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Dontari Poe | Defensive Lineman

Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Age / DOB:  (22) / 8/18/1990
Ht / Wt:  6'4' / 346
College: Memphis
Contract: view contract details
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Recent News

Chiefs rookie NT Dontari Poe is expected to make his first start of the preseason in Thursday's finale.
Starter Anthony Toribio is dealing with an ankle injury. "He’s making progress," coach Romeo Crennel said of Poe. "But he’s still that rookie who reverts back to what he knows at times, and he forgets to remember how we want to do it. ... He’s a conscientious student, and he will get it corrected." Incredibly raw for a first-round pick, Poe could be limited to nickel packages as a rookie. Tue, Aug 28, 2012 11:01:00 AM
Source: Kansas City Star

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Player News

Date:
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

No. 11 overall pick NT Dontari Poe is currently running with the third-stringers.

Poe is behind former undrafted free agent Anthony Toribio and 2011 sixth-rounder Jerrell Powe. "The young Poe, he's still learning, and he gave good effort," coach Romeo Crennel said following the preseason opener. "He's trying to learn to do the things the way we want them. He's not there yet."
Related: Anthony Toribio, Jerrell Powe
Source: Kansas City Star
Wed, Aug 15, 2012 09:50:00 AM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

Chiefs first-round pick Dontari Poe has practiced as only a nickel defender so far in training camp.

Coach Romeo Crennel says Poe is a major project. "A lot," Crennel said when asked what Poe must improve. "He needs to work on technique, he needs to work on understanding the system, he needs to get the calls correct all the time. He’s got a ways to go." Anthony Toribio is working as the starting nose tackle.
Source: Kansas City Star
Wed, Aug 8, 2012 07:56:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

Chiefs signed No. 11 overall pick NT Dontari Poe to a four-year contract.

The sides were reportedly "not close" Wednesday, but made up ground quickly with training camp beginning on Thursday. After taking first-team reps in offseason practices, the freakishly athletic Poe is expected to open the season as the Chiefs' starting nose tackle.
Source: Profootballtalk on NBC Sports
Thu, Jul 26, 2012 01:14:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

The Chiefs and first-round DT Dontari Poe were "not close" to a contract as of Tuesday afternoon, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Poe, the 11th overall pick in the draft, is likely seeking a fully-guaranteed deal without offset language. But the No. 10 overall pick, Stephon Gilmore, signed a deal with offset clauses. As PFT's Mike Florio points out, Poe's reputation as a "workout warrior" and "boom-or-bust" player makes that language take on greater importance.
Source: Arrowhead Pride
Wed, Jul 25, 2012 08:17:00 AM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

First-round pick Dontari Poe has been inserted as the Chiefs' starting nose tackle at OTA practices.

Though Poe was considered developmental coming out of Memphis, the Chiefs didn't invest the 11th pick in the draft on a bench warmer. Poe is already working ahead of Amon Gordon and Jerrell Powe, including for third-down packages. Poe is bound to be rough around the edges early in his rookie year, but he has dominant potential. He'll team with LE Tyson Jackson and RE Glenn Dorsey to make up a formidable 3-4 line.
Source: Joe Looney on Twitter
Thu, May 24, 2012 01:03:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

The Chiefs rejected a pair of offers to trade down in order to select NT Dontari Poe at No. 11 overall.

"We felt that (Dontari) was the right player for us," GM Scott Pioli said. "We didn't want to move too far away from him and risk the chance of not being able to get him." Pioli chalks up Poe's lack of college production to too many games against shotgun offenses. "At least 49 percent of his snaps were literally plays that could not be deemed plays that would allow him to have production," explained Pioli.
Source: KCChiefs.com
Fri, Apr 27, 2012 11:26:00 AM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

Chiefs selected Memphis NT Dontari Poe with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

Kansas City had a vacancy at nose tackle following Kelly Gregg's retirement. A physical freak at 6'4" and 346 pounds, Poe blew the doors off the Combine with a 4.87 forty, 1.70 10-yard split, and 44 reps on the bench. Poe's game tape tells a different story, however, as he often disappeared due to poor technique and an inconsistent motor. The draft's first boom-or-bust pick, Poe could emerge as a dominant force in the middle of Romeo Crennel's 3-4 defense or fall flat along the likes of former first-rounders Ryan Sims or Jimmy Kennedy.
Thu, Apr 26, 2012 09:05:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

According to Sporting News' Russ Lande, "many teams" are comparing Memphis NT Dontari Poe to former top-six draft bust Ryan Sims.

