Plenty of prospects from the Kansas City Chiefs' draft class of 2026 are getting a lot of love, but a couple of the team's mid-round picks have found themselves outside of the spotlight as grades roll in. One already overlooked selection seems to be the team's fourth-round choice of Jadon Canady, a versatile defensive back out of Oregon.
But some draft analysts are paying closer attention, and in a rundown of the Chiefs' draft class, FanSided's Mike Luciano is giving specific praise for the choice to take Canady at the start of day three.
In Luciano's newest video breakdown of Brett Veach's latest draft class, he gives Kansas City a B+ grade overall and speaks glowingly of Canady in particular, hailing it as his favorite pick overall of the seven rookies taken overall by the Chiefs.
Some new draft grades from FanSided's @ByMikeLuciano reflects on the value of Jadon Canady and more: pic.twitter.com/pbAXOmOyfZ
— Arrowhead Addict (@ArrowheadAddict) May 1, 2026
"The best pick out of all of them: very underrated guy, Jadon Canady, the defensive back from Oregon in the fourth round. A guy who not a lot of people projected to go that high, but this guy is a baller. Sticky. Great ball skills. Can play a couple of different spots. The kind of guy Steve Spagnuolo is really gonna love to deploy across different formations."
Canady played for the Ducks last season after transferring from Ole Miss and responded with 39 total tackles, 6 pass deflections, 2 interceptions, and 1 sack. He profiles as a slot corner who can also rangy enough to play safety, and he should be able to come in and compete as the team's primary nickel corner with free-agent signing Kader Kohou.
The secondary is in midst of a total renovation effort after trading away Trent McDuffie and watching Jaylen Watson flee for the L.A. Rams in free agency. McDuffie often occupied the slot defender role, so it's not surprising for K.C. to be targeting some specific help there even after moving up in the first round to take the draft's top cornerback in LSU's Mansoor Delane.
Together with holdovers like Nohl Williams and Kristian Fulton, the addition of Delane and Canady help give the Chiefs a restocked secondary loaded with young players expected to contribute from Week 1. If Canady can live up to Luciano's expectations, it won't be long until plenty more are singing his praises as well.
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