There’s only one thing more worthless than a mock draft.

That’s grading the NFL teams on their draft choices within 24 hours after the draft is finished.

The Chiefs have enjoyed plenty of attention this week for their 2008 Draft class that has drawn rave reviews from all the pundits. A+, A, A-; the lowest grade I’ve seen is a B+. The Chiefs Dozen is on the top of everybody’s list, even though they haven’t made a tackle, caught a pass or blocked a man.

What does all this mean? Not a thing. If you are Carl Peterson-Herm Edwards-Bill Kuharich it’s great to hear nice things about the job that got done. But more than anyone, that trio knows the grades are coming from those who really don’t know. It’s about as valid as the poor grade they got last year, when they drafted Dwayne Bowe in the first round and were hit with grades like C and D.

I decided to touch base with somebody that would know. He’s an old-friend, a guy that put a lot of time in draft rooms over the years. He’s semi-retired now, doing some college and pro scouting in the fall. He’s called in by one of his old employers every spring to help with evaluation and preparation for the Draft. He wanted to remain anonymous and we granted his wish.

“Let me get back to you,” he said when I called. “I really didn’t pay attention to the Chiefs, so let me go back and walkthrough what they did.”

A day later he was on the phone.

“There’s one word to describe what they did,” the old scout said. “They got value. Almost every single pick was a value pick. Based on our board, they didn’t reach. Maybe (Brad) Cottam at tight end. They probably could have gotten him in the fourth round because of his injury history. But considering what they were looking for in a blocking tight end, the guy fits.”

Value: in the NFL Draft that means drafting players at spots below where they have been evaluated. For instance, a guy is a first-round talent, but doesn’t go until the second round. That’s a value pick. More than any Draft in recent years, that’s what the Chiefs got done.

That’s certainly what the Chiefs got done with their second-round choice of Brandon Flowers.

“We had our corners as (Leodis) McKelvin, (Aqib) Talib, (Dominique) Rodgers-Cromartie and then Flowers,” my guy said. “We had him rated right around 25.”

The Chiefs drafted him at No. 35.

One proviso here: every team’s board is going to vary. One team may value a certain physical characteristic more than another team. One team may put more emphasis on the so-called intangibles than another. It’s not often that any one team has exclusive information on a player that will severely affect his ranking. When all is said and done, it’s doubtful a player’s position on 32 boards will vary more than a half-dozen to 10 spots.

My guy said the best value hit of the draft for the Chiefs was third-round RB Jamaal Charles; the Chiefs grabbed him with the 73rd pick.

“He was our third back, behind (Darren) McFadden and (Rashard) Mendenhall,” he said. “We had him right around No. 35.

“S (DaJuan) Morgan was a second-rounder on our board. (The Chiefs got him in the third round.) We had T (Barry) Richardson in the late fourth-early fifth round area. They got him in the sixth. That’s a good pick. They coach that kid up and he could be a right tackle in your starting lineup.”

So do the Chiefs deserve an A grade?

“Any time you get the best defensive player in the draft and an offensive lineman like (Branden) Albert in the first 15 picks of the draft, you are going to get noticed,” my guy said.

“See me in December.”

December?

“See me at the end of the season when Herm and his staff have gotten these guys on the field,” he said. “Everybody says it takes three years, five years to judge. I think Herm and those guys will know much sooner. There are always developmentals, guys like DE (Brian) Johnston. That’s a seventh-rounder. That’s down the road.

“They’ll know about the top guys pretty quick if they get on the field.”