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

The Kansas City Chiefs made the first big move of the 2026 NFL Draft when they traded up from No. 9 to No. 6 to select cornerback Mansoor Delane.

Kansas City had to give up their 74th and 148th overall picks to the Cleveland Browns to get him, but general manager Brett Veach said Delane was had been their target for nearly the past month. Delane revealed that he wasn’t expecting the Chiefs to pick him since he didn’t have much interaction with them during the pre-draft process.

Mansoor Delane Had Emotional Reaction When Kansas City Chiefs Drafted Him

The Chiefs took to social media to share the exchange between Delane and Veach, as well as owner Clark Hunt, coach Andy Reid, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, which overwhelmed Delane with emotion.

“We got a little impatient, so we made a trade with Cleveland to go up and get you,” Veach said over the phone to Delane. “Hey look, you probably didn’t hear from us a lot this spring, and that was by design. We tried to keep it as close to the vest as possible. But now that we’re on the clock, we’re super excited to make you the newest member of the Kansas City Chiefs.”

“We’re super excited to have you here in Kansas City,” Hunt told Delane. “Our staff was super high on you, and as you can tell, we didn’t want to take any chance. We wanted to make sure that we got you, so we traded up to get you. Looking forward to seeing you when you get here and getting started as soon as possible.”

When Delane spoke to Reid, he promised to help bring a championship back to Kansas City.

“I appreciate you,” Delane told Reid. “I’m going to help that defense. We’re going to bring that championship back, coach. I promise.”

“You got that right, absolutely,” Reid responded.

Spagnuolo shared his excitement to have Delane added to his defense.

“Christmas came early for me,” Spagnuolo told Delane. “We’re going to do some special things. I look forward to working with you.

“It’s the best day of my life,” Delane responded.

Examining the Current State of Chiefs’ Cornerbacks

Delane will have the opportunity to be the Chiefs’ top corner right off the bat as a rookie. He and second-year man Nohl Williams will likely be the top two, mostly playing outside on the boundary. Williams had an excellent showing in a rotational role in 2025, recording seven pass breakups and allowing a low completion percentage of 52.5 percent.

Behind them are veteran Kristian Fulton and second-year man Kevin Knowles. Fulton played well once he got healthy and received more snaps toward the end of last season, and Knowles flashed a bit in a limited role. The Chiefs also recently added Kaiir Elam to the mix, who was a first-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2022.

Another free agent corner signing Kansas City made was Kader Kohou. He played mostly nickel for the Miami Dolphins from 2022-2024, starting 38 games during that span. Kohou missed the entire 2025 season with a torn ACL, but appears to be on track to participate in offseason activities. The Chiefs then drafted Jadon Canady in the fourth round, who also specializes at nickel.