Favorite Picks, Hardest Paths and Biggest Surprises from KC Chiefs 2024 NFL Draft Class

The Kansas City Chiefs have earned positive grades for their 2024 NFL Draft, but which players have the hardest paths to playing time and what were KC's biggest surprises?

Oct 21, 2023; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars offensive lineman Kingsley Suamataia (78). / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 NFL Draft is complete, and the Kansas City Chiefs have received overwhelming praise for their picks here on Arrowhead Report on SI.com. Changing the parameters of the evaluation just a bit, what else can we learn about KC's draft class? Jordan Foote and I take a closer look at three categories from the draft weekend action: our favorite picks, the player with the hardest path to success, and our biggest surprises from the team.

Favorite pick from the Chiefs' 2024 NFL Draft class

Jordan Foote: The Kingsley Suamataia pick has to be my favorite. He's a player many (including myself in a pre-draft mock) thought made perfect sense at No. 32 overall. The Chiefs got him in the second round without having to execute a massive trade up the draft board, which is a big-time win. Betting on a young tackle with high-end athleticism and experience on both sides of the line — what's not to like about that? It wouldn't surprise me at all if we're here in 2028 talking about Suamataia getting ready for year No. 5, fresh off signing a new contract in KC. It's that solid of a pick.

Joshua Brisco: I would have happily argued for Suamataia as well, but, even though I really do love what the Chiefs did on Day 3, I'm going to take the most obvious selection available: I love that they answered their biggest question in the first round by selecting Xavier Worthy. The Chiefs could have cobbled together a "good enough" wide receiver room in 2024 with their current pieces, but Worthy adds another gear in '24 and reloads the room for the future.

Pick with the hardest path to success

Foote: I definitely could've gone for a different Day 3 pick, and it's ironic that I'm rolling with cornerback Kamal Hadden considering the Chiefs' success with cornerbacks late in the draft. Hadden's a little too aggressive at times and struggles with consistent tackling, though, which will need to be coached up. His raw talent in man coverage is legit, but it's hard to see an immediate role for him. With Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams ahead of him on the depth chart and players like Nazeeh Johnson, Chamarri Conner and Nic Jones factoring into the picture, he'll have his work cut out for him. There are even more players to mention here, which is a testament to how crowded the secondary picture is.

Brisco: I'm also going with a player and pick I really like for this category: TCU tight end Jared Wiley. Travis Kelce is the obvious star of KC's tight end group, Noah Gray is No. 2 entering his fourth year and recently signed free agent Irv Smith Jr. is the No. 3 unless Wiley can take playing time from the former 2019 second-round pick. Gray's first three years as a former fifth-round pick inform my mild concern for Wiley's expectations. Gray has been a good and useful player for the Chiefs in his second and third seasons. With that being said: Gray has 640 regular-season career receiving yards and four career touchdowns. He had seven catches for 36 yards as a rookie. Wiley is a fascinating prospect at tight end, but I'm prepared for him to be a multi-year project before he gets significant work due to the difficulty of being a productive tight end in Andy Reid's offense.

Biggest surprise from KC's draft

Foote: Just about anyone could've predicted Kansas City would address the offensive line at some point in the draft. If you called your shot on three linemen being taken, feel free to hit me with the winning lottery numbers for next week. The aforementioned Suamataia pick was a no-brainer andHunter Nourzad is viewed as a potential Nick Allegretti replacement. That much makes sense. Circling back and snagging C.J. Hanson in round seven with positions like running back and defensive tackle needing to be addressed was a shock, although it's still hard to disagree with the selection.

Brisco: My biggest surprise comes from the other side of the trenches: I was sure the Chiefs would draft someone who plays on the defensive line, potentially even with one of their first three picks. However, after bringing back a slew of their own veteran defensive tackles (and, of course, Chris Jones), they weren't desperate for bodies. At EDGE, KC solidified their group by bringing back Mike Danna and they'll ask 2023 first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah to take some snaps in '24. I expected a defensive line investment at some point in the draft, but since they weren't desperate along the D-line, they were able to double-down in the defensive secondary and triple-down on the O-line.

Read More: Kansas City Chiefs Draft Grades: Grading KC's 2024 Draft Class