressive skillset at the combine, showing off some of the most speed and quickness in the draft, while still coming in at 315 pounds. Deone Walker has measurements for days, but he has a weird play style and will need a lot of development in the NFL. Darius Alexander has gotten a lot of praise, and I love his athletic ability, but he needs more consistency to be a quality player in the NFL.

Guys like TJ Sanders, Ty Robinson, and Nazir Stackhouse have relatively polished techniques, but their lack of athletic upside hurts their stock. These are guys I think can be role players in the NFL day one, but their ceiling is limited, pushing them down a lot of draft boards. If the Chiefs take a defensive lineman early, one of these guys could provide potential depth.

Others Worth Mentioning: Cam Horsley, Rylie Mills, Tim Smith, Zeek Biggers, Tommy Akingbesote, Cam Jackson

Most of these names are guys who are likely to be late-round picks or potentially fall out of the draft. The Chiefs have been able to develop guys like Turk Wharton and Malik Herring as UDFAs in the past, and these are some guys I think could interest the Chiefs this year.

Zeek Biggers and Cam Jackson are massive men who have the potential to be very good nose tackles in the NFL, but are raw with their technique and use of leverage. The Chiefs could be interested in the idea of working with them and their potential upside to stuff the run from the interior.

Tim Smith is a veteran guy who has played a lot of football at Alabama and could be a good depth addition late in the draft with one of their seventh-round picks. Akingbesote, Horsley, and Mills are guys I like who I think can provide good depth and have special talent that would allow them to be quality rotation linemen in the NFL.

Final Thoughts

When the Chiefs inevitably draft a defensive tackle this season, this is the list of guys I think they will consider and the general spots where I think they should be drafted. The defensive line is maybe the best position group in the draft, and the Chiefs will almost certainly take one, if not two, guys on the interior this weekend.

Almost all of these guys could provide day one impact for the Chiefs, as well as depth on the interior going forward. If you are wondering who the Chiefs may be interested in, look no further than the guys on this list, as I can all but guarantee that one or two of them will be wearing red in 2025.