When a team takes a player with the 11th pick in the NFL draft, that team is usually hoping that player can step in and start immediately. But the Chiefs selected nose tackle Dontari Poe with the 11th pick in this year’s draft, and not only is Poe not currently a starter, he may not even be second string.
The Kansas City Star reports that the real competition at nose tackle in Chiefs camp is between Anthony Toribio, who’s currently the starter, and Jerrell Powe, a 2011 sixth-round pick who played in only one game as a rookie but has looked good in camp and recorded a sack in the preseason opener.
When Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel discussed his three nose tackles’ performances in the preseason game against the Cardinals, the best he could say for Poe is that his effort is good. But in the NFL, there are no points for effort, and when discussing actual production from the nose tackle position, it was Toribio and Powe whom Crennel mentioned.
“Toribio made some plays, which we liked,” Crennel said. “The young Poe, he’s still learning, and he gave good effort. He’s trying to learn to do the things the way we want them. He’s not there yet. And P-O-W-E . . . he got in there, he made a play. He’s improved from where he was last year. . . . It’s not a bad thing to have a couple or three guys to play the position, if they can do it.”
Crennel said before the preseason game that Poe needs a lot of work, and Poe’s first live action against another team confirmed that. Although Poe was perhaps the most impressive athlete at the Scouting Combine, he has a long way to go before he’s an impressive player on the field.