SI's Peter King has an interesting nugget in his Monday Morning Quarterback column today. He breaks down the risks involved with taking a safety high in the draft.
Eric Berry out of Tennessee is commonly associated with the Chiefs at the fifth pick in the draft. That's higher than a safety is generally drafted and King passes along a story from Chiefs GM Scott Pioli's good friend and former colleague, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff.
Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff calls the safety-at-the-top-of-the-draft debate a conundrum. "It's been on my mind a lot lately," he said, "and I realize I'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth here, but Berry's a really good player. It's been on my mind quite a bit recently. You want the good hitter with hip movement, able to turn and run, but then reality sets in.
I was talking to [Kansas City GM] Scott Pioli about Berry, and I said, 'Scott, this guy's your pick.' And he said, 'You know how I feel about safeties that early.' And I understand.''
The NFL draft is a time for smoke screens but if Pioli was telling the truth to Dimitroff, then Berry doesn't appear to be the Chiefs guy with the fifth pick.