The Chiefs’ draft decisions leave one important question unanswered
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs traded up to No. 6 94 minutes into the first round and opened with defense.
- Kansas City waited until the fifth round to draft receiver Cyrus Allen.
- Rashee Rice must be available and others need to improve for the passing attack.
The most expensive move of the NFL Draft arrived 94 minutes into the first round.
A trade put the Chiefs on the clock, a climb to No. 6 overall, so they could acquire, well, who?
The football world was left in the dark last week about the Chiefs’ plans for their first top-10 NFL Draft pick since Patrick Mahomes — because they intentionally kept everyone in the dark. That’s how it works, right?
But this year, there was another reason for the mystery.
The Chiefs could’ve gone in just about any direction. They had a lot of ground to cover in this draft. So much, in fact, that they left draft weekend with some of it uncovered — or at least not completely blanketed.
With three top-40 picks for the first time since 2008, the Chiefs opened their draft class with cornerback Mansoor Delane, defensive tackle Peter Woods and edge rusher R Mason Thomas. That’s defense, defense, defense.
They all fit obvious needs. If the Chiefs had escaped their initial two days without drafting any of those three positions, this column would likely focus on whether they did enough at that particular spot.
Instead, it’s going to focus on the position that did get left out of the early mix: wide receiver.
The Chiefs waited until the fifth round to pluck a receiver in a draft in which, ideally, they would’ve grabbed one early. As colleague Vahe Gregorian pointed out, Cincinnati’s Cyrus Allen was the 26th receiver off the board last weekend.
Which leaves a question in Kansas City: Do the Chiefs have enough at Nos. 1, 2 and 3?
As I mentioned last week, a lot of signs have been pointing toward the Chiefs altering their offensive scheme to improve a unit that hasn’t ranked better than 15th in scoring in any of the past three years. They are prepped to run the ball more frequently, or at least run it more effectively, in hopes that this solves the stagnation — rather than personnel shouldering the load.
But they do still have a quarterback in whose hands you’d like to place the football every once in a while, yeah? The point shouldn’t be to turn Patrick Mahomes into a game manager, but rather to give him easier conditions to manage.
The run game can do that.
The receiver group? A shoulder shrug. It’s still to be determined.
Even the most run-heavy team in football last year still passed the ball 48% of the time. The Ravens and Bills, in fact, were the only two teams in the NFL to run the ball more than they threw it.
So no matter how much the run game will improve, or how much more it will be employed, the Chiefs need more consistency from their pass-catchers. Their role can be altered. It cannot be ignored.
If the Chiefs are going this route — with wide receiver being the position that didn’t receive an influx of financial or draft capital — we have to consider what kind of bet are they making.
Or, rather, on whom they’re betting.
Among the 66 receivers with a combined 100 catches over the past three years, Rashee Rice leads the NFL with 8.0 yards after the catch per reception. Over his past 18 games, he has averaged 76.5 yards per game. That ranks in the top 10.
The problem? His past 18 games are spread across three seasons. He’s produced like a No. 1 at times, but he’s been available — whether because of injury or self-inflicted off-the-field incidents — for only 12 of the past 37 times the Chiefs have stepped onto the field.
His presence can’t be a bonus in 2026.
It’s a requirement.
Behind him, the Chiefs have Xavier Worthy, who failed to take a step forward in his second year as a pro; Tyquan Thornton, who impressed on vertical routes and contested catches but didn’t prove to be an elite separator; Jalen Royals, who caught two passes for 4 yards in his rookie year; and the aforementioned fifth-round pick, Cyrus Allen, who projects as a slot receiver.
You can see why many of us thought receiver would be in play as high as No. 9 overall — or still in play when they made a move to No. 6.
The Chiefs do not even have a 600-yard receiver returning. This is the first time that’s been true in the Patrick Mahomes era. Their yards leader among receivers, Hollywood Brown, left for Philadelphia.
They haven’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Tyreek Hill in 2021. Only one other team has failed to have at least one 1,000-yard receiver in the past four years: the Green Bay Packers. So 30 teams have had a 1,000-yard pass catcher since, and none of those 30 teams have Mahomes at quarterback.
The Chiefs’ offense needs a jumpstart, and those already on the roster are going to be asked to provide the cables.
The Chiefs are suggesting a positional coaching change can offer some help. But it’s time for Rice, a former second-round pick, to be available; Worthy, a former first-round pick, to become the legitimate downfield threat that could complement a new-look running game; and Royals, last year’s fourth-round pick, to take advantage of having a year under his belt.
A new-look ground game can bolster the passing game, no doubt, but only to an extent.
The Chiefs were going to be left short somewhere after a draft in which they had plenty to address.
That somewhere — wide receiver — will now require they get more from what they have.
Because they didn’t add much more capital to the position last weekend.