The Kansas City Chiefs added Tulane cornerback Thakarius Keyes to their draft class late on Saturday after trading back into the seventh round.
Kansas City reportedly gave up a sixth-round pick in the 2021 draft to add the Keyes pick.
Keyes, who goes by “BoPete,” played at a high level his senior season at Tulane, being named an All-American Athletic Conference honorable mention after tallying 47 tackles and an interception. While he only recorded one pass breakup his senior season, as a junior in 2018 he ranked second on the Tulane defense with 11 pass breakups.
He’s still a developing player, having only played football since his junior year in high school. He didn’t run the 40-yard dash at the combine, but he did record a 36-inch vertical jump.
In a profile for DraftRite.com, Keyes was praised for his abilities in press coverage as well as his ball skills. Potential downsides in the same profile include ebing overly aggressive in coverage as well as his tackling.
Technically, this is the second safety the Chiefs have drafted this year along with L’Jarius Sneed from Louisiana Tech. However, Sneed is expected to move back to his natural cornerback position in the NFL.
Keyes said he’s excited about playing with Tyrann Mathieu in Kansas City, while other Twitter reactions to the pick acknowledged the Chiefs building more depth in the secondary.
In order to select CB Thakarius Keyes with the 237 pick, the Chiefs traded next year's 6th-round pick to the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs knew CB was a priority. They addressed the position with Keyes & L’Jarius Sneed today. — Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) April 25, 2020
In order to select CB Thakarius Keyes with the 237 pick, the Chiefs traded next year's 6th-round pick to the Tennessee Titans.
The Chiefs knew CB was a priority. They addressed the position with Keyes & L’Jarius Sneed today.
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) April 25, 2020
Thakarius Keyes on what it'd be like to be a Chief when I talked to him at the Combine: "I would love to play with Tyrann Mathieu. He's kind of like a role model on the field and also how he is off the field." — Kent Swanson (@kent_swanson) April 25, 2020
Thakarius Keyes on what it'd be like to be a Chief when I talked to him at the Combine: "I would love to play with Tyrann Mathieu. He's kind of like a role model on the field and also how he is off the field."
— Kent Swanson (@kent_swanson) April 25, 2020
Thakarius Keyes is a Tier 2 cBat and he's got the second longest arms in the CB class. Length. Speed. Ball skills. Spags putting his mark on the class. — Craig Stout (@barleyhop) April 25, 2020
Thakarius Keyes is a Tier 2 cBat and he's got the second longest arms in the CB class.
Length. Speed. Ball skills. Spags putting his mark on the class.
— Craig Stout (@barleyhop) April 25, 2020
Chiefs obviously like this guy to trade up in the 7th round with just 17 picks left. They wanted him and didn't wanna risk losing him in the UDFA world. — Jake Lebahn (@JakeLebahn) April 25, 2020
Chiefs obviously like this guy to trade up in the 7th round with just 17 picks left. They wanted him and didn't wanna risk losing him in the UDFA world.
— Jake Lebahn (@JakeLebahn) April 25, 2020
This is now the fourth year in a row in which the Chiefs have made exactly six picks.
Click here to listen to BoPete Keyes’ introductory media session