The Kansas City Chiefs have needs at almost every position groups, and this Chiefs expert broke them down.
The Kansas City Chiefs are deep into their draft prep, and they have a variety of holes to fill, both on April 23 and beyond. The Chiefs have been fairly clear about their positional priorities, but Jesse Newell of The Athletic did a deeper dive into these needs in each group along with his draft outlook, so let’s go there and see what he identified that’s either spot on or a little out of the ordinary.
Running Backs
Kenneth Walker III is the big add here, and Newell called Emari Demercado a “less-heralded home-run hitter,” which feels like a serious stretch. He did note that Brashard Smith will benefit from adding more strength as the Chiefs have requested, but Newell also said the Chiefs are a body or two short with Kareem Hunt still a free agent.
This is a “super-thin” draft for running backs, according to Newell, but he did add that the Chiefs could use a mid-round pick or add an undrafted free agent to bolster the running back room and round out the roster.
Receiver
There’s plenty of physical talent in this group, but as Newell noted, the Chiefs’ long-term prospects aren’t as secure as they seem to be. An extension for Rice would be a tough sell given his off-field issues, and Worthy needs a bounce back year in which he stays injury-free.
Newell’s draft take here was very intriguing. He thinks the Chiefs should address their receiver needs somewhere in the first two rounds depending on how things fall, and the primary candidates are Carnell Tate of Ohio State and Makai Lemon of USC. The Chiefs will tell us a lot about what their offense is going to look like going forward with whatever they do or don’t do at receiver in this draft.
Defensive Line
This is another key positional group, and Newell identified the Chiefs’ needs as “at least one edge rusher and one defensive tackle.” The Chiefs have added Khyiris Tonga in free agency to bolster the middle, and they’ll expect more from both George Karlaftis and Chris Jones in 2026.
Newell sees the Chiefs addressing this position early. He says, “Edge rusher is one of this draft’s deepest positions, so the Chiefs could get a potential star at No. 9 or remain patient to still get a starter-type player in Round 2.”
To sum up the best of the rest, Newell thinks the Chiefs will address their needs in the secondary in the middle rounds, and he surprisingly has Kansas City possibly passing on offensive line additions in this draft based on the internal evaluation of Esa Pole, an undrafted free agent who was forced into action due to injuries.