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Once again, the Kansas City Chiefs will likely draft toward the end of the first round next season. Still, the Chiefs 2023 NFL draft will be important as the team continues to build with youth entering the second phase of Patrick Mahomes’ career.
With a young and talented offense, the Chiefs prospects to watch this college football season are mostly on the defensive side of the ball. Here are three of the top Chiefs NFL prospects fans must follow in 2023.
NFL Draft prospects Chiefs fans must watch
3. Henry To'oTo'o, ILB, Alabama
In the last Chiefs NFL draft, the team bulked up their defensive line with Purdue DE George Karalaftis and their secondary with Trent McDuffie. That means that the middle level of the defense could use a boost in the next draft.
The possible Chiefs prospect to watch here is Alabama linebacker Henry To'oTo'o.
In addition to having an awesome name, To'oTo'o is a versatile, sideline-to-sideline backer who ranked in the top 30 in FBS tackles last season with 107. In addition to being a sure tackler, the 6-foot-2, 228-pound Califonia native is an apt blitzer as well.
While watching this Chiefs prospect play for the Crimson Tide this season, fans should watch whether he improves his overall strength moving through traffic and his coverage ability. If he can start to stay with tight ends and running backs better this season, he could become a middle-of-the-defense stalwart for some NFL team, possibly in the Chiefs NFL draft class in 2023.
2. DE Ali Gaye, LSU
Kansas City can save over $20 million next season by cutting defensive end Frank Clark. So even though the team used a first-round pick in 2022 on George Karalaftis, a pass-rusher is still on the table for the Chiefs 2023 NFL draft.
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The potential Chiefs prospect to watch here is LSU edge-rusher Ali Gaye. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound end is from the Gambia and didn’t start playing football until eighth grade after he came to the United States. This means that even at 23, he is still raw.
Despite the lack of polish, the physical tools Gaye has makes him a serious Chiefs prospect. He only had 2.5 sacks in 2021 because of an injury, but that is all the more reason for Chiefs fans to keep an eye on him this season.
If he continues to improve and learns how to utilize his physical gifts on the football field, he could be the perfect partner on the KC D-line for Karalaftis for the next decade.
1. S Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame
One of the biggest losses for the Chiefs this offseason was safety Tyrann Mathieu. We’ll see how well Deon Bush, Juan Thornhill, and Justin Reid man the position this season, but the next Chiefs NFL draft will likely include a player at the position either way.
Brandon Joseph isn’t Kyle Hamilton, but he has skills that Hamilton doesn’t, too.
Joseph is a ball hawk with incredible instincts. He has nine interceptions in the last two seasons and can play in multiple defensive alignments and even cover slot receivers and tight ends when needed.
He has good size at 6-foot-1, and 192 pounds as well. In fact, when watching Joseph at Notre Dame this college football season, Chiefs fans should squint real hard and see if he looks like an oversized Honey Badger to you.
