Kansas City Chiefs DEFY Tradition by Drafting R Mason Thomas—Why BREAK the Mold?

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4.6 • 993 Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2026

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kansas City Chiefs surprise fans with the selection of edge rusher R Mason Thomas at No. 40 in the NFL Draft. Does this pick signal a shift in Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive philosophy? Chris Clark breaks down Thomas’s fit, questioning whether the Chiefs are moving away from their usual edge prototype and prioritizing speed over size. The discussion contrasts Thomas’s profile with that of T.J. Parker and explores how these choices could reshape Kansas City’s pass rush. Key topics include the Chiefs’ draft focus on defense, Peter Woods’s impact on the defensive line, and how recent picks could complement stars like Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. Chris Clark also speculates on potential veteran additions like Mike Danna or Cameron Jordan, and weighs the likelihood of targeting wide receiver or tight end in later rounds. Will the Chiefs’ new-look defense set the tone for a championship run?

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Kansas City Chiefs had taken edge, R. Mason Thomas, with the 40th overall pick.
0:04.8	From the land of the free and the home of the Chiefs, this is the Locked On Chiefs podcast.
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0:45.0	I will admit, this one's a little surprising to me.
0:48.7	Kansas City continues to go defense and they go edge rusher are Mason Thomas from Oklahoma.
0:56.9	Now, the reason that this one's surprising to me is because he's not really somebody
1:01.1	that you would generally think is this bag's guy.
1:03.5	Is it somebody that can step in and play in this defense?
1:07.0	Sure, I'm not saying he can't, but you go look at what they have generally drafted before, before, and the style that they go for.
1:15.2	This is more Josh Ushay in at least the arm size and the weight versus who they have generally tried to go for in the past.
1:24.4	And a guy like maybe T.J.er that got taken by the bills i believe at
1:27.9	35 so a little surprising that they went this direction not that i don't like the pick it's just a little bit
1:34.1	different than what i would expect them to do and i wonder if after looking at what they did last night
1:39.1	with peter woods who has sub 32 inch arms as well and has shorter arms for a defensive tackle than most
1:45.6	would say that Spags would go after.
	...

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