Chiefs News 4/24: Round 1 picks called questionable, reaches by ESPN

Questionable picks and reaches from Round 1

Kansas City Chiefs

The pick: Mansoor Delane (No. 6), Peter Woods (No. 29)

There’s a lot to unpack here. First, we have to recognize that the Chiefs gave third- and fifth-round picks to Cleveland to move up to No. 6 to even make this pick. I had Delane as the No. 14 prospect on my board, so it feels like a slight reach. It’s an aggressive move for a team that hasn’t entered a draft with a top-10 pick since 2013.

But on the other hand, Kansas City had a massive cornerback problem after trading Trent McDuffie and letting Jaylen Watson walk in free agency. And with the medical concerns around Jermod McCoy’s knee, there wasn’t another elite CB1 on the board this year. It was no lock that Delane would be there at No. 9, especially with the Commanders and Saints picking ahead of the Chiefs. Delane is instinctive and has ball-hawking coverage skills (eight interceptions over his career). He is a day one starter. But between the reach and the draft capital headed to the Browns, I’m not sure this was the savviest move.

With their second pick, the Chiefs got Woods to line up next to Chris Jones. Denzel Boston and Missouri edge rusher Zion Young were the two best players on the board at that point, and they both would have hit needs. Instead Kansas City rolled the dice on an interior lineman whose 2025 production (two sacks) didn’t match his talent. If defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo can coach him up, maybe this looks great in a few years. But I saw more consistent prospects at positions of need sitting there for the taking.

Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Dave Merritt was charged Thursday with misdemeanor domestic battery after a complaint filed by the district attorney in Johnson County, Kansas, accused him of causing bodily harm to a daughter.

Merritt pleaded not guilty during a court appearance later Thursday, and the district judge set a $2,500 bond with conditions of no alcohol, drugs or firearms, and no contact with the victim of the alleged crime.

The 54-year-old Merritt spent several years playing linebacker in the NFL before becoming one of the best defensive backs coaches in the league. He has been with the Chiefs since 2019, and including his time with the Giants, has helped teams win five Super Bowls.

“We have been in touch with Dave. We understand the situation. We’ve looked into it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the team made its two first-round draft picks.

1. The Trent McDuffie fallout

There will be a through-line from the Chiefs trading All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams this offseason in exchange for draft picks — and then using draft picks to acquire a cornerback.

It’s there. The McDuffie trade created an obvious need.

But if you’re confused about what amounts to moving McDuffie, a proven player, out of the building and bringing Delane in, consider one other aspect:

Money.

McDuffie signed a 4-year, $125 million contract in Los Angeles, the richest for a cornerback in league history.

Delane will sign in the neighborhood of a four-year, $42 million deal with a $27 million signing bonus. The Chiefs have to hope that’s the only difference — that their play is far more similar than their pay.

And when you make a move to sixth overall, the pressure is on for it to work.

It has to.

In what was by far the most shocking move of the NFL draft, the Rams selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson — a player many analysts considered a second-round pick.

While the move was confounding at best, Snead tried his best to sound optimistic when speaking with the media late Thursday night.

“I think it’s been a process that started in the offseason, per se, especially when [head coach] Sean [McVay] and the coaching staff got involved,” Snead said when asked when they knew Alabama QB Ty Simpson was their selection. “That process goes all the way up until even into the latter parts of last week. Then at that point in time, like I’ve mentioned here, the sea is going to shape the 13th pick you. You had to fall.”

However, one person didn’t appear as optimistic as Snead: head coach Sean McVay.

In a video that’s now gone viral, McVay showed shockingly little enthusiasm when discussing Simpson. He seemed annoyed for most of the press conference, rarely smiling and lacking the normal zeal and passion he usually speaks with.

But, there was one thing McVay made sure everyone in attendance knew: this is still reigning MVP Matthew Stafford’s team.

“There were a lot of players that we liked but when you do look at it, I think the thing you liked about the body of work is…let’s make one thing clear, this is Matthew’s team.

Gang Green added an explosive pass rusher with its first pick on Thursday night to give Aaron Glenn’s defense a needed pop. Later, they added two much-needed weapons to the offense.

The New York Jets selected Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. Gang Green later landed two playmakers for the offense, selecting dynamic Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq at No. 16 and then trading back into the first round to nab Indiana wideout Omar Cooper Jr. with the 30th pick.

“I think it’s something that I’ve talked about before is, when you have targets, you identify guys you like, you love, you go get them,” Glenn said in his post-draft news conference when asked how making three first-round picks could accelerate a rebuild, via team transcript. “And that’s exactly what we did today. And any time you can bring guys with a winning background on your team, that only helps the morale of your team. So, there’s a lot of thing that goes into that, but man to get three first round picks and the caliber guys that we got, the personality, the mentality, the football character, all those things are huge, bringing those guys on our team.”

What makes this pick even more compelling is how quietly it all came together.

Unlike many top picks, Delane didn’t have a long list of visits or obvious signals pointing to Kansas City. In fact, from his perspective, the Chiefs stayed relatively under the radar.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Delane said, on his pre-draft contact with the team. “I had a Zoom call with them.”

“But I was wondering,” Delane admitted about the Chiefs as he went through the pre-draft process. “I know some people did visit with them, so I was like, okay, at least they do do 30 visits.”

“I guess maybe they don’t want me,” Delane expressed.

They did — enough to trade three picks for a three-spot rise in the top 10.

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