The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books, and the Kansas City Chiefs' newest draft class is now complete. The Chiefs walked away with seven new players, and now the debate shifts to just how good of a job K.C. did with their draft haul. In other words, it is now time for the annual tradition of draft grades.
Yes, we all know that you can't fairly judge a draft class until several years down the road, when there is actual evidence of just how these players will do in the NFL. However, while it is silly to put a ton of stock in draft grades, it is also silly for fans to care enough about media outlets' mock drafts, big boards, and positional rankings before the draft and then not care at all how those same media outlets rank how well the teams did after the draft.
So on the Monday following the 2026 NFL Draft, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at how most outlets graded the 2026 Kansas City Chiefs draft class. You can also check out Matthew Chabot's instant draft grades for all of Kansas City's picks. Then, for each of the grades below, you can click on the name of the outlet/author to see their complete grades.
Kansas City Chiefs' 2026 NFL Draft Grades
ESPN's Mel Kiper - Grade: B
Kiper liked, but didn't love, Kansas City's 2026 draft group. They were 14th out of the 32 teams. He had the following to say about the Chiefs' top pick:
"The Chiefs traded a third- and fifth-round pick to move up to No. 6 overall to land Mansoor Delane, the clear CB1 in this class. Was the trade-up necessary? I'm not sure Delane would have made it to No. 9, but he was 14th on my board. No other cornerback went in the top 20."
Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame and Gilberto Manzano - Grade: A
SI's duo includes former Arrowhead Addict editor Matt Verderame, who obviously has a good lock on the Chiefs' roster/needs/team fits. So it's worth noting that their analysis starts with:
"The Chiefs needed to nail this draft after a 6–11 season and did exactly that."
NFL.com's Chad Reuter - Grade: A-
Reuter was a fan of the Chiefs' entire draft class but thought that they got progressively better throughout the draft. He gave them a "B+" for Day 1, an "A-" for Day 2, and an "A" for Day 3.
Fox Sports' Rob Rang - Grade: A
Rang was complimentary of the Chiefs defensive picks early in the draft, but also really loved their pick of Emmett Johnson:
"This draft was almost all about the Chiefs’ defense, but I have to mention one of my favorite prospects in this class — former Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson, whose elusiveness and soft hands will quickly make him a favorite of both Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes and a steal in the fifth round."
CBS Sports' Cater Bahns - Grade: B+
Bahns didn't love every one of the Chiefs' picks, but he was a huge fan of K.C. taking Peter Woods in the late first round and Garrett Nussmeier in the seventh round. Both of those picks earned an "A+" in his pick-by-pick grades.
USA Today's Nate Davis - Grade: B-
While Davis liked some of the picks the Chiefs made, it was clear from the following comments that he thought they should have done more to help the offense.
"Also noteworthy, GM Brett Veach and HC Andy Reid did little in the draft to directly help QB Patrick Mahomes, who ended last season on injured reserve with a shredded knee after spending most of 2025 running for his life."
Pro Football Focus - Grade: B
PFF ranked the Chiefs' draft class 12th out of 32 teams. They have a short breakdown of each pick, similar to their quote below for fifth-round pick (No. 176 overall) Cyrus Allen:
"Allen, No. 155 on PFF’s Big Board, faces questions tied to his frame and limited run-blocking impact, but his route running, hands and big-play production offer a path to a role in a receiving rotation."
Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice and Charles McDonald - Grade: B+
Yahoo's Tice and McDonald thought the Chiefs had a solid class all around. They were also fans of the late first-round pick of Peter Woods.
"They made a great calculated risk by taking über-talented Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods, who has a chance to develop into an impact player next to Chris Jones."
NBC Sports' Eric Froton - Grade: B+
Froton was positive on the Chiefs draft overall and thought they did a good job of restocking the defense. Saying:
"Hard to argue with what the Chiefs did here, as they took advantage of the Mahomes ACL reset year and should be reinvigorated defensively this season."
Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer - Grade: A
Iyer was a big fan of what the Chiefs did in this draft class. Not only did he grade them as an "A" overall, but ranked their class the sixth best out of 32 teams. He was especially excited for the reinforcements that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo landed.
"Delane, Woods, Thomas and Canady should thrill Steve Spanguolo with ideal pass defense reinforcements for his scheme."
Pro Football Network - Grade: B+
Pro Football Network, or PFSN, has a popular mock draft simulator that many fans like to use. Their simulator then grades the mock drafts based on their rankings. Using that same grading system, they gave the Chiefs' actual draft class a B+. You can see the grade for each pick at the link above.
DraftGradeBooks.com's Chris Trapasso - Grade: C+
You have to go outside the mainstream outlets to find someone that was pretty low on K.C.'s draft class. Trapasso had Kansas City's 2026 class as the 24th best out of the 32 teams. He classified it as:
"Average class - a mix of fair value and reaches."
That's 12 different grades for the Chiefs' 2026 draft class, ranging from a few A grades down to a C+. If you apply these grades to your typical 4.0 grading scale, it would give them a 3.425 GPA. That's a B+ average. So overall, the general consensus is that the Chiefs had a good draft. Some people had the Chiefs up around the top draft classes in the league, and some had them more in the middle of the pack.
At the end of the day, all that matters is if these players produce on the field. However, as draft season comes to an end, it is interesting to look at how all the people who cover the draft view how your favorite team did. Draft grades aren't a predictor of how a class will do, but history says that teams that reach for players compared to consensus too much usually regret it.
So what do you think of the Chiefs' draft class? Do you agree with the "experts" that gave them an "A" for this class? Do you think K.C. deserved to be more in the middle range of draft classes? Either way, here's to hoping that when we reflect back on this class a few years from now, we all agree it was an "A" because of how well the players have done.
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