The Kansas City Chiefs were going with the best player available in the 7th round and that’s why they chose Michael Allen.  Allen played at Whitworth College in Oregon so he didn’t play against the best competition in the world.  He’s a big guy at 6′6″, 252 pounds and he runs a 4.76 40 so he has some skills to work with.  He is a really good receiver despite not having breakaway speed.  Allen will need to get stronger as he’s a weak run blocker despite his good size.  Allen played in 38 games at Whitworth (29 starts) and he caught 118 passes for 2,202 yards (18.7 avg) with 29 TD receptions.  Allen will likely be a project as he won’t get much playing time for a couple of seasons.  But he could be worth the wait as long as he can handle the jump in competition.

Herbert Taylor was a solid pick this late in the draft for the Chiefs.  Taylor started all 49 games at TCU in college.  His first three season he played at right tackle but he started at left tackle as a senior.  He is 6′4″, 296 pounds so he could add a little more bulk to his frame.  Taylor is a good pass blocker and he’s good on screens and sweeps as he can hit a moving target.  Taylor needs to develop a mean streak if he’s going to make it in the NFL as he is a little bit too much of a finesse blocker.  But a mean streak is definately something that can be added to a player.

After watching Lawrence Tynes miss a chip shot field goal in the playoffs against the Colts the Chiefs felt they needed to improve on special teams.  For that reason they selected placekicker Justin Medlock from UCLA.  The 5′11″, 201 pound Medlock has outstanding leg strength and he should be a huge upgrade on Tynes.  He played in 49 games at UCLA and he made 70 of 88 (79.5%) of his field goal attempts.  Medlock was also very accurate on long kicks as he hit 31 of 42 (73.8%) on 40+ yard field goal attempts and he made 6 of 9 (66.7%) on kicks of 50+ yards.  Medlock also nailed 147 of 148 extra points.  This was an excellent pick by the Chiefs.

The Chiefs figured that they might need a running back to help spell Larry Johnson a little more in 2007 so that’s why they selected Kolby Smith.  Smith was never a featured back in college but he was highly productive.  He stands at 5′11″, 214 pounds and he runs a 4.56 40 so he has good physical skills.  In 45 games at Louisville (13 starts), Smith carried the football 316 times for 1,863 yards (5.9 ypc) with 18 TD runs.  He also caught 56 passes for 581 yards (10.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for Smith to push Michael Bennett for carries behind Larry Johnson in 2007.

Finally, the Chiefs and Dolphins have pulled the trigger on this long rumored deal.  The Chiefs will receive a 5th round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft unless Green plays in 70% or more of the Dolphins offensive plays in which the pick would jump up to a 4th rounder.  That is pretty good value for a 36 year old QB that might not have much left in the tank. 

The Chiefs plan to go with Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard.  Croyle has the early lead on being the starting QB for the Chiefs.  He only played in 2 games last season for the Chiefs and he only completed 3 of 7 (42.9%) passes for 23 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 interceptions (11.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 3 times for -3 yards (-1.0 ypc).  It will be interesting to see if Croyle can win the job and hold onto it.  He had injury problems at Alabama so the offensive line will have to protect him well if he’s to have any chance to succeed.

Damon Huard deserves this to be an open competition after how well he played last season.  In 10 games last season (8 starts), Huard completed 148 of 244 passes (60.7%) for 1,878 yards with 11 TD passes and 1 interception (98.0 QB Rating).  He also ran the ball 9 times for 9 yards (1.0 ypc).  One has to wonder if Huard’s performance last season was a fluke or not as he’s never played that much in his 10 year career.  He has played in 48 games (14 starts) and he’s completed 318 of 533 (59.7%) for 3,569 yards with 20 TD passes and 9 interceptions (85.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 39 times for 136 yards (3.5 ypc).  The one thing that Huard does have going for him is that it appears that he has a lot of tread left on his tires.  He’s 33 years old but his body hasn’t taken too much wear and tear.