The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping they hit a home run with their 2026 NFL Draft class. They made seven total selections, which included three in the top 40.
Kansas City will be banking on several of them to develop quickly and help turn the team around from a disappointing 6-11 season in 2025.
Kansas City Chiefs Had Trade in Place With Dallas Cowboys to Move Down in 1st Round of 2026 NFL Draft
GettyChiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer recently joined “The Twins Take Podcast” and revealed that Dallas had a trade in place with the Chiefs during the draft.
The exact details are unknown, but the basis of the deal was the Cowboys moving up to the No. 9 overall pick, and Kansas City moving down to 11 (H/T Brandon Loree).
“We were nervous,” Schottenheimer said. “We had four guys targeted that we really felt really strongly about that would fit great in our culture, and our football team, and Caleb (safety Caleb Downs) was at the top of that list. We actually had a deal in place. We had a trade in place with Kansas City that we were hoping to be able to make a move for. Well, they moved up early in the draft to the top four or five for (cornerback) Mansoor Delane, so we were kind of like, okay, we’ve lost that opportunity. But the draft is very, you know, it’s the unknown, and so as Caleb started to fall, he was hitting their 9, 10.”
The Chiefs ultimately opted to trade up to No. 5 with the Cleveland Browns to ensure they landed Delane. Fortunately for the Cowboys, they ended up getting their top target in Downs as they stayed put at No. 11.
It’s intriguing to wonder who Kansas City would have taken at 11 had the gone through with the trade with Dallas. If the Chiefs were dead set on taking a cornerback, the next off the board was Chris Johnson, who went to the Miami Dolphins at No. 27.
Trading up for Mansoor Delane Was Right Move for Chiefs
GettyChiefs CB Mansoor Delane
The Chiefs may not get another shot at making a top five selection in the draft for quite some time. If that’s the case, they had to make the pick count — even if it meant giving up some extra capitol. Kansas City had picks to spare with nine total, so it really wasn’t huge deal.
It got a blue chip prospect in Delane who plays a premium position and can help anchor the defense. Paired opposite of Delane should be second-year CB Nohl Williams, who flashed plenty of potential during his rookie season. Delane and Williams’ projected backups are L’Jarius Sneed and Kristian Fulton, who could be starters for several other NFL defenses.
Kansas City also brought in two underrated, but important, acquisitions during the offseason in Kader Kohou and Jadon Canady. Both of those guys are true nickel cornerbacks, which the team sorely needed. That’s a total of six potentially very good CBs the Chiefs could have in 2026, which would be a masterclass rebuild of the secondary.
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