KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The 2015 and 2016 drafts were important to the Kansas City Chiefs last season in winning their first AFC West title in six years. In 2015, they drafted five of last season’s regular starters, including cornerback Marcus Peters. They also found their best special teams player and another helpful reserve.

Last year’s draft wasn’t so solid in terms of quantity, at least not yet. But the Chiefs did acquire two players, defensive lineman Chris Jones and wide receiver/punt returner Tyreek Hill, who were excellent as rookies and should play big roles for another few years.

The Chiefs are set up for another productive draft this year, thanks in large part to last year’s losses in unrestricted free agency. According to overthecap.com, which does a great job projecting compensatory draft picks, the Chiefs will get four additional choices: a third-rounder for cornerback Sean Smith, a fifth-rounder for quarterback Chase Daniel and two sixth-rounders for offensive tackle Donald Stephenson and safety Tyvon Branch.

In addition to their own allotment of seven choices, that would give the Chiefs 11 picks. Eleven would be the most they’ve had since 2008, when they had 12.

The draft is a percentages game. The more picks a team has, the better it generally fares in the draft. It’s no coincidence the Chiefs had one of the best drafts in their history in 2008, when they found among others the best running back in franchise history in Jamaal Charles. It certainly helped that the Chiefs had two firsts and three thirds that year.

Having extra picks makes it easier for the Chiefs to trade up in a given round for a specific player, if they feel the need to do so. It also allows them to cover a lot of ground. There’s no harm, for instance, in drafting a developmental quarterback. The Chiefs should be able to draft a running back with speed, one who perhaps is the eventual replacement for Charles. They need to add some interior linemen into their mix this year because the contracts of last year’s starting guards, Zach Fulton and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, are up at the end of next season.

In general, the Chiefs should emerge from the draft with at least another couple of players of immediate impact. They should have better competition and depth at several positions.

If so, 2017 will be their third consecutive solid draft.