Delane Leads Six Chiefs On Mid-Season All-Rookie Team

If there was a silver lining to the Kansas City Chiefs' uncharacteristic 6-11 2025 season, it was that it allowed them to land in the No. 9 position in the 2026 NFL Draft.

That enabled them to send that pick in a draft-day trade, as well as 2026 third- and fifth-rounders, to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 6 selection which they used to pick LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, who was regarded as the top cover man in the draft.

The selection jibed nicely with the Chiefs' needs as they had previously traded two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams before seeing their other CB starter Jaylen Watson also depart for LA as a free agent.

Though Delane has missed three of Kansas City's eight games with a shoulder injury, it's hard to argue that the deal hasn't paid off, and tangible evidence in favor of that argument arrived on Tuesday when Dane Brugler of The Athletic made Delane a First Team member at cornerback on his NFL Mid-Season All-Rookie Team.

"Delane has missed three games because of a right shoulder injury, but he performed at a high level in the five games he was on the field," Brugler wrote. "Despite playing half the number of snaps as [fellow First-Teamer, Green Bay Packer Brandon] Cisse, he has almost as many passes defended (four) and the same number of interceptions (one)."

Additionally, Delane has been on the field for 83% of the Chiefs' defensive snaps when healthy and he is a strong tackler who has totaled 27 tackles (5.4 per game), with three tackles for loss, while he has yet to be whistled for a penalty.

While Delane was a high-profile 2026 draft pick, the other Chief to earn either First or Second Team recognition from Brugler is running back Emmett Johnson, who was taken way down in the fifth round (161st overall) out of Nebraska.

Johnson ranks seventh among rookie running backs with 111 yards rushing through eight games, but where he has really shone is as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. He has 237 yards receiving on 14 catches for a 16.9 yards per grab, and he was part of maybe the Chiefs' most memorable play of the season, his 73-yard scoring catch in the 28-24 loss to the Denver Broncos, a game that also saw him record five catches for 128 yards.

Combining his 111 yards rushing with his 237 yards receiving gives him 348 total yards, best among rookie RBs. Plus, he is the only rookie with both a rushing and receiving TD so far this season.

Four more Chiefs earned Honorable Mention recognition from Brugler: defensive tackle Peter Woods, who the Chiefs selected with the No. 29 overall pick they received from the Rams for McDuffie; defensive end R Mason Thomas, who was picked in the second round with the 40th overall selection; and a pair of undrafted free agents, offensive lineman Kahlil Benson, who has started all eight games at left tackle, and safety Xavier Nwankpa.

Woods has appeared in seven games with 13 tackles and 0.5 sacks; Thomas has played in all eight games with six tackles, a sack and nine QB pressures; Benson has been on the field for all 510 Chiefs' offensive plays and been whistled for just a pair of holding penalties; and Nwankpa has been a solid contributor on 140 special-teams snaps (eight tackles) with one interception during the five plays he has played on defense.