Chiefs trade back, pick WR Skyy Moore in second round
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs traded back four spots and took Western Michigan wide receiver Skyy Moore in the second round of the NFL draft Friday night, giving quarterback Patrick Mahomes a potential replacement for Tyreek Hill.
The Chiefs sent the No. 50 pick to the Patriots to move back to No. 54 and pick up an additional selection midway through the fifth round. But in a coincidence, three of the next four teams also selected wide receivers: New England moved up to take Tyquan Thornton, Pittsburgh drafted George Pickens and Indianapolis picked Alec Pierce.
That left the Chiefs with Moore, whose 5-foot-10 frame, 4.41 time in the 40-yard dash and burst off the line will remind some fans of Hill, the three-time All-Pro that Kansas City shipped to Miami for a package of draft picks earlier in the offseason.
Moore was the seventh wide receiver taken in the first 22 picks of the second round and the 13th taken in the draft.
He played quarterback and defensive back in high school before moving to wide receiver at Western Michigan, where he became an immediate star. Despite never having played the position, Moore started 12 of 13 games as a freshman and had 53 catches for 802 yards with three touchdowns, and then improved those numbers each of the next two seasons.
He wound up catching 95 passes for 1,292 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Broncos last season.
The Chiefs began to replace the production of Hill in free agency, signing former Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and former Packers deep threat Marquez Valdes-Scantling. But the shifty, slippery Moore offers a different dynamic in the wide receiver room, giving Mahomes another target who has the ability to make things happen after the catch.
The Chiefs have another second-round pick at No. 62 along with the 103rd pick in the third round later Friday night. They now have fourth- and fifth-rounders Saturday along with four picks in the seventh round.
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