Chiefs’ cornerback room is officially crowded. Here’s how Mansoor Delane fits
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs traded up three slots to No. 6, sending No. 9 and two picks to Cleveland.
- Team views Delane as versatile, able to play outside, inside, press, man and zone.
- Delane is expected to start outside Day 1 while Fulton and Nohl Williams compete opposite.
The Kansas City Chiefs began the NFL Draft with a splash, trading up three slots to No. 6 overall by sending No. 9, a third-rounder (No. 74) and a fifth-rounder (No. 148) to the Cleveland Browns.
Pre-draft analysis may have pointed to the Chiefs taking pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr., safety Caleb Downs or wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. In the weeks leading up to the draft, some suggested a pass rusher.
In the end, Kansas City’s trade-up was for LSU’s Mansoor Delane, who the Chiefs quite obviously viewed as the top cornerback option in the draft.
“What he possesses is not only all the athletic traits we look for in terms of his feet, his speed, the bend, the transition skills,” vice president of player personnel Ryne Nutt said Monday in a post-draft Zoom with local media members. “It’s his extreme versatility. And when I say that, I don’t mean just (that) he can play inside and outside. I mean he can play off-man, press man, zone — all those are very good abilities.”
The Chiefs’ March 2026 trade of Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams set the table for the club to use a premium pick on a cornerback like Delane. McDuffie’s outstanding body of work during three seasons in Kansas City led to the Rams making him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.
Under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, McDuffie showed the ability to equalize some of the league’s best wide receivers, and a sound case could be made that he’s one of the best slot defenders in football.
“Losing Trent was tough,” Nutt said. “We loved him. He’s an awesome kid, and he’s a really good player. It left a void, but we have Kristian Fulton on the roster, and we drafted Nohl Williams last year, so we weren’t depleted there.”
During his final college season at LSU, Delane logged 516 snaps at cornerback compared to 39 snaps in the slot. Still, Nutt confirmed the Chiefs believe Delane can be trained to slide inside when necessary.
Nutt also maintained that Delane’s talent drove the Chiefs to make the move rather than the obvious positional fit.
“A corner is a position that we could add depth, but we felt — like (general manager) Brett (Veach) said — this was a top-6 talent to go and get,” Nutt said. “And when you’re picking up where we were, hopefully we never pick this high again. But in that opportunity, let’s just go get a guy that we think could potentially be a Pro Bowl player.” Nutt also revealed that a move-up of this magnitude required the blessing of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. According to Spotrac, Delane is projected to sign a fully guaranteed four-year rookie deal worth about $42 million as the sixth overall pick.
“It shows you have an owner that’s invested in winning,” Nutt said, “that’s willing to allow that to happen — to give up possibly cheaper contracts down the road for us to get a player that we want. Everybody loved the player, everyone knew the potential we had in the player. And just Brett’s aggressiveness and willingness to go up and get him, it just speaks to Brett’s ability to go up, and we respect and love that he goes and gets the guy he wants.
“(Veach is) not going to sit in a draft and be a passive participant. He’s going to go and get the guys that we as a staff like. And for us, I think that fires us up because it allows you to kind of stand on the table more for guys because you know Brett might go up and get him.”
The cornerback room will be one to watch as the offseason continues, beginning with rookie minicamp set to begin this Friday. Delane should be expected to start outside on Day 1, leaving a potential battle between Fulton and Williams for the opposite position.
Between Delane, veteran signee Kader Kohou and fourth-rounder Jadon Canady all vying for time in the slot, Chamarri Conner could be free to turn his focus to a traditional safety role, especially with Bryan Cook no longer in the building.
