Kansas City Chiefs address future needs with fourth-round draft picks Jared Wiley, Jaden Hicks
The Kansas City Chiefs stood pat and made both their picks in the fourth round after trading up on Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2024 NFL draft. This time around, Brett Veach let the draft board do the talking and selected who he felt were the best players available. He didn't give way […]
The Kansas City Chiefs stood pat and made both their picks in the fourth round after trading up on Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2024 NFL draft.
This time around, Brett Veach let the draft board do the talking and selected who he felt were the best players available. He didn't give way to need as he did in the first two picks, but there might been some emphasis on positional value and future needs. Both positions could have some vacancies to fill as early as the 2025 NFL season.
Round 4, Pick No. 131: TCU TE Jared Wiley
Whether we want to admit it or not, it's time to start thinking about life after Travis Kelce. The Chiefs did a ton of work on this tight end class and Wiley is the one they're coming away with and it's easy to see why. At 6-foot-6 and 249 pounds, he's an explosive athlete for his size. He ran a 4.62s 40-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and that type of speed shows up often when you turn on the tape.
During the past two seasons at TCU, he put up over 70 catches for 765 yards and 12 touchdowns. Eight of those touchdowns came in 2023, when he led the FBS in touchdowns by a tight end. Wiley is best suited as a middle-of-the-field pass-catching weapon for Kansas City, but he has some upside to develop into a good blocker, too.
Round 4, Pick No. 133: Washington State S Jaden Hicks
I considered the safety position fairly low on the list of needs for the Chiefs, but Justin Reid is set to become a free agent in 2025. The folks at KCSN rated Hicks as the third-best safety in the 2024 NFL draft, which is extreme value at pick No. 133. At just 21 years old, he follows the "youth" theme of this draft. He fits the role of a safety who can play close to the line of scrimmage as box safety or nickel corner. At 6-foot-2 and 211 pounds, he has good size for the position as well. He's seen plenty of success as a blitzer and tone-setting presence when attacking downhill.
In the past two seasons at Washington State, he appeared in 25 games, recording 155 total tackles, eight tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions, including a pick-six, also 10 passes defended, one forced fumble, and a fumble recovered returned for a touchdown. There is a special teams upside to this pick as well, but he admittedly didn't play much ST for the Cougars.
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