Chiefs 4-round mock draft breaks Spags’ edge rules and adds playmaking RB

As the Kansas City Chiefs’ season marches on, so does the college football season. With conference play underway, the picture is getting clearer and clearer on draft prospects and who they are as players.

The Chiefs are currently slated to have the 10th overall pick in the draft. We’re going to take a guess that the Chiefs will be picking a little bit later than that based upon the larger body of work from Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

For this exercise, we’ll be projecting the Chiefs to be picking around pick 28 or later.

Round 1: Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M

With George Karlaftis locked up to a long-term extension, the Chiefs will need to continue to find more pass-rush juice on the edge, especially with Chris Jones getting closer to his decline with each passing day. Ashton Gillotte has played well thus far, but he hasn’t really flashed much as a true pass rusher.

Enter Cashius Howell. Gillotte and Howell complement each other well with their skill sets. Gillotte brings similar power and edge setting that Mike Danna brings. Meanwhile, Howell projects more similarly to what the Chiefs were looking for in Felix Anudike-Uzomah.

At 6-4, 245 lbs., Howell is a little bit on the lighter side for most Spagnuolo edges but compares very similarly to FAU. His arm length appears to be average on tape, but he has a well-polished pass-rush toolbox that he utilizes effectively to mitigate any concerns about length or size.

Howell is a fifth-year senior who started his career at Bowling Green, where he logged 11.5 sacks in two years before transferring to Texas A&M, where he’s logged eight sacks in his first 14 games. Howell showcases natural bend around the arc that allows him to flatten the corner and threaten the quarterback’s back shoulder consistently.

Round 2:Justice Haynes, RB, Michigan

Son of NFL running back Verron Haynes, Justice spent his first two years at Alabama as a former four-star recruit out of Buford, Georgia. Haynes has been the primary back for the Wolverines this season. Already with a career high in yards and six touchdowns, Haynes is off to a promising start. He possesses excellent contact balance thanks to a low center of gravity. He profiles as a natural one-cut runner who puts his foot in the ground and gets downhill quickly. He’s been fairly limited in the passing game and doesn’t possess elite top speed.

The Chiefs have lots of opportunities at running back in 2026. With Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco both set to be free agents in 2026, the Chiefs need depth and youth at the position. Haynes pairs nicely with Brashard Smith. Haynes profiles as an early-down back with improved vision over Pacheco and upgraded burst over the aging Kareem Hunt. With four touchdowns of over 50 yards in 2025, Haynes is just what the Chiefs’ run game needs.

Round 3: Zane Durant, DT, Penn State

It’s been a tale of two seasons for Zane Durant. In 2024, he tallied four sacks and 17 QB pressures as a small, penetrating gap shooter. This year, the sack production has been there, but the pressures have not, with only three pressures. The big thing that has taken a step back is the run defense, which is at a career-low 57.4 PFF run-defense grade. Durant’s stature at 6-1, 294 lbs. makes it hard to see him staying on the field for run downs, but his pass-rush flashes last year had him as a fringe first-rounder to start the year.

Durant and Norman-Lott make the Chiefs far more explosive and dynamic along the interior defensive line. So far, Omarr Norman-Lott has seemed to be more of a factor in the run game than expected coming out of Tennessee. More than anything, the Chiefs need to continue to become a defensive line that isn’t reliant on Chris Jones dominating. The pairing of Durant and Howell on top of Norman-Lott and Gillotte is the type of infusion of youth the Chiefs’ defensive line needs.

Round 4: Eli Stowers, TE, Vanderbilt

Assuming that this is the final year for Travis Kelce, you simply cannot replace what he’s brought to the team by drafting one player. With Noah Gray still under contract, the Chiefs should look to bring some of the athleticism and mismatch opportunities that Kelce has brought as a pass catcher. Enter Eli Stowers, who burst onto the scene last year with Diego Pavia at Vanderbilt and continues to put up numbers.

Standing 6'3" and weighing 235 pounds, Stowers projects more as a power slot receiver than a conventional tight end. Last season, he lined up in the slot on 72.2% of his snaps — the highest rate among tight ends with at least 50 targets, and 10% higher than the next closest player (per Pro Football Focus). He also saw occasional reps on the boundary and was frequently put in motion.

What makes Stowers interesting is the combination of what he can bring to the passing game and what Noah Gray can bring as a blocker and a pass catcher, making the Chiefs’ tight end group unique. There’s no doubt that Stowers still leaves much to be desired as a blocker, but the Chiefs have needed to address their true blocking tight end for years since Blake Bell’s better days. This year, Robert Tonyan has filled that void, but he’s also played just 13% of the offensive snaps, so there's not a huge gap to fill there.