Grading the New Chiefs: The Brandon Flowers Addition
I recently reviewed the Chiefs’ pick of Glenn Dorsey and Brandon Albert, both of whom were complete steals for the Chiefs. But while Dorsey and Albert slipped down a few spots, I would contend that Flowers was arguably drafted around ten picks later than he should have gone. Flowers could very well become the steal of the draft for the Chiefs.
Brandon Flowers most reminds me of… Troy Vincent. James Hasty. Tough, physical corners who weren’t necessarily blazers, but harassed the living daylights out of receivers they matched up against.
Flowers’ downside: Let’s start with Flowers’ obvious downside–he’s not particularly fast. In fact, his 4.55 time in the 40 is downright atrocious for a starting cornerback. That has to be a concern at the cornerback position, where Flowers will consistently match up against receivers, most of whom run within the 4.3 - 4.45 range on their 40 time.
Flowers’ upside: Like I said, I think Flowers may turn out to be an enormous steal for the Chiefs. I have always had a major issue with scouts who automatically drop corners or receivers from their board if they don’t run a sub 4.50 on their 40. It’s always been interesting to me that scouts are so quick to discount a good, physical corner who doesn’t run fast, but rave over the speedy corner who plays soft. Regardless of how fast Flowers is, he is a player. He knows how to play the position. While he’s not fast, because he’s so fluid, he can play fast and can close fast. He’s an extremely physical corner, which fits into Gunther Cunningham’s mold for an ideal cornerback. The great news is that the Chiefs need Flowers to play right away and he may arguably be the most NFL-ready of the entire draft class, because he’s so fundamentally sound.
Flowers’ Role on the Chiefs: Flowers isn’t a perfect match for every scheme. He does, however, fit perfectly into the Chiefs’ defense. Corners in a Tampa 2 defense don’t have to necessarily cover a lot of ground. Their main role is to do everything in their power to disrupt the timing of receivers’ routes and to be smart enough to operate within their zone. Flowers is perfect for that role. Furthermore, if speed is a concern for Flowers, it shouldn’t be in this defense. The Chiefs’ linebackers largely cover like cornerbacks. Demorrio Williams and Derrick Johnson have ridiculous speed that should allow Flowers to operate more within his zone, not to mention Jarrad Page, who is arguably quick enough to be a nickel back. Bernard Pollard could serve as somewhat of an obstacle, but that assumes that he isn’t going to lose his job to Dejuan Morgan and that very largely assumes that the extra help provided by the linebackers won’t compensate for Pollard’s lack of speed.
I hate acting like a homer. I hate blindly tooting players’ horns just because they’re Chiefs. But it’s very difficult to find any fault in the Dorsey pick, there’s so much upside potential for the Albert pick, and I believe that the Brandon Flowers pick could turn out to be the Chiefs’ greatest steal in this draft.
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9 Responses to “Grading the New Chiefs: The Brandon Flowers Addition”
May 6th, 2008 at 5:54 am
I love Flowers (wow, that sounds silly…) He will start against NE in Week One. However, I think Morgan may end up being the biggest steal in the draft. It will be interesting to see how he develops, but most “experts” had him as their first or second safety going in the early second round (37th overall) and we got him at 82. Carr could also be a HUGE steal in round 5…I’ll say this, our secondary, which in 2006 and 2007 was old and slow and a liability for the team is coming around and will soon be young and strong
May 6th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Jon stated the case very well and there’s no argument here on any of his analysis. I would only add that Flowers can flat lay the wood and seems to be both a sure and tackler with bad intentions in the mold of a Jack Tatum from years gone by?
There’s a lot to be said for having an intimidating tackler at the CB position and, in the tape I’ve seen, this may be Flowers’ best asset.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:53 am
PVChiefs, you have a great point. Not to mention that Morgan is going to be an outstanding special teams player. I’ll counter that point by saying that safeties are typically not first round values, so my main argument about Flowers is that we got first round talent in a later round. My second argument is that Morgan is raw and has some upside potential, whereas Flowers is NFL ready. So I think my main point was that Flowers is more of a sure-thing steal than Morgan is. Not to mention that Morgan has to take the job away from Pollard first (I’m not 100% convinced of that, unlike a lot of people I’ve talked to).
May 6th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I am just glad that we dont have Law playing 10 yards off of receivors and still getting beat. I still dont know how to rate Pollard and Page, it seemed like Page built his stats up only vs the Raiders.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
our first 6 picks are major steals!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I’ve watched a lot of highlight reels on Flowers and Morgan. I know highlight reels can make anybody look like a Pro-Bowl player, but these guys are very impressive. A lot of Flowers big plays came against weak competition, but his physicality cannot be argued. I love physical, press corners like this guy. Guys who get in the recievers face and make them work for it…and thats exactly what Flowers is.
As much as I like Flowers, I’m almost more excited about Morgan. This guy is a baller. Excellent ball skills, great in run support. He may not wrap people up well, but he can slow guys down enough to let a LB or DB clean up for him. Hopefully he will be able to learn to wrap up a little better, and if he does I can see him being a terrific safety for years to come. That said, its going to be hard to dethrone Page or Pollard. I love both those guys. Pollard is a hitting machine (which I love in a safety) and Page is a ballhawk.
These guys have potential to be good or great players for years to come. Lets hope they live up to it!
May 7th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Our safeties could very well be Page, Pollard, Morgan, and Brown, with Morgan and Pig playing a LOT of special teams, and rotating in with different packages…4 young safeties who will be Chiefs for a long time…excellent.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:41 am
I really love the things I’ve read about Carr and of course Bryan Johnston, but this Flowers pick really got me excited. I had been thinking KC might have to trade up into the late-1st to grab him, but thank heavens he fell to them. He doesn’t have world-class speed, but once he gets his hands on the receiver, it’s all over. That’s EXACTLY why the James Hasty comparison in this article is appropriate–a comparison I made before the draft, I might add. I’m really happy with it. I despise Carl Peterson and think Herm’s a bad coach, but cripes, they’re building up an excellent talent base for when Clark Hunt fires them both.
Morgan? Well, he could easily start. I think KC found four guys (Dorsey, Albert, Flowers, and Morgan) who’ll start by week four, barring injury, and several guys who could spot-start or even win a job outright by the end of the season (Carr at nickel, Franklin at WR, and Richarson at RG or RT). I like the future-focused potential of picks like Carr and Johnston, too. In fact, the only pick I thought was a real waste was Cottam, who can’t catch a cold but blocks well. I would’ve been happy if they had picked up Kirk Barton, Mackenzy Bernaudeau, or Marcus Monk instead of Merritt, but even if Merritt doesn’t stick, I’m still happier with this draft than any other I’ve seen KC have in recent history–even more than the Derrick Johnson draft.
May 16th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Cottam had very limited opportunities to catch at TENN, but watch the highlights…his hands are MUCH better than Jason Dunn’s or even Kris “2 yards” Wilson.
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