A silver lining for the Chiefs: They’ll pick in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs finish 2025 at 6-11, six straight losses, last three without Mahomes.
- Offense struggled late, scoring 13 points or fewer in five of final games.
- Chiefs hold ninth overall pick in 2026 NFL Draft on April 23 in Pittsburgh.
The Chiefs ended the 2025 season by losing their final six games, the last three without injured quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
It was ugly to watch for Chiefs fans, who saw the team fail to score more than 13 points in any of the last five games.
The silver lining will come on April 23.
That’s the first day of the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, and the Chiefs will be picking ninth overall following their 6-11 season. That will be their best draft position since 2013 when the Chiefs had the first overall pick and selected offensive lineman Eric Fisher.
The Chiefs traded with the Bills in 2017 and moved up to No. 10 in the draft that year. You may recall that they drafted Mahomes.
The Raiders beat the Chiefs 14-12 on Sunday on Daniel Carlson’s 60-yard field goal with 8 seconds on the clock. Had the Chiefs won, they would have dropped to No. 11 in the draft.
NFL Draft Top 10
Here is the top 10 in the NFL Draft, via Tankathon.
1. Raiders 3-14
2. Jets 3-14
3. Cardinals 3-14
4. Titans 3-14
5. Giants 4-13
6. Browns 5-12
7. Commanders 5-12
8. Saints 6-11
9. Chiefs 6-11
10. Bengals 6-11
This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 6:47 PM.
