2011 SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: Round 1, Pick 21

Our annual 2011 NFL Mock Draft, with picks made by each of SB Nation’s NFL team bloggers, is in full swing. The latest pick in to the podium: the Kansas City Chiefs, at No. 21 overall.

Joel Thorman of ArrowheadPride.com explains the choice, and our own Dan Kadar reacts to it, after the jump. Make sure you’re grading this pick for the Chiefs, and checking out Arrowhead Pride for all of your Chiefs needs.

Joel Thorman explains: The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2010 draft focused on two things - speed and leadership. Chiefs GM Scott Pioli has said the team he inherited two years ago was one of the slowest teams he’s ever been a part of, so they focused on speed in a draft class full of team captains. This year, the Chiefs are going to focus on plugging holes, and there’s one sitting at nose tackle. Other nose tackle candidates, Ron Edwards and Shaun Smith, aren’t under contract for 2011, and reserve Anthony Toribio played just 65 snaps last year.

So the Chiefs need to find the future, and that will come with Phil Taylor out of Baylor. He’s big, strong and fills a need. The Chiefs worked him out privately and will bring him in for a visit as well, so they’re displaying interest in him and his arrival in Kansas City makes sense on a number of levels. There are other holes that the Chiefs may choose to address - outside linebacker, wide receiver and offensive tackle - but I don’t think Pioli finds what he’s looking for at the 21st pick with those positions.

Dan Kadar reacts: If there is an antithesis to speed and leadership, it’s Taylor. The mammoth run stuffer who was kicked off Penn State’s team would represent the exact opposite of what Piioli went after in 2010. A lot can change in a year, though. Instead of going best player available, the Chiefs now appear to have the luxury of filling holes. In their 3-4 defense, there is none bigger than nose tackle. This pick has been projected since the Senior Bowl for a reason. For Romeo Crennel’s defense to work, it requires a big nose tackle. In this draft, there is none better than Taylor. [Phil Taylor Scouting Report]