The Kansas City Chiefs entered the 2026 NFL Draft with the ninth overall pick, their earliest first-round selection in quite some time after a disappointing 2025 season. They opted to move up three spots to select LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
Chiefs fans absolutely deserve the right to hold their judgements on the pick, especially after Delane hasn't practiced much due to a lingering shoulder injury. Considering the injury woes this team has dealt with in recent years, fans are feeling a bit anxious about the selection, to say the least.
At the time of the selection, some fans were wondering why the team didn't go with one of the many talented receivers on the board at the time. One of those targets the Chiefs passed on was Makai Lemon out of USC, who went 20th overall to the Eagles.
Even though it's still way too early to truly know how these players will fare as pros, the pick is not aging well so far for Philly. Lemon has barely practiced for the Eagles due to a hamstring issue and even when he was cleared to practice in limited capacity, he wasn't even seen on the field. Huh?
Passing on Makai Lemon is turning into an early win for the Chiefs
So, not only did the Eagles draft a wide receiver who's been dinged up but now, even when he's cleared to practice at least a little bit, he's not doing so? Oh man, could you imagine if Kansas City had drafted this guy and this same stuff was going down? What a train wreck that would have been, especially at wide receiver of all positions.
Had the Chiefs drafted Lemon, they'd have likely entered the season with him, Rashee Rice, and Xavier Worthy as their starters. Lemon's obviously banged up, Rice has had the offseason he has, and Worthy and Tyquan Thornton have dealt with injuries as well. Fans would continue to be panicking and even more so if the first-round investment at the position wasn't able to take the field, even when healthy.
Lemon was talented in college and he could easily still achieve success at the professional level but right now, fans might be breathing a little easier that he wasn't who the Chiefs invested in at pick six or at pick nine had they stayed put.
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