Virginia Tech to LSU to Chiefs: How Mansoor Delane became a top-10 NFL Draft pick
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mansoor Delane cried when his phone rang after five Pittsburgh picks went by.
- Delane said he has prior experience with teammate Chamarri Conner from Virginia Tech.
- A team surrendered three picks to acquire Delane, and he was the top corner off the board.
Five selections came and went in the 2026 NFL Draft before Mansoor Delane’s phone rang.
First, the emotions flowed.
“Man, I was bawling crying,” Delane said in a Thursday night interview with The Star at Acrisure Stadium, site of this year’s three-day player selection process. “That was the first thing, really.”
Next came confusion.
“To be honest, I didn’t hear who was talking at first,” Delane said. “I didn’t know what it was.”
Of course, the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t on the clock. That is, until they were — after sending three picks to the Cleveland Browns, moving up from No. 9 to No. 6 and ensuring Delane would leave Pittsburgh a Chief.
“I calmed myself down and talked to Mr. (Brett) Veach and coach (Andy) Reid,” Delane said. “It was just a blessing to be a part of a championship program like that.”
In the days leading into the draft, rumors that the Chiefs were eyeing a trade up in the order were bubbling. Some suggested Kansas City wanted a tackle for the offensive line, others a pass rusher or wide receiver.
But the Chiefs threw a curveball, even for the player they selected. The Chiefs never hosted Delane on a visit, only meeting with him via Zoom.
“They always say the team that you think is gonna take you the least is the team that ended up taking you, and that’s kind of what happened,” he said. “I had a feeling, but they didn’t really show that much interest in the pre-draft process, and they made a great move.”
And the pick is in
Once NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the Chiefs’ selection official, Delane sought out his mother, Adrianne, followed by his father Jafau.
And that was the reason for Delane’s instant tears.
“All the work my parents invested in me,” he said. “Just that little kid version of me — dreams coming true. I decided to keep working on it. (With my parents), failure wasn’t too much of an option, just pushing me, always found a route for me to be successful. I just had to go ahead and put the work in. They laid the path and I walked it.”
Delane’s path included a bold transfer from Virginia Tech to LSU for his senior season. In three years with the Hokies, he was viewed by NFL teams as a productive and versatile starter. But he had yet to reach the shutdown level that would make a team like the Chiefs pay a premium to get him.
The transfer to LSU changed everything, beginning with his own boosted confidence — which translated to soaring draft stock.
“I had to prove myself,” he said of transferring to LSU. “I had to prove to myself I was who I said I was, and that ultimately gave me the most confidence in myself just to be the player I always thought I could be. And it just allowed me to play the way I played.”
Delane was a freshman All-America at Virginia Tech in 2022. He earned All-ACC honorable mention as a sophomore in 2023, then third-team All-ACC recognition as a junior in 2024.
He could have taken that body of work and entered the NFL as a day two pick, but he wasn’t satisfied. A move from the ACC to the SEC would come with risk, but if he rose to the occasion, he knew it would propel him to the top of the first round.
In LSU’s Week 1 game against Clemson, Delane allowed just one catch on eight targets. A few games into the college season, quarterbacks were avoiding him altogether.
“That was a testament to me being locked in,” Delane said of the stretch. “People at LSU stopped throwing it to me at the end of the year, but it doesn’t matter.
“The big thing we’re talking about now is what do you do when the ball’s away from you? It reflects the type of player you are, and you just have to be locked in every play.”
Delane finished the season having been targeted a minuscule 9.8% on 358 coverage snaps, compiling 45 tackles, 11 pass breakups and two interceptions. He became the 14th unanimous All-America selection in LSU history.
The road ahead
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Earlier this offseason, the Chiefs traded two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams. Making matters worse for Kansas City, Jaylen Watson decided to join him in L.A. via free agency.
That left a gaping hole for the Chiefs at the cornerback position, one they were intentional in addressing with a player they clearly believed they couldn’t live without.
Like the similarly sized McDuffie, Delane plays big.
But he doesn’t care for the comparison.
“I just try to be the best version of myself,” he said. “I can’t try to replace anybody or be anybody else, but I just want to come in there and give everything I have to that program, whether it’s inside or outside at safety. I just want to be the best version of myself.”
Reid, who emboldens players to “let their personalities show,” will like hearing that. So will Steve Spagnuolo, who needed a shutdown talent like Delane to pair with second-year cornerback Nohl Williams and defensive back chess piece Chamarri Conner.
Delane is already familiar with Conner from the season they spent together at Virginia Tech.
“I really looked up to him,” Delane said. “He was a role model for me. I’ve seen the way he approached the game like a professional, and he texted me right before this draft, so I’m pretty sure there’s so many more guys like himself in that locker room. I just can’t wait to be a sponge and get around those guys.”
Spagnuolo will also like the fact that Delane has experience all over the field.
“It’s a great fit,” Delane said. “You put the (Chiefs) film on, it fits the type of player I am. I’m a cerebral guy, a guy who plays with anticipation and a guy who, you put me in so many different types of schemes and techniques and versatility and you’re going to succeed. And that’s the type of opportunity Coach Spags will give me.”
Delane was eventually going to fall asleep Thursday night as the top cornerback off the board, headed to a team that coveted him badly enough to surrender three picks for his services.
“You want to be somewhere where you’re wanted,” he said. “That (trade) basically clearly showed that I was wanted there, and I just can’t wait to get down there and be a part of the family.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 11:27 PM.
