The Pick is Poe!

With the 11^th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft the Kansas City Chiefs select…..Dontari Poe Defensive Tackle Memphis.

The Junior from Memphis stands 6’4” and weighs in at 346 pounds. Poe is a mountain of a man and had incredibly impressive combine numbers including a 4.98 second forty yard dash and 44 repetitions of the bench press. Dontari puts the POE in Potential, but unfortunately that is all he is, potential. He had substandard numbers during his time at The University of Memphis, totaling 22 tackles and 1 sack his senior year. He never stood out, he never dominated a game the way his athletic ability would lead you to believe he did. He was selected to 2^nd team all conference for Conference USA. This is a conference with teams like Rice, Tulane, and UTEP to name a few. To his credit he was never used the same way in consecutive seasons, having multiple defensive coordinators in his 3 years at Memphis.   

I mentioned the combine numbers, which were nearly identical to what Haloti Ngata’s were coming out of Oregon. I can’t speak for all of you, but if Poe can channel his inner Ngata, he was a steal at #11. Ngata is one of the best defensive linemen in all of football, regardless of defensive scheme. If there is a defensive coordinator that can get this type of ability and production out of Poe it is Romeo Crennel, which just happens to be the Chiefs Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. If Poe is to succeed he came to the right place to start his development.

I will be honest, when this pick was made, I wasn’t too excited about it. I am still not too excited about it, but it can’t be argued that NT is a huge need on this team and Poe carries the most ability to fill that hole. I am 100% confident in Pioli and his scouting department and I am sure they have done all the homework necessary to ensure that this is the right pick. Pair that with Crennel’s ability to coach the defense and you have the recipe for success.

Now it is just time for Crennel to work his magic.

-J