With their first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs selected LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane. Not only did they take him in the top 10, but they moved up from the ninth pick to the sixth pick in order to ensure he was donning red and gold for the first stage of his career.
Fans might have been just a tad bit anxious over the summer when Delane missed time with a nagging shoulder injury. Did the Chiefs move up to take a guy who is going to miss games with injuries in back-to-back drafts?
Delane did end up making his NFL debut in Week 1, though he only played three snaps before having to leave the game with another shoulder injury. The good news is that he made the most of those three snaps, picking off Bo Nix and setting the Chiefs up with good field position to score a touchdown.
Mansoor Delane earns high marks after first full game
Delane suited up for Week 2 but never took the field and we saw what the Chiefs' secondary looked like without him for the entirety of the game. Penalties and explosive plays were surrendered and it wasn't a great look for the unit.
The rookie returned for the Week 3 showdown in Miami, though, and put on a clinic in his first full game at the helm. After an entire game under his belt, Delane is getting plenty of praise from analysts, including a sparkling 83.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, good for the fifth-best cornerback in the league. He has the fourth-best coverage grade at 85.5. Say what you will about PFF, but those are pretty impressive numbers.
Delane also took the top spot in Roto Wire's Week 3 rookie rankings. He edged out Washington Commanders linebacker Sonny Styles and Miami Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, both of whom played incredibly well in the third week of the season.
Chiefs' rebuilt secondary is already paying off
This is great for Chiefs fans to see because there was a lot of concern surrounding the secondary and understandably so. Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson both left and are with the Rams now, while Bryan Cook joined the Bengals. Those were three huge pieces in Steve Spagnuolo's secondary, and Chiefs fans were justified in questioning how this team would manage without them.
Not only has Delane stepped up, but he, Kristian Fulton, and Nohl Williams have been the top three corners in man coverage so far this season, per PFF. Funny enough, McDuffie came in fourth.
So far, it looks as though the Chiefs made the right call in moving up to snag Delane. That being said, it's still early in his career. There are surely going to be growing pains with him as the season progresses and fans will need to be patient during those times.
The good news is that Spagnuolo has proven that he can mold corners into the players he wants for his defense and set both the player and the secondary up for success.
Add us as a preferred source on Google