The Kansas City Chiefs have signed seven of their 10 picks from the 2022 NFL Draft, including both first-round selections.
The days of rookies holding out are long gone in the National Football League with the reality of the collective bargaining agreement that requires first-year players to take slotted deals with pre-set amounts attached to them. Perhaps that’s why teams like the Kansas City Chiefs are already locking up the contracts of so many of their picks only days after selecting them in the 2022 NFL Draft.
On Friday, the Chiefs announced that they had come to terms with seven of their ten overall selections in the recent first-year player draft. It’s a list that includes both of their first-round selections: Washington Huskies cornerback Trent McDuffie and Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis.
As for the rest, second-round safety Bryan Cook out of Cincinnati, fifth-round offensive lineman Darian Kinnard out of Kentucky, and all three seventh-round picks—running back Isiah Pacheco from Rutgers and defensive backs Jaylen Watson from Washington State and Nazeeh Johnson from Marshall—are now officially signed as rookies for the Chiefs.
The only players who have not yet signed are second-round wide receiver Skyy Moore from Western Michigan, third-round linebacker Leo Chenal from Wisconsin, and fourth-round cornerback Joshua Williams from Fayetteville State.
Every rookie, signed or not, will be at Arrowhead this weekend for their first portal into professional football with the team’s annual rookie mini-camp. Expect to see the first look from players in their new uniforms and to hear from some of them about the learning curve from the Chiefs’ coaching staff. Minicamp runs from May 7-9.