Arrowhead Pride
2026 NFL offseason grades: Draft, trades, more moves by team | ESPN
Kansas City Chiefs: C+
Biggest move: Trading CB Trent McDuffie to the Rams
Move I liked: The McDuffie trade
Move I disliked: Trading up to draft CB Mansoor DelaneFollowing a playoff-less 2025 season that ended with a Patrick Mahomes torn ACL, the Chiefs spent the 2026 offseason trying to set up a rebound — for this season and beyond. The biggest changes came at cornerback, an area that has excelled in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme. Two years ago, they traded L’Jarius Sneed, betting on their ability to replace him, and they repeated that process this offseason.
Kansas City traded McDuffie to the Rams and let Jaylen Watson — a former seventh-round pick who turned into a valuable cornerback — also go to the Rams as a free agent. McDuffie is a legitimate star, but the Chiefs got a good return — first-, fifth- and sixth-round picks in 2026 and a third-round pick next year.
As much as it stung to lose McDuffie, it was worth it. The Rams were surrendering more than a first-round pick’s worth of value for the right to pay McDuffie a market rate. The Chiefs get the benefit of the surplus value from the draft capital and the money saved from not paying McDuffie. Those resources can be used elsewhere on their roster. Watson signed a more reasonable deal that Kansas City could have considered matching, but the Chiefs are tight on cap space, so it was reasonable to allocate those resources elsewhere.
They allocated them in an interesting way, moving up to pick another corner. The Chiefs traded picks Nos. 9, 74 and 148 for No. 6 to select Delane. He was the best cornerback in the draft, but considering the Chiefs’ prowess in developing corners, dealing to move higher in the top 10 to select one seems like bad value. There was some probability that Delane could have fallen to No. 9, too. At safety, the Chiefs lost Bryan Cook in free agency but added Alohi Gilman for several million less per year than what Cook received in Cincinnati.
One outstanding question for every team as the NFL’s summer break begins | The Athletic
Kansas City Chiefs
Did they do enough to help out quarterback Patrick Mahomes?
The Chiefs’ 6-11 record last season masks the fact that there were at least some good offensive moments before injuries derailed the final few weeks. Still, with Mahomes likely to be less mobile following offseason knee surgery and the team using its first four draft picks on defense, it’s at least worth wondering: Did Kansas City do enough to help out its star QB this offseason? The Chiefs’ major free-agent acquisition was Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker III, but beyond that, improvement mostly needs to come from returning wideouts Rashee...
