Arrowhead Pride
Weighing in on the seventh-round pick that completed Kansas City’s 2024 draft class.
The Kansas City Chiefs have made their seventh-round selection!
The Chiefs took Holy Cross guard C.J. Hanson with the 248th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. We have insta-grades from the three members of the Arrowhead Pride Draft Team.
Rocky: Hanson is pretty athletic for his size and fundamentally sound. He has good hand placement and is not going to be caught out of position often. I’m sure the Chiefs liked that he was a team captain. He has 38 starts under his belt at right guard. Holy Cross plays a run-heavy scheme, so playing as much pass protection as the Chiefs play might take some adjustment. He also needs to add girth and strength, as he lacks the power needed to hold up against NFL interior pass rushers. Since he played at a small school, he also has to prove that he is up to a big jump in the level of play. Still, this late in the draft, he was worth a swing.
Still, I might have gone somewhere else with this pick — maybe by taking a flier on another playmaker like Frank Gore Jr.
Grade: C+
Caleb: The Chiefs continued their onslaught of offensive line draft picks by taking the Holy Cross standout. Hanson is a versatile player with the ability to play multiple positions along the offensive line. His athletic testing was impressive; it showed a player with the explosion needed to play at the NFL level.
Hanson was a nasty finisher for Holy Cross, and his quickness and lateral movement ability make him a good fit for the Chiefs' pass protection schemes. He also has the movement skills needed to operate in the Chiefs' screen looks and the team’s outside zone scheme.
He will need to adjust to the speed and strength of the NFL game — and he will need to continue to improve if he wants a chance to make the Chiefs 53-man roster. At the very minimum, he is another quality depth piece for Kansas City’s offensive line.
Grade: B
Jared: Undrafted free agent negotiations have been happening for hours. The Chiefs likely wanted Hanson in camp, only to find that he had agreed to terms with another team as a UDFA. It is unlikely that a player available with the 248th selection was one of the 221 players reported to be on the Chiefs’ draft board.
Offseason offensive line depth began the day as the Chiefs’ biggest need. Now they have added two more players to the room. Still, I would have gone a different direction with the Chiefs’ final pick. Unlike the earlier selection of Hunter Nourzad — with experience at multiple positions — Hanson was limited to right guard at Holy Cross. With arms that barely exceed 32 inches and no apparent experience as a snapper, he will likely be limited to the guard positions at the next level.
I don’t...
