With the 176th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected Cincinnati Bearcat wide receiver Cyrus Allen. Why this pick in particular is so important is because it was the first pick — or even move — this off-season that directly tried to address the Chiefs’ passing game. Yes, they added Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker and drafted Emmett Johnson earlier in the round. Those two players can help the passing game indirectly with their running ability and some receiving out of the backfield, but Allen was the first investment this entire off-season in bringing something new directly to the passing game.
To be clear, the Chiefs are putting their entire passing game offense in his hands, but he has a chance to make a bigger impact in 2026 or 2027 than most mid-day three picks. Allen is a little stray from the Chiefs’ typical type at the position with his ability as a true separator and polished route runner vs a raw, elite athlete that they work into space. With the addition of new wide receiver coach Chad O’Shea, it’s going to be fun to see how the receiving room changes, and a lot of that started with the selection of Allen.
Like I was doing leading up to the NFL Draft, I recorded a full Film Room for the KCSN Discord — all subscribers to the newsletter should have an invite to the Discord in their welcome e-mail — covering Cyrus Allen and what the 5’11”, 183lb wide receiver can bring to the Chiefs’ offense. I wanted to break out five plays from that Film Room that best showcase Allen as a wide receiver and how he can fit with the Chiefs. Of course, the entire Film Room video (about 35 minutes) will be posted at the end of the article as well!
Cyrus Allen Five Play Film Room
1) Route Running
Cyrus Allen has incredible pacing, fluidity, and salesmanship to his routes that allow him to create immediate separation. His 11’ broad jump at his Pro Day shows up in his explosion off the line of scrimmage when attacking space against off-coverage and when working out of breaks or cuts to put space between him and a defender. It’s not all about the explosion, though; he has fantastic deceleration that comes with a level change and lower body flexibility that allows him to get into breaks without tipping his hand.
On vertical routes like the one above, Allen does a great job attacking and then manipulating a defensive back’s leverage with his initial route stem, followed by the use of head/shoulder fakes that work in unison with his footwork. He consistently puts defenders on their heels and off-balance by intentionally attacking their leverage and forcing them to respond to his movement. He is intentional about not getting too far off his track laterally when manipulating these leverages and working around the edge of a defender. He works to re-stack the defender to keep them on his back hip and open throwing lanes by returning to his line if he has to deviate when working past a defender.
