2019 NFL mock draft: Hakeem Butler can be a rare weapon for the Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a team that has been gutted pretty deeply this offseason. Gone are pass rushers Dee Ford and Justin Houston. Cornerback Steven Nelson signed with Pittsburgh and center Mitch Morse is off to Buffalo. Fan favorite safety Eric Berry is gone too and still looking for work. Arguably no team in the NFL has shed more talent than Kansas City this offseason.

Hope is not lost, though. After all, the Chiefs still have wunderkind MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and with him they’ll always have a chance. That chance will only increase if the Chiefs add even more weapons for Mahomes.

In the SB Nation NFL writers’ mock draft, Kent Swanson from Arrowhead Pride finds a rare receiver for Mahomes.

Swanson: Another mock draft, another board that falls terribly for the Kansas City Chiefs. Scenarios similar to this have been occurring a lot lately and it could not go worse for the Chiefs. We’ve played around with scenarios where we would select Florida safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, but there’s value in Round 2 at the position that we’d prefer. Ideally, the Chiefs would look to trade up to acquire a player at a position of need. If the board fell this way, we’d look to move up for Rashan Gary, Byron Murphy, Greedy Williams, or Jeffery Simmons. Unfortunately, that wasn’t available in the exercise, so we’re adding a skill player earlier than we’d prefer.

Hakeem Butler has one of the highest ceilings in the class at the wide receiver position. He boasts some of the more impressive catches in the entire group. His rare athletic profile and large catch radius would make for a fun addition to the arsenal of weapons Mahomes has at his disposal.

Analysis: It’s a bit unusual a trade *up* could be desired by Kansas City, as most prefer to trade down and accumulate picks. But a team like the Chiefs, who are squarely in Super Bowl contention right now, could strike a deal to land the player they need. But if they don’t trade up, sitting at No. 29 and getting a receiver like Butler is interesting.

The Chiefs should have plenty of options at wide receiver here if that’s the position wanted. Marquise Brown of Oklahoma is a little too similar to Tyreek Hill stylistically. A.J. Brown of Ole Miss played more slot in college and is a bigger projection than some other receivers. Butler is a 6’5 high-jumping vertical target. The thought of Mahomes delivering strange off-platform throws to him is mind-warping.

At 3 p.m. ET we’ll reach the 30s in the SB Nation NFL writers’ mock draft with Jason B. Hirschhorn of Acme Packing Company making the second first-round choice for the Green Bay Packers.