When the 2026 NFL Draft finally came to a close this past Saturday in Pittsburgh, the Kansas City Chiefs had ultimately selected seven players, using their first four selections to replenish Steve Spagnuolo's depleted defensive unit and the final three on offensive players.
The Chiefs kicked things off, of course, by becoming the first team to make a trade, striking a deal with the Cleveland Browns to move up three slots to No. 6 overall, where they took LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane. Some thought they might trade their other first-rounder at No. 29 overall, which they received from the Los Angeles Rams in the Trent McDuffie deal, but they stayed put to select Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods.
Brett Veach used his only Day 2 pick to take Oklahoma edge rusher R Mason Thomas at No. 40 overall and kicked off Day 3 by selecting Oregon cornerback Jordan Canady at No. 109 overall. As mentioned, the last three picks were used on offensive players, with Kansas City adding Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson (Round 5, No. 161 overall), Cincinnati wide receiver Cyrus Allen (Round 5, No. 176 overall), and LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier (Round 7, No. 249 overall).
Naturally, a number of outlets have recently constructed some post-draft power rankings, and while the selections obviously played a part in where each team was placed, the team as a whole still plays a factor as well.
Now, as to where the Chiefs ranked on each list, they had quite the interesting range, as they were inside the top 10 on one but barely cracked the top 20 on another. But as you'll see below, the talking points were all pretty much the same, with Kansas City's top three draft picks taking up that portion of the conversation and, as you would guess, Patrick Mahomes' knee soaking up the rest.
NFL.com: 8
We'll kick things off with Eric Edholm of NFL.com, who bumped the Chiefs up from 14th to 8th on his latest list:
"Look, people will question this major jump, just like folks did when I preemptively boosted the Ravens in the last edition of the Power Rankings. Some of this is the value of Patrick Mahomes' return being factored in, and the sooner we get to him retaking the field, the better the Chiefs are. It's just that simple. I can probably nitpick some of what Kansas City did in the draft, but I feel pretty good about its first three picks contributing early.
"CB Mansoor Delane made sense and probably will start. DT Peter Woods and edge R Mason Thomas will be in the pass-rush rotation soon, too. The Chiefs didn't draft an offensive tackle, and they waited until late to take a receiver. This was all about the defense getting better, and I'm OK with the approach."
CBS Sports: 12
Pete Prisco of CBS Sports also moved Kansas City up six spots from No. 18 to No. 12, and we're just going to go ahead and assume that he was referring to Delane, Woods, and Thomas in the opening part of his assessment:
"Their draft was impressive, landing three quality defensive players. As Patrick Mahomes works his way back, they might have to lean on that group."
Bleacher Report: 16
Bleacher Report used a team of analysts to craft their set of rankings, with Gary Davenport handling duties for the Chiefs, who barely cracked the top half of the league here at No. 16:
"It has been a long time since the Kansas City Chiefs picked this high in the NFL draft. The last time they were near the top of the board, they held the No. 1 overall pick in 2013.
"The Chiefs traded up this year to select cornerback Mansoor Delane, a welcome addition to a team that traded Trent McDuffie and lost Jaylen Watson in free agency. The team added a second first-rounder in the McDuffie deal and also used it on defense, adding some beef up front in Clemson's Peter Woods.
"Both are solid additions, but it's no mystery what the overriding storyline will be in Kansas City this summer: Can quarterback Patrick Mahomes rebound from his ACL tear and get the Chiefs right back into the mix in the AFC, or are their days of dominating the conference over?"
The Athletic: 20
And lastly, we come to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, who threw the Chiefs into the No. 20 position and was actually the only one not to mention Mahomes (or Woods, for that matter), instead staying focused on the draft class:
"The first-round cornerback is coming into a defensive system that has made stars out of much lower picks. He’s a day-one starter who has the type of football intelligence and versatility to allow defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to get very creative. Edge rusher R Mason Thomas is also worth watching."
So, there you have it.
Now, for what it's worth, NFL oddsmakers have the Chiefs ranked higher than anything you see above, as Kansas City is getting the fifth-best odds to win Super Bowl 61.
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