Chiefs hope 2 draft picks’ speed will be game-changer

ST. JOSEPH, MO. — The fastest member of the Kansas City Chiefs was drafted in the fifth round a couple of years ago.

Second-fastest? He went in the sixth last spring.

Now, if defensive back Tremon Smith can perform anything like Tyreek Hill when he steps onto the field for the Chiefs’ preseason opener against Houston on Thursday night, general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid will have hit on something special at a position of tremendous need.

“I’m curious to see how he does in the games,” Reid acknowledged. “He’s a talented kid.”

There are more similarities between Smith and Hill than just their draft stock.

Both were taken from small schools, though their routes there were very different. Smith was an overlooked-if-undervalued quarterback coming out of high school who landed at Central Arkansas because bigger schools were unwilling to give him a chance, while Hill began his career at Oklahoma State before a domestic violence incident landed him at West Alabama.

Both are dynamic special teams players. Smith has turned enough heads in camp that he could be the starting kick returner, while Hill remains one of the top punt returners in the league.

Then there’s that speed — that world-class, can’tcatch-me speed that terrifies opposing coaches.

“He’s a cheetah, so we can’t even compare. I stay in my line,” Smith said with a smile and a shake of his head. “Maybe I’m a lion; a lion is pretty fast. Of course it’s not a cheetah, but I’m a little heavier. Lion is more dangerous though.”

The numbers bear it out. When Hill was preparing for the 2016 draft, he ran a 4.24-second 40-yard dash at his college pro day. Smith was clocked at 4.38 at his pro day in March.

Either way, that’s some serious speed. The popular Madden video game even acknowledged Hill’s wheels this year when it granted him a 98 on its 1-to-100 scale for speed, making him the league’s fastest player.

“Only 98? I mean, I’m happy being the fastest, but I feel like I was supposed to have 100,” Hill said. “Devin Hester had 100, and I’m faster than Devin Hester.”

Speaking of Hester, the longtime Bears special teams dynamo, he’s one of several players Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub has been showing Smith on video. Toub also tutored Hester in Chicago and thinks Smith has the instincts and, yes, topend speed to have a similar impact.

“Tremon, he’s really coming on as a corner, but we’re also developing him as a kick returner,” Toub said. “The way he catches the ball and gets to the top speed so fast, it’s pretty impressive.”

The Chiefs were taking a flier on Smith by selecting him in the sixth round, clearly reasoning his speed alone made him a worthwhile gamble. But he’s also turned some heads on defense, working his way into the mix with the second team at a position that could be crucial to Kansas City’s success.

The Chiefs are breaking in all new starters at that position, and while David Amerson, Kendall Fuller and Steven Nelson are the front-runners, it could be hard to keep Smith off the field.

“I think he’s going to be a really interesting guy there,” defensive coordinator Bob Sutton said.