Chiefs Address Receiver, Safety and Defensive Line in Day Two of NFL Draft

The Kansas City Chiefs traded up five spots in the second round to select wide receiver Mecole Hardman with the 56th overall pick Friday night, giving the team some insurance given the uncertainty surrounding suspended star Tyreek Hill.

Hardman, who starred at Georgia, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds, making the comparisons to the speedy Hill obvious. Hardman not only has the ability to beat defenses deep, he averaged 20.1 yards on punt returns, giving him value in another phase of the game.

Hill has been suspended from all team activities as the Chiefs and local prosecutors investigate his role in an alleged child abuse case inside his home. Audio surfaced his week in which Hill and his fiancee, Crystal Espinal, discuss an injury to their 3-year-old son.

The Chiefs traded their fifth-round pick to the Rams to move up in the second round.

The Chiefs had the 63rd pick in the second round and took Juan Thornhill, a super athletic safety form Virginia.

Thornhill had one of the best combine workouts of all the safeties as he showed out in the vertical and broad jump. Virginia’s Juan Thornhill is a versatile safety with  very good ball skills as he had 13 interceptions in his career. He has played both safety spots and spent two years as a cornerback.

Expect Thornhill to join Mathieu, Watts and Sorenson for the safeties heading into the season.

The final selection for the Chiefs came at pick 84 in the third round and they took defensive tackle Khalen Saunders from Western Illinois. The big man stands at 6-0 and 324 pounds and is a run stuffing lineman.

Saunders will join Nnadi, Williams, Hamilton and Jones as the defensive tackles on the team.