The 2025 NFL draft has wrapped up, and that means it’s time for NFL analysts and experts to put in their two cents about each team’s picks and why there were good or bad choices. The Kansas City Chiefs have been getting some praise for their 2025 draft picks, with Chad Reuter of the NFL giving the team an A- for their overall picks. He notes that the team’s first pick, Josh Simmons, at No. 32, “will be an excellent pick at a major position of need for the Chiefs, if he’s able to return to form after recovering from the knee injury that shortened his 2024 season.”
While Simmons is getting a lot of attention, it’s not just the first-rounders who are important. Looking at the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 draft choices, one lower profile player is drawing some positive feedback.
Kansas City Chiefs Pick Could Be a Sleeper Winner
Brent Sobleski discusses each of the NFL team’s best value selection in the 2025 draft in a May 2 feature for Bleacher Report. “Each organization has a philosophical approach that will vary, thus creating a prism in how it views prospects,” he stated in the piece. “Once team needs, medical reports and interviews are added to the mix, a front office’s approach will vary greatly.”
So, what makes a great value pick? It’s about what these guys can deliver at a low cost. “While looking at some of the biggest value selections of the draft, they can often be found at a devalued positions, specifically running back, which featured a strong position class this year,” Sobleski stated. “A couple of other teams benefit from contemporaries not being as high on the quarterback class.”
For the Chiefs, Sobleski loves linebacker Jeffrey Bassa of Oregon. In the piece, he notes that the Chiefs are one of those organizations that often gets a lot of praise for their draft picks, because they just know what they’re doing. He adds that this year, of course, “general manager Brett Veach did a stupendous job checking off need areas while adding quality talent in nearly every round.”
“Among another strong draft class, Oregon linebacker Jeffrey Bassa stands out the most,” Sobleski added. “As the team’s fifth-round draft pick, Bassa brings something different to a table as a fluid linebacker who’s at his best when working in space.”
He added, “His skill set aligns well and complements fellow Kansas City linebackers Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, who turns 30 before the start of the season, and Leo Chenal.”
New Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker is a Winner
Bassa’s scouting report from the NFL also has some positive words for the linebacker, calling him a “weak-side linebacker prospect who played inside at Oregon to get the best athletes on the field.”
“He’s a little bit mechanical as a run defender and will flow downhill before properly diagnosing, but he keeps himself clean using his hands to separate,” the scouting report adds. “He needs to pursue with better leverage to prevent overflow, but he does what is needed to get involved with the play. He’s capable on passing downs, with man-cover talent and an ability to attack the pocket as a blitzer.”