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The Kansas City Chiefs selected offensive lineman Parker Ehinger with the first of their three picks in the fourth round of this year's 2016 NFL Draft.
Ehinger spent time playing right tackle, right guard and left tackle at the University of Cincinnati, the same alma mater of Chiefs tight end and fan favorite Travis Kelce.
Ehinger actually had an opportunity to play with Kelce during his redshirt freshman season at Cincinnati in 2012, so Kelce was happy to hear that his pro team drafted the O-lineman.
"That's my guy," Kelce said of Ehinger back in early May. "I spent an entire year and a half of just being with that guy and communicating with him every single play, and it's one of those things where in college, you bond so well off the field just because you're around each other all the time. That's one of my brothers from UC."
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Photo highlights of Parker Ehinger
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COLLEGE REVIEW
Courtesy of Lance Zierlein of NFL.com:
(Read full write-up***here***)
"Junior quarterback Gunner Kiel and his talented receivers made the headlines throughout the 2015 season, but Ehinger was a major reason for the team's success. He was a Freshman All-American in 2012, mostly starting at right tackle using his height and length. Ehinger moved to right guard for the team's bowl game that year and stayed there for two years, moving defenders in the run game and protecting the quarterback. He moved to left tackle for his senior year, using his strength and wide base effectively in pass protection - earning his second straight first-team All-American Athletic Conference nod."
HOW HE FITS
Ehinger is one of three rookies on a young offensive line roster. Ehinger did see time with veteran starters on the O-line during offseason workouts but publically acknowledged that nothing is determined quite yet.
"The starting five isn't decided in OTAs," he said. "We have a lot of football to be played. Just going through this, it will kind of be a cool experience playing next to Fish, playing next to Mitch – learning from some older guys. They've been good mentors to me. Just a cool experience right now."
Chiefs Offensive Linemen
#
Name
Ht.
Wt.
Age
Exp.
College
77
Devey, Jordan
6-6
320
28
2
Memphis
76
Duvernay-Tardif, Laurent
6-5
321
25
3
McGill (Canada)
79
Ehinger, Parker
6-6
310
23
R
Cincinnati
62
Feigt, Curtis
6-7
314
26
0
West Virginia
72
Fisher, Eric
6-7
315
25
4
Central Michigan
69
Fragel, Reid
6-8
308
25
1
Ohio State
73
Fulton, Zach
6-5
316
24
3
Tennessee
65
Mayweather, Garrick
6-2
319
21
R
Fordham
61
Morse, Mitch
6-6
305
24
2
Missouri
64
Munyer, Daniel
6-1
305
24
1
Colorado
68
Nowak, Drew
6-3
292
26
3
Western Michigan
60
Pughsley, Jarrod
6-4
310
25
1
Akron
75
Reid, Jah
6-7
325
27
6
Central Florida
71
Schwartz, Mitchell
6-5
320
27
5
California
74
Sterup, Zach
6-9
318
24
R
Nebraska
2016 OUTLOOK
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been consistent during the past three years in saying that he will play the "five best offensive linemen," and as we have seen with Mitch Morse and Zach Fulton, it's possible to break into the lineup as a rookie. That remains to be seen for Ehinger.
"He's a good football player," Morse said of Ehinger during offseason workouts in June. "He's a great guy – fits right into the offensive line. He's going to make some mistakes. That's just part of the nature of the beast, but we're here to pick him up. He's really good at moving on to the next play. It shows maturity and that he's played a lot of football and that's really important and exciting to see. He's a great guy and we're looking forward to what he can contribute this year."
