The Kansas City Chiefs drafted BoPete Keyes in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Brett Veach just couldn’t manage to go the whole draft without making a trade, sending a future sixth-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans to acquire the extra pick.
Here are three things to know about the Kansas City Chiefs’ newest cornerback:
It’s BoPete, not Thakarius
Legally, his name is Thakarius Keyes, but if you spot him on the street, don’t call him that. He goes by BoPete and claims that the nickname was given to him by his grandmother. He’s gone by that nickname ever since. He told reporters following the draft that, “Nobody calls me Thakarius unless they’re mad at me.”
He has already played for the Chiefs
Wait, Keyes was just draft in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. How could it be possible that he’s already played for the Chiefs? Well, it wasn’t our Kansas City Chiefs. It was the name of his Peewee football team. Take a look:
The universe works in mysterious ways, and now, it has brought Keyes to Kansas City.
His uncle happens to be a big Kansas City Chiefs fan
While Keyes already played for a team named the Chiefs, he also does have a connection to our Chiefs. When speaking with reporters following the draft, Keyes revealed that his uncle is a really big Chiefs fan. He also told them that something really cool happened on Friday.
“The pre-draft process, I talked to the Chiefs a lot,” Keyes said. “I had a feeling the Chiefs would potentially draft me. It really hit me when I got the call from the Chiefs because just last night, I was getting a haircut. My uncle is a big Chiefs fan, and I had the cape on. He put the big Kansas City Chiefs cape on me when I was getting a haircut, so when I got the call, that’s the only thing I could think about. (Kansas City) being the Super Bowl Champs, just made me hungry and ready to get to work.”
How about that? I bet Keyes will be getting his haircut while wearing that Chiefs cape a lot more often now.
He’s only really been playing football for six years
While Keyes did play peewee football, he got a late start playing it later in life. He was always a basketball player at Laurel High School in Laurel, Mississippi, but during his junior year he decided to join the football program. He says it was the greatest move he ever made.
“Just starting off in high school, I started playing my junior year. I ended up not playing my freshman and sophomore year. I think it was the greatest move that I ever did. Once I got on the field, it was a great experience. I began to get the exposure in junior college, and I knew soon I’d transition to
college. And just being a college player and learning more about college defenses and more about football, it shaped me into a better football player as well. I know that I got drafted in the seventh round, but I’m just ready to get on the field and do everything to show everyone that I can potentially be the best corner in the league soon.”
He sure isn’t lacking for confidence thinking that he can ultimately become the best corner in the NFL. That’s the type of fire you like to see out of a late-round draft pick.
