The pick is in: Chiefs fans share thoughts on 1st round CB Mansoor Delane
After months of mock drafts and fan speculation, the Chiefs’ first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft surprised fans around the nation and at a watch party for season ticket holders at the KC Live! Block inside the Power & Light District on Thursday, April 23.
The Chiefs traded their ninth overall pick (and picks No. 74 and No. 141) to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the sixth overall pick. With their first single-digit pick for the first time since drafting future Pro Bowl and Super Bowl-winning offensive tackle Eric Fisher with the first overall pick in 2013, the Chiefs selected LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
News of the trade spread fast at the event, with fans showing signs of excitement and confusion for the move. Chiefs radio play-by-play commentator Mitch Holthus was seen by the stage telling fans to relax when they realized what had happened.
The pick did not come as a surprise to Jonathon Sabel. Sabel predicted that the team would take Josh Simmons in the first round in the 2025, and after watching Delane’s college highlights and considering the loss of star cornerback Trent McDuffie, he knew what the Chiefs had to do.
Sabel noticed Delane’s ability as a lockdown outside cornerback and knew he’d be a perfect fit for the Chiefs, but was shocked to see them trade up to get him. He thought Delane would be there at No. 9.
“He was sticky to his receiver, and he’s a ballhawk,” Sabel said. “I knew it was going to be wide receiver or cornerback, and the more I saw Mansoor Delane, I knew that was going to be it.”
Armando Rodela said it was typical Brett Veach, the Chiefs general manager whose previous moves helped create the team that won back-to-back Super Bowls. He said the fans and friends he was around was expected the Chiefs to pick another defensive position, like linebacker or defensive tackle.
The Chiefs haven’t been in the position to take someone this high up in the NFL Draft in a while, Rodela said. They’ve picked near or at the end of the first round almost every year since 2020, and he said they needed to take advantage of the opportunity.
“The cornerback position is important, and I think we got our guy,” Rodela said.
The pick did surprise Ruben Salinas, who was taking a break from the action to grab a slice of pizza with his wife, Leigh. Salinas believed they were going to take a player on the offensive side of the ball with their first pick, whether that was on the offensive line or a wide receiver.
Ruben Salinas wanted Kansas City to pick Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano, who ended up going to Cleveland with the pick they traded. He trusts in Veach and hopes the team is right in selecting a cornerback.
“I know he was good; I just thought the emphasis would be on protecting Patrick (Mahomes),” Ruben Salinas said.
He also wouldn’t have minded Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, who was selected No. 4 by the Tennessee Titans. Salinas said the Chiefs’ wide receivers have not been dynamic over the last few years, and that Tate was the versatile wide receiver the team needed.
“I hope they’re right,” Salinas said.
