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Mansoor Delane made it clear he's ready to replace Trent McDuffie for the Chiefs

There will be a lot of eyes on Kansas City Chiefs‘ 2026 first-round draft picks Mansoor Delane and Peter Woods this summer.

They had the opportunity to get their feet wet a bit during Chiefs rookie minicamp this past weekend. Delane is expected to be a starter right away, and Woods will compete with Khyiris Tonga and Omarr Norman-Lott for a starting role.

Projecting Kansas City Chiefs CB Mansoor Delane’s 2026 Stat Line

Eva Geitheim of Sports Illustrated recently took a stab at projecting stats for every 2026 first-round draft pick. Here’s what she came up with for Delane:

48 total tackles, two interceptions, six pass breakups

From Geitheim: “Following the departures of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson this offseason, the Chiefs retooled their secondary by trading up for LSU corner Mansoor Delane. In his final season with the Tigers, Delane allowed opposing passers to complete only 40% of their attempts against him. He should be a stellar fit for Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.”

The numbers that Geitheim projects for Delane are very similar to McDuffie’s during his rookie year in 2022. McDuffie recorded 44 total tackles, seven pass breakups, and zero interceptions that season. However, it should be noted that McDuffie missed six games due to a hamstring.

Assuming Delane plays nearly a full season, he should be able to rack up more tackles and pass breakups. Interceptions are tough to predict, because if a cornerback is playing at a high level, quarterbacks avoid throwing their way as much as possible. McDuffie didn’t record his first career interception until Week 14 of the 2024 season.

In the lead up to the draft, Delane was consistently touted as the top cornerback in the 2026 class. He is smooth and fluid in coverage, and possesses 4.3 40-yard dash speed. He’ll have big shoes to fill following in the footsteps of McDuffie, who is a two-time All-Pro. Here is my 2026 stat line projection for Delane:

60 total tackles, 10 pass breakups, two interceptions

Projecting Kansas City Chiefs DT Peter Woods’ 2026 Stat Line

Here is what Geitheim came up with for Woods’ rookie campaign:

22 total tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble

From Geitheim: “Like Mansoor Delane, Peter Woods is part of the Chiefs’ youth movement on defense. If it’s up to him, however, he won’t only be a playmaker on defense. Woods joked recently that he’s already spoken to coach Andy Reid about getting an opportunity on offense in a goal-line situation.”

Predicting Woods’ stats is a bit trickier because he will likely be a rotational player, even if he does start. Like Delane to McDuffie, we can compare Woods to Chris Jones’ rookie year, because Jones was not a full-time starter.

In Jones’ first NFL season back in 2016 he recorded 28 total tackles, two sacks, and zero forced fumbles. He also posted four pass breakups. Those numbers are low compared to the gaudy ones he would go on to put up in the following years, but it they were solid for a rookie rotational player.

If Woods finishes around those stats as Geitheim predicts, it will be a successful debut season. Woods will have the added benefit of learning under Jones, so it’s possible he outperforms Jones’ rookie year. Jones is a five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler, giving Woods a lot to live up to. Here is my 2026 stat line projection for Woods:

20 total tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble, 2 pass breakups