NFL Draft: Kansas City Chiefs select TCU offensive tackle Lucas Niang
With the 96th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected offensive Lucas Niang out of TCU. As the selection for the Chiefs, Niang will add depth to the offensive line.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound lineman brings first-round talent to a third-round pick but Niang suffered injuries in college that raised questions about his health.
Arrowhead Report's Joshua Brisco has been left somewhat frustrated by this draft, and this pick was no exception, as cornerback Bryce Hall was left on the board.
With Bryce Hall on the board, this is going to leave a lot of people frustrated. ...Including me. I am frustrated. I understand that the Chiefs want to add another offensive lineman to develop behind Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, and Niang is a physical beast with good flexibility, but you probably won't see him in 2020 unless he competes inside at guard earlier on, which GM Brett Veach did mention as a possibility. It's a pick for the future, which I fully accept in the grand scheme of things. Even with Niang as a likely value at this spot, it's just a bit of a disappointment when the cornerback group has seen no additions through two days.
Additionally, Arrowhead Report’s Jordan Foote broke down the pick and the value of taking Niang at 96th overall.
TCU's Lucas Niang projects to be a future starter for the Chiefs. With cornerback talent like Virginia's Bryce Hall still on the board at pick No. 96, though, taking a lineman is a difficult pill to swallow for many. Brett Veach has been on record hammering home the fact that building beyond 2020 is important, and that's exactly what he did with this pick. Niang's overall film profile and athletic ability make him a good value pick, even if fans were hoping for someone else. A wait-and-see approach should yield a positive outcome as Niang develops with the Chiefs.
Bill Huber of PackerCentral talked about Niang and his injury history, causing him to miss a part of last season.
Niang missed the second half of his senior season with a hip injury that required surgery. Niang didn’t test at the Scouting Combine but planned to at TCU’s pro day; alas, the pandemic wiped out pro days. “I tore my hip going into fall camp junior year, 2018,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “Played through it. Found out it was torn in the offseason. I didn't want to get surgery so I tried to figure that out. I just played as long as I could play. … I’m damn nearly fully healthy. I've been sprinting.”
The Chiefs will have picks 138 and 177 tomorrow in rounds four and five, respectively, to round out the draft.
