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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
The Kansas City Chiefs just made a big investment in a rookie cornerback who fell out of the NFL draft.
NFL reporter Cory Kinnan noted that the Chiefs inked a former San Diego State defensive back thanks to a six-figure guaranteed contract.
“Source: San Diego State CB Bryce Phillips is signing with the Chiefs for $247,000 guaranteed,” Kinnan wrote in a post on X.
Bryce Phillips Joins Chiefs After Productive College Season
Phillips is coming off a season where he made 34 total tackles with one interception, one tackle for a loss, and one forced fumble. As Louisiana Sports Net noted, Phillips was projected as a late-round draft pick or priority undrafted free agent signing.
“Phillips, listed at 6-foot and 195 pounds, is a physical perimeter corner that carried just a 5% missed tackle rate and allowed just 44.9% of his targets to be caught with only 29 yards surrendered after the catch in 2025, per Pro Football Focus,” the report noted. “During his pro day, he ran a 4.56 40-yard dash and charted a 37.5-inch vertical leap.”
Despite the big financial commitment, Phillips is expected to fight for a roster spot, and could be a stronger contender for the practice squad.
Chiefs Address Cornerback First
The Chiefs made another big investment in their secondary at the top of the NFL draft, trading up to the No. 6 spot to take Mansoor Delane. As the team noted, Delane was seen as the top cornerback in this year’s draft class and had a productive season in 2025.
“Delane’s stellar campaign in 2025 can be summed up by the simple fact that he yielded zero touchdowns without committing a single penalty,” the team shared in its official website. “Among cornerbacks with at least 350 coverage snaps last season, Delane was one of just 18 to not allow a single touchdown, and of that group, Delane was one of only two players to also not commit a penalty all year.”
Though Delane was an outside cornerback during his time at LSU, he said he would be open to playing in the slot in the NFL.
“[I’m] super comfortable [in the slot]. I love playing inside – I think that’s almost even more fun,” Delane said. “You’re closer to the ball, you’re in more runs fits and you can blitz more. I think the more responsibly, the more fun it is. I’m excited.”
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said the team had their eyes on Delane and knew they would need to get ahead of the New Orleans Saints to land him.
“Every model that we ran kind of said, looking at the stack of players, we figured [edge rushers [David] Bailey and [Arvell] Reese would go [off the board],” Veach said Thursday night. “The predictive model said that the Saints are going to be the biggest obstacle. I’ve been doing this for a few years now. Cleveland made it obvious early on that they were interested in trading, so we had some traction.
“I know [Saints GM] Mickey [Loomis]. If there’s one guy more aggressive than me, it’s Mickey. I have that experience where we’re kind of eyeing the same guy. We had Mansoor Delane as a top-five guy on our board. We felt it would come down to us and New Orleans.”
Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty