No. 5

Pick by Arrowhead Pride Sedrick Ellis Defensive Tackle Southern California

Rounding out the top five picks of the 2008 SB Nation NFL Mock Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC.  Chris, head blogger at SB Nation's Chiefs blog, Arrowhead Pride, explains the selection of Ellis:

  The Kansas City Chiefs' brass will most certainly be sweating out the first four picks of the 2008 NFL Draft, waiting to see if the premiere tackle from Michigan, Jake Long, will be taken before the Chiefs pick. No worries though, Chiefs fans. With no Jake Long available, the Chiefs will still be able to fill a gaping hole in their defensive line with USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis.

The Chiefs have a pair of young stars on the ends of the defensive line in NFL sack leader Jared Allen and 2006 first round pick Tamba Hali. Despite the defensive prowess and aggressiveness exhibited by these two ends, the Chiefs ended 2007 with the 28th ranked rush defense. Kansas City was gashed by their opponent's run game as last season wound down, giving up 890 yards rushing in their last five games. Another major factor in this pick is the lack of development of the Chiefs' second and third round picks from a year ago, defensive tackle Tank Tyler and defensive end/tackle Turk McBride. Both are major question marks for a young franchise moving into a new era. The Chiefs also released free agent defensive tackle Jimmy Wilkerson this off season, who wound up in Tampa Bay. Sedrick Ellis appears to be an instant power at the defensive tackle position. And let's face it - the Chiefs will win games based on defense, not offense, over the next couple of years.

The New York Giants won the Super Bowl partly on the strength of a stout defensive line.  And despite me thinking the Giants don't have a true "system" to follow, the power of a strong defensive line is obviously not to be underestimated. Sedrick Ellis combines with Jared Allen and Tamba Hali to catapult the Chiefs' defensive line into one of the league's best in 2008.

Matt Miller, host of this site as well as owner of New Era Scouting, provides his analysis below:

  It should not be a huge surprise that Sedrick Ellis is off the board before Glenn Dorsey, but we are mildly entertained. The Chiefs spent a second round pick last year on Tank Tyler, and a third on Turk McBride, but it looks like the GM isn't buying in to their potential.

Adding Ellis really solidifies the KC line, though. Ellis will team with the tandem of McBride and Tyler, anchoring the middle with edge rushers Jared Allen and Tamba Hali around them. This should help the defense in many ways, allowing their young linebackers to make plays and taking pressure off of a below average secondary.

This is a good pick for the Chiefs, as it fills a key need with great value.

Grade: B+ ::  Sedrick Ellis Scouting Report - New Era Scouting :: Matt Miller's Top Five Prospects Remaining - 1. DT Glenn Dorsey, 2. QB Matt Ryan, 3. CB Leodis McKelvin, 4. OT Ryan Clady, 5. LB Keith Rivers

That does it for the first five picks in this mock draft.  Please note that along the left sidebar on this blog's home page, you can track all of the picks made to date.  We'll be back tomorrow morning with the sixth pick, that of the New York Jets.  SB Nation's newest NFL blogger, Mack Rosenberg of NY Landing Strip, will be making the pick and is now officially on the clock.