To keep their chances of continuing the dynasty strong, the Kansas City Chiefs needed to have a good draft, and they did. When you constantly draft well and have to end up giving all of your homegrown players second contracts that are pretty hefty, your only option is to continue drafting well.

The Chiefs have done that for some time now, and the thought is that we will soon be able to throw this class in there with the likes of the 2022 Draft Class — maybe not to that level, but near the same level. The Chiefs just don’t miss as often as other teams when it comes to drafting. And honestly, there is already proof of that in one of their Day 3 picks.

Jeffrey Bassa has the potential to be a very good football player in the NFL. He also has a high floor, meaning that at his lowest in the NFL, he could be a rotational LB at least. The Chiefs love what they see in him, and they love his IQ. Being smart is not something every prospect has. With what the Chiefs need, Bassa is smart in all the right areas.

The fifth-round pick played a bit of safety in college before switching to linebacker. And that will only help him in the NFL, especially when it comes to IQ and communication.

“The main way it helps me out is knowing what my DBs are doing in the back end, right? So sometimes the communication may be different compared to a linebacker’s communication from his job standpoint, right? So when, when it comes to knowing when my safety is rotating or knowing what kind of coverage we really want to show in the back end, right, I kind of have, like, a second sense of, okay, now, if the safeties are doing this, now I can do this,” Bassa said earlier this week.

“But then, as well as when it comes to coverage ability, obviously, have been matched up on running backs and tight ends and then running with receivers as well as that’s something that, you know, is not a mismatch for me as it would be for some people. So all good in that area.”

But when you’re a defensive coordinator like Steve Spagnuolo is, you like players that can do it all, or at least have some flexibility and versatility to their game. Think about guys like Drue Tranquill, a few years ago, when they signed him, a safety turned linebacker, they really needed a guy who could cover. They got that.

Then, when injuries happened, he had to play with the ball a bit, too. He did that. Bassa, of course, has that flexibility and versatility. That’s what they need, and they may even need that from him in 2025.

“I take a lot of pride in that [coverage skills],” Bassa continued. “Take a lot of pride in, you know, being that guy where, you know, people can say, Jeff, we need you. We need somebody to cover this tight end on, you know, third down or first and second down whenever that situation does come. So I do take a lot of pride in that.”

Right now, it feels like Bassa is slotted in right behind Nick Bolton, Tranquill, Leo Chenal, and Cam Jones. It feels like whichever spot opens up quicker, whether it’s due to injury or just winning a position battle in training camp, is where he will see the field at first. That could mean playing on-ball or off-ball.

Whatever it is, and whenever that is, Bassa seems ready for the challenge.