Griffin Wong previews and breaks down everything you need to know about the Kansas City Chiefs heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ dynasty took a hiatus in 2025. After winning the Super Bowl in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons and losing the Super Bowl in 2024, Kansas City finished just 6-11, ending its 10-season playoff streak. To add insult to injury, Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL in Week 15 — the same week in which the Chiefs were eliminated from postseason contention — and backup Gardner Minshew II sustained a tibial plateau fracture the following week, forcing Kansas City to turn to Chris Oladokun for the final two weeks of the season. Mahomes is on track to play by Week 1, but it’s still unclear whether the Chiefs’ dynasty is over or simply on pause.
For what it’s worth, Kansas City recognized the urgency in free agency, making arguably the biggest splash of the spring by adding Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, and Emari Demercado was a sensible signing to back him up in case of injury. But the Chiefs will have to navigate lots of changes elsewhere on the roster: they traded former All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams, and two other members of the secondary (Jaylen Watson and Bryan Cook) left in free agency along with linebacker Leo Chenal. Kansas City signed safety Alohi Gilman and cornerback Kader Kohou to help replace McDuffie, Watson, and Cook, but it still has some work to do in replacing Chenal. Finally, the Chiefs also traded for Justin Fields, a backup quarterback with some starting experience, who can presumably fill in if Mahomes isn’t ready to play by Week 1. Kansas City (+1500) currently has the fifth-best odds to win the Super Bowl at DraftKings Sportsbook. It is +170 to return to the top of the stacked AFC West.
Since selecting Mahomes 10th overall in 2017, the Chiefs’ draft picks have been a mixed bag. 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a relative disappointment, as was 2023 first-rounder Felix Anudike-Uzomah. However, the 2022 draft brought several elite value picks, with McDuffie (first round), Chenal (third round), Watson (seventh round), and Isiah Pacheco (seventh round) all providing plenty of production. 2026 will be the first time since 2022 that Kansas City will have more than one first-round pick to use, since the Rams gave up their 29th overall selection in exchange for McDuffie. All in all, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach will have nine draft selections at his disposal, his most since 2022.
Kansas City’s biggest need entering the offseason was running back, as it finished 25th in both rushing attempts and yards and just 20th in yards per attempt. Walker more than suffices; he rushed 65 times for 313 yards and four touchdowns during the postseason and added another 104 yards through the air to win Super Bowl MVP, and he posted the best Pro Football Focus grades of any running back last season. Demercado, a consistent big-play threat who has averaged 6.5 yards per carry in his career (albeit on a small sample size) is a solid backup. The Chiefs also need more help in the pass rush, since they finished the season ranked seventh-to-last in sacks and ninth-to-last in hurry rate, and their only defensive line signing, Khyiris Tonga, is more of a run-stuffer.
Kansas City has several directions with which it could go with its first pick, as offensive lineman (+250 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook) is a narrow favorite over defensive lineman (+275), cornerback (+300), and wide receiver (+320). Protecting Mahomes should be a top priority; his 24.0% pressure rate was his highest since his first season as a starter, and his 6.34% sack rate was his highest overall. At PFF, the Chiefs ranked just 10th in pass blocking and 17th in run blocking, and none of Kansas City’s free agency signings addressed the line. If the top left tackle, Kadyn Proctor, is still on the board, it might make sense to snag him, and Utah’s Spencer Fano — another top prospect — has some experience playing on the left. Otherwise, the Chiefs could consider selecting an edge rusher, as besides Chris Jones and George Karlaftis, the only other Kansas City player to record more than two sacks (Charles Omenihu) signed with the Washington Commanders. The top three edge rushers — Rueben Bain Jr., Arvell Reese, and David Bailey — could all be off the board, but Akheem Mesidor and Cashius Howell could be tantalizing if the Chiefs decide to trade back. Mesidor recorded 12.5 sacks as senior, and his age (25) is unlikely to deter Kansas City, since it’s in win-now mode.
If the Chiefs don’t like any of their line options on either side of the ball, they could also use a stronger receiver room. Kansas City has aggressively targeted the position early in the draft in recent seasons, taking Rashee Rice in the second round in 2023 and Xavier Worthy in the first round in 2024, but Worthy didn’t build on a strong rookie season and Hollywood Brown left in free agency. Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, and Carnell Tate could all be available with the ninth overall pick, though Tyson probably has the highest upside and the most glaring weaknesses. If the Chiefs pass on all three, though, they also need help in the secondary, since Kohou missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL. None of the cornerbacks in this class are clearly worthy of the ninth overall selection, especially since Jermod McCoy is also coming off of an ACL tear. If Kansas City selects a corner in the first round, it’ll more likely come after a trade down. It wouldn’t be surprising if one of Avieon Terrell, D’Angelo Ponds, and Chris Johnson came off the board with either the 29th or 40th picks.
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。