Sims, the sixth pick in the 2002 draft by Kansas City, did well to play nine years in the NFL, spending three as a starter and struggling. Per Lande, Poe's draft stock is "plummeting" after NFL teams went back to watch his tape following a mammoth Combine performance. We're skeptical he'll go in the first round.
Source: Sporting News
Fri, Apr 20, 2012 02:58:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said that he's looking to use the No. 9 overall pick on a player that will "help us right away."

These comments suggest that the Panthers are not interested in Memphis NT Dontari Poe. Poe certainly has a ton of upside, but he's a raw project that will need some time to develop. ESPN's Pat Yasinskas suggests Mississippi DT Fletcher Cox and Boston College LB Luke Kuechly as more polished possibilities.
Related: Panthers
Source: ESPN.com
Fri, Apr 20, 2012 02:37:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

According to SI's Peter King, Memphis NT Dontari Poe is drawing the "widest disparity of opinion" of any potential early first-round pick.

King spoke with an "AFC personnel man" who compared Poe to Ravens DT Haloti Ngata, but says he heard more comments like "the guy just disappears in games." Despite Poe's underwhelming college production, King still believes one of the Combine's biggest stars will go "somewhere soon" after the Chiefs at No. 11, perhaps to the Jets at No. 16. SI's Tony Pauline recently reported Poe was the "apple of (the Cowboys') eyes" at No. 14.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 10:08:00 AM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

A source tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the Cowboys have not scheduled a pre-draft visit with Memphis NT Dontari Poe because they "don't want to draw attention to him."

This info comes two days after SI's Tony Pauline reported Poe was the "apple of (the Cowboys') eyes at the No. 14 overall pick. Per beat reporter Clarence Hill, the Cowboys "like him a lot but don’t want to draw attention to him." Hill also notes that every player Dallas has picked first since 2005 has visited Valley Ranch before the draft. In 2005, DeMarcus Ware didn't visit.
Related: Cowboys
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Wed, Apr 4, 2012 10:23:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

SI.com draft analyst Tony Pauline reports that Memphis NT Dontari Poe is the "apple of (the Cowboys') eyes" at the No. 14 overall pick.

It's worth noting Pauline was all over the Cowboys' interest in CB Brandon Carr during Combine week. Pauline reports that Dallas looked "heavily" at Georgia G/T Cordy Glenn in Indianapolis, but has now "shifted its focus" to the defensive line, targeting Poe. In Dallas, the developmental Poe could be brought along slowly as a run-stuffing nose behind Pro Bowl starter Jay Ratliff.
Related: Cowboys
Source: TFY Draft Insider
Mon, Apr 2, 2012 02:35:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

One NFL personnel executive told the Trenton Times that Memphis NT Dontari Poe is sure to be "overdrafted" based on size and athleticism, but "didn't do anything" in games.

"He did all of that at the Combine, so some team will take him way higher than he should go," said the club exec. "I mean watch him play, just watch. He didn’t do anything. And he wasn’t playing at a very high level (Conference USA), either." Poe's tape isn't as good as his projected draft status, but NFL coaches will be enamored with his upside. He still projects as a top-15 pick.
Source: Trenton Times
Sun, Apr 1, 2012 02:40:00 PM
Dontari Poe - DL - Chiefs

Acknowledging that free agent moves have left Stanford OG David DeCastro as an unlikelihood at No. 14 overall, Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones added that he's "impressed" with Memphis DT Dontari Poe.

The Cowboys are likely to go defense in the first round, with Poe and CB Dre Kirkpatrick or pass rusher Courtney Upshaw as possibilities. "I'm real impressed," Jones said of Poe. "I'm particularly impressed cause he looks like a nose and has the skill and has some pass rush about him at the five technique ... He looks good."
Related: Cowboys, David DeCastro
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Tue, Mar 27, 2012 08:58:00 PM

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3RB1Jamaal Charles
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FB1Anthony Sherman
2Braden Wilson
WR11Dwayne Bowe
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4Terrance Copper
5Mardy Gilyard
WR21Donnie Avery
2Jon Baldwin
3Devon Wylie
4Josh Bellamy
5Junior Hemingway
WR31Dexter McCluster
TE1Anthony Fasano
2Tony Moeaki
3Travis Kelce
4Kevin Brock
5Demetrius Harris
K1Ryan Succop