The Kansas City Chiefs were expected to take an edge rusher or a receiver, but they shockingly selected a cornerback.
The Kansas City Chiefs were high on the list of teams that were expected to make a trade, and they made a deal with the Cleveland Brown to move from No. 9 to No. 6, dealing their first rounder, No. 74 and No. 148 to move up to select cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU.
The trade isn’t surprising, but the selection Itself is shocking. The Chiefs were expected to move up to get either an edge rusher or a receiver, but edge rushers David Bailey and Arvell Reese were selected in the top five, and so was receiver Carnell Tate. Delane was expected to be a first rounder, but speculation had him going somewhere in the top half of the round, which raises a huge question about why the Chiefs gave up so much draft capital to get him.
The machinations of the first half-dozen picks were fascinating. The New York Jets did exactly what many draft observers thought the Chiefs would want them to do, selecting David Bailey of Texas Tech. The Arizona Cardinals then selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, which was at least mildly surprising, but the Chiefs had no interest in Love after signing Kenneth Walker III in free agency.
The Tennessee Titans provided the first big surprise of the initial picks, selecting receiver Carnell Tate, who was also believed to be a Chiefs favorite. The New York Giants then selected Arvell Reese, the freakishly athletic-edge rusher who was supposedly another Kansas City target.
The Chiefs did the trade with the Browns while those picks were happening, so it was a done deal when the Chiefs took to the podium with Cleveland’s No. 6 pick. Edge rusher Reuben Bain Jr. of Miami felt like the betting favorite to be the Chiefs’ alternate selection, but the Chiefs shocked everyone by selecting Mansoor.
Going with a cornerback goes against all of the pre-draft intel put out by and about Kansas City, including statements from GM Brett Veach that the three positional priorities were edge rusher, receiver and offensive line.
Instead the Chiefs selected a cornerback, which was believed to be a lower priority given Kansas City’s ability to develop cornerbacks with late-round picks. There is a need here given the loss of Trent McDuffie in a trade to the Los Angeles Rams and Jaylen Watson also signing with the Rams in free agency, but many of the initial comments about Mansoor labeled him a “reach” for Kansas City.
The Chiefs do have another pick later in the first round, so it will be interesting to see who they select, and it will be even more fascinating to hear the GM’s explanation when he meets the media.