KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fox Sports' Peter Schrager, ESPN's Mel Kiper and NFL Network's Mike Mayock all agree on one thing:
The Chiefs will not take a quarterback with their first overall pick.
Of course, the Chiefs almost certainly will draft at least one, perhaps two quarterbacks, in later rounds.
So, which ones make the most sense for coach Andy Reid's system?
Mayock, in a teleconference call Monday, said quarterbacks such as Matt Barkley (USC), Ryan Nassib (Syracuse), Tyler Wilson (Arkansas) and Landry Jones (Oklahoma) make sense for Reid's system.
West Virginia's Geno Smith, arguably the top-rated quarterback in the draft, likely will be gone by the time the Chiefs pick at No. 34.
"(Barkley) is a guy that as a junior at USC looked so much different than he did this year," Mayock said. "I think to be fair to him and also to be honest with you, with Landry Jones and Tyler Wilson, I think all three of those guys you have to go back and watch junior tape.
"Matt Barkley makes a lot of sense. So I think Barkley fits what (Reid) does. I think Ryan Nassib fits what he does. I think Landry Jones and Tyler Wilson both can fit what he does.
"So of those, that group of guys of the top seven, eight quarterbacks, I think those are the guys that did it most efficiently."
Mayock did suggest that Barkley could be gone in the first round.
What the Chiefs then need to find is the next level of quarterback prospect whom is rising up the charts in the same manner as Ryan Tannehill did last year.
"You look at Mike Glennon of North Carolina State," Mayock said. "(You look at) his arm talent, his consistency -- he takes too long to deliver the football. He makes bad decisions. He makes bad throws. But the arm talent is there. So during this process, are people going to fall in love with him?
"Ryan Nassib is the guy that people are going to like a lot just because he kind of reminds me a little bit of the ascension of Kurt Cousins last year, and the ascension Andy Dalton the year before. They were smart and tough. And the more the coaches get involved, they see the kid's work ethic and how much he understands the game. They're going to start to trust (Nassib). And with coaches, trust is a big thing. It is work ethic and trust.
"And teams are going to trust Ryan Nassib. And I think teams are going to trust Sean Renfree from Duke who is off the boards. He might be a fifth round pick, but he's got a work ethic like a Petyon Manning and Matt Ryan."
Interestingly, in Schrager's most recent mock draft, he doesn't even have Smith as the top quarterback selected. Schrager's top quarterback pick is someone not even among those Mayock mentioned as a possibility for the Chiefs – Florida State's E.J. Manuel.
Schrager has Manuel going at No. 7 to Arizona, and Smith going at No. 8 to Buffalo.
"By the time we're done with the combine, I think EJ Manuel will leap over Smith, as well as Barkley, Tyler Bray and Ryan Nassib on everybody's big board," Schrager writes. "… Manuel has the height, the athleticism, the experience and the leadership to be a great quarterback in this league."
Mayock disagrees.
"The way I categorize this group (of quarterbacks) is that there is nobody -- there is not even one guy you would bang the table for in the first round," he said. "But then there are a whole bunch of guys after that where you're saying how do they sit and how much do I trust them?
"The Nassib kid, people are going to trust. Outside of that, it's going to be hard to figure."
