The Kansa City Chiefs have long been rumored to select one of the top edge rushers with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs own the No. 9 and No. 29 overall picks in the upcoming draft, which begins Thursday.
But since Kansas City’s first pick is just inside the top 10 and the immediate teams behind them don’t need help at defensive end per se, trading back a few spots may be how the Chiefs handle its business in the first round.
ESPN’s Peter Schrager certainly see it this way, as in his final mock draft for ESPN (first-round only), Schrager has the Chiefs trading back in a move with the Dallas Cowboys, swapping both of their first-round selections.
The Chiefs would send the ninth and 29th picks to Dallas in exchange for the 12th and 20th overall picks. There’s a chance that the Cowboys select Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. with the ninth pick, but Schrager believes Dallas will select LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane to help elevate the secondary.
Schrager has the Chiefs selecting Bain, which has been the consensus recently. Bain would provide a much-needed boost to the defensive line which struggled to sack the quarterback consistently in 2025.
“The Chiefs have done their homework on the edge rushers near the top of this class, and I could even see them trading up instead of down if Bailey or Reese slid just a little bit more,” Schrager wrote Wednesday. “But moving back three spots (while moving up nine spots later in Round 1) and still getting a top-three edge rusher in the class? It'd be a huge win for Kansas City. Bain had 9.5 sacks last season and could slot in opposite George Karlaftis.”
Bain has garnered some scrutiny from the media recently in reference to his involvement in a fatal car crash that occurred in 2024, but he’s an outstanding player and would transform Kansas City’s pass-rush. Despite how frequently defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo called a blitz, the Chiefs defense couldn’t get home to the quarterback nearly as much as it needed to, which was a big issue during its 6-11 season.
With the 20th selection from the Cowboys, Schrager has the Chiefs selecting Indiana wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. to help support quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“This would be an A-plus first round for the Chiefs, with Bain and then Cooper,” wrote Schrager. “Patrick Mahomes is coming off a torn ACL, and the receiver room has some issues. Cooper caught 13 touchdowns last season, and I've heard some comps to Deebo Samuel for his toughness and versatility.”
Chiefs receivers dropped far too many passes a season ago and were one of the many problems with this team in 2025. Poor performance and lack of availability surrounded this team and Cooper could help change that.
Cooper is praised for his playmaking ability and physicality as a tough receiver who can go up and get it, traits that the Chiefs could use in its receiving room moving forward.