With the 11th pick of Pride of Detroit's 2012 NFL mock draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Alabama running back Trent Richardson. Mgoblue4ever is serving as the Chiefs' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.
It was a tough choice between Richardson and Boston College LB Luke Kuechly, but in the end, I went with the player who some mock drafts have going as high as fourth overall. The Chiefs learned first-hand last year how devastating an injury can be, as Jamaal Charles went down for the year. Richardson wouldn't be the pick if he didn't prove that he could still be effective while sharing carries with Mark Ingram while at Alabama. In 2010, Charles rushed for 1,467 yards while receiving 15 less carries than Thomas Jones. In Richardson, the Chiefs have their long-term complement to Charles. (And no, I don't believe Peyton Hillis is going to be that guy.) With competent receivers, additions to the offensive line and possibly the best group of RBs in the league, Matt Cassel will have no excuses in 2012.
The folks at Arrowhead Pride were almost unanimous in their desire for Stanford OG David DeCastro, but to my surprise, he went off the board at sixth overall. Pass rushers like Quinton Coples and Melvin Ingram were already off the board also, and the Chiefs aren't going to take the risk on Dontari Poe. Also, with the addition of Eric Winston, Riley Reiff didn't need to be considered. Lastly, I didn't think that Ryan Tannehill was much of an upgrade over Matt Cassel, and wherever Tannehill goes, he'll have to wait a year or two. So in the end, I made the decision to go with the sexy pick of Trent Richardson over the linebacker Luke Kuechly.
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Check out the 2012 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.
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