Here’s Most Fascinating Reason Chiefs Should Still Draft Love

Andy Reid, as legend has it, once convinced Mike Holmgren to use a play Reid got from a Lambeau Field custodian. The Packers turned it into a touchdown.

So, don’t be so quick to rule out the Chiefs drafting Jeremiyah Love simply because they signed Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker last month. After all, the Chicago Bulls drafted a guard named Michael Jordan in 1984 even though they had Quintin Dailey, Ennis Whatley and Mitchell Wiggins.

“If he starts to get toward 7,” draft expert Daniel Jeremiah said on Friday’s edition of the Pat McAfee Show, “I would think you might even get some phone calls, you know, from some teams. I know Kansas City already signed Walker but, I mean, this guy paired up with Kenneth Walker, Kansas City would be pretty insane.”

Insane as in sensationally explosive, not insane as in absolutely crazy. Most would see the Chiefs in the latter light should Brett Veach trade up to take Love.

A year ago, James Gladstone gave away most of Jacksonville’s farm to move up and draft Travis Hunter with the second-overall pick. The Jaguars general manager justified the move by telling the world he just drafted a first-round wide receiver and a first-round cornerback.

And along those lines, here’s why the Chiefs drafting Love – even trading up to draft the Notre Dame running back – isn’t foolish or unhinged.

The Chiefs would play Love as a wide receiver

Of course they’d also line him up at running back but, similar to Hunter in Jacksonville, they’d be drafting a multi-position player -- a wide receiver and running back in one. Another team could have Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson or Makai Lemon; the Chiefs would get a player in Love more valuable than any of those three. And think of the possibilities in Reid’s creative brain.

Any scout would testify, Love was an elite pass-catcher at Notre Dame, one of the best hybrid running backs in recent college memory.

Dangerous in passing game

He made a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch against Texas A&M. In the first half against Arkansas, he posted two touchdown catches and two rushing touchdowns. Plus, he finished last year with 1.84 yards per route run (280 yards on 152 routes). According to analyst CJ Freel, that figure ranked fifth among 57 power-conference backs with at least 20 targets.

Brett Veach said last week that the Chiefs plan to see what they have in Walker as a pass-catcher. But that certainly wasn’t his strength in Seattle. The Seahawks routinely took him off the field in passing situations, favoring Zach Charbonnet and even George Holani. Love would serve as an obvious complement.

Love also would obviously serve as a starter should Walker’s injury history creep into his time with the Chiefs.

And along with Brashard Smith, a wide receiver who converted to running back, the Chiefs would have Love, a running back who could line up as a wide receiver. Smith during most games last year went through warmups with the Chiefs' wide receivers, not running backs.

Reid is a 68-year-old grandfather in his 28th year as an NFL head coach. But don't believe he wouldn't be in Veach's ear to trade some of that lucrative capital the Chiefs have over the next two years to move up to get Love on April 23.