How this weekend shapes the Chiefs' draft strategy
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you a happy New Year!
2026 hopefully looks a lot different than this past year did for the Kansas City Chiefs. A disappointing year to say the least, the team will have to make a lot of changes to get back to the standard they have set.
It’s not going to be easy. They need to get a lot of things right.
The draft will be a significant piece to what this team accomplishes to get back to the mountain top. They haven’t picked in the top ten since 2017, and that was due to a trade-up. The last time they were in the top ten of the draft from their own performance was Andy Reid’s first year in control of the organization.
They have an opportunity to secure a premium talent in the draft for the first time in quite some time. The range the Chiefs could pick is between 8-12. The spot will be decided at the conclusion of week 18.
The difference between 8-12 in this class could be significant, not just because of where the team is naturally picking, but also how high up the team might be able to maneuver to secure the player they want.
I decided to look at how each draft slot could affect the team in their draft strategy — both with the first round pick and their second round selection. There are so many needs that this team needs to address, and there are only so many premium picks. Having two in the top 40 would be significant, and the team needs to hit on both of them.
Before we look at the picks, let’s build a mock offseason to tie around this. The Chiefs’ approach in free agency is to address their needs in some capacity so that they could roll out week one and play a game. Let’s assume that Travis Kelce retires, they cut Jawaan Taylor, Mike Danna, Drue Tranquill, and restructure Patrick Mahomes’ contract.
The free agency signings look something like this:
QB: Marcus Mariota
RB: Tyler Allgeier
WR: Dyami Brown
TE: Isaiah Likely
DE: Boye Mafe
DL: Roy Lopez
S: Julian Blackmon
That would present a roster that could line up week one and play, giving the Chiefs flexibility to take the best player available in the draft.
Here are five picks from five different draft slots the Chiefs could be selecting from, and how it affects the following pick. Which one is your favorite?