Steelers Rookie Reveals Chiefs Nearly Drafted Him Over Promising Prospect

With pick No. 250 in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs selected Ball State cornerback Nic Jones to round out this year’s draft class. But had the Chiefs gone in a different direction with that pick, a Pittsburgh Steelers rookie claimed he could have been selected by Kansas City.

During an interview on the “Three Point Stance” podcast, Steelers 2023 seventh-round pick, offensive tackle Spencer Anderson, went into detail regarding his conversation with the Chiefs leading up to their final selection in the draft.

“When we were getting towards the final round of the draft, the phones start picking up more and more,” Anderson said on the June 22 episode. “Teams start reaching out, the 49ers, the Ravens, whoever it was. I had no clue that I was going to go to Pittsburgh. I was on the phone with Kansas City and I remember that Kansas City had the pick right before the Steelers. Kansas City had told me they were going to with me or a DB. If their DB went off the board, they were going to go with me. I remember, I was on the phone with Andy Reid, I was talking to him. He was just like, ‘Sit tight.’ And I was like, ‘Cool.’”

Anderson said one or two defensive backs were drafted leading up to pick 250, which made him think he was going to be drafted by the defending Super Bowl champions. That was until the Chiefs took Jones at pick 250 and the Steelers selected Anderson with the 251st pick.

“I was still supposed to be staying on the phone with Andy Reid,” Anderson continued. “He’s like, ‘You’re a heck of a player.’ And all of that stuff… and then I got a call from (Steelers general manager) Omar (Khan)… He put me on the phone with Coach Tomlin. He was like, ‘Hey, man, versatility is your calling card, so we’re going to go ahead and submit you with our next pick.’”

Chiefs Addressed Offensive Tackle After Draft

Though the Chiefs opted to select Nic Jones — who has earned rave reviews and could surprise at the NFL level — with pick 250, the team took care of their offensive tackle depth after the draft by adding some talent to the top of the depth chart through free agency.

On May 3, the Chiefs signed veteran offensive tackle Donovan Smith to a one-year deal worth up to $9 million according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.

Donovan Smith an 8-Year Starter For Buccaneers

Donovan Smith, 30, entered the NFL as a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015. Over the last eight seasons he was a full-time starter in Tampa Bay and surrendered 41 sacks in 124 career regular season starts according to PFF. In seven playoff games, one of which was the Super Bowl LV victory over the Chiefs, Smith surrendered 3 total sacks (none of which were against Kansas City).

During the 2022 season, Smith gave up a total of 31 pressures (18 QB hurries, 7 QB hits, 6 sacks) in 13 regular season starts. He also had the second-most penalties called on him among all NFL offensive linemen (12), according to Football Database. Those penalties were for offensive holding (7), false start (4), and illegal use of hands (1).

It’s also worth mentioning that Smith suffered an elbow injury during Week 1 of the 2022 regular season and played through it for the remainder of the season. He also dealt with a foot injury late in the season.

If Smith can stay healthy, he can be a serviceable starter for Kansas City at left tackle during the 2023 season. That will allow offseason addition Jawaan Taylor to remain at right tackle, which will give the offensive line stability at every position.