{"id":261239,"date":"2025-12-31T12:40:31","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T17:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=261239"},"modified":"2025-12-31T12:40:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T17:40:31","slug":"2026-kansas-city-chiefs-mock-draft-version-1-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/31\/2026-kansas-city-chiefs-mock-draft-version-1-0\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Kansas City Chiefs Mock Draft Version 1.0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs are expected to pick in the top ten for the first time without trading up since 2013,<\/a> when they picked Eric Fisher first overall. For a team waiting for Patrick Mahomes to recover from injury, in limbo on what the future of Travis Kelce<\/a> looks like, and an offensive line that needs some love, this 2026 Chiefs mock draft can give a realistic look at what the draft could look like in the spring.<\/p>\n

2026 Kansas City Chiefs Mock Draft Version 1.0<\/h2>\n

1.09 – Rueben Bain Jr.<\/a> EDGE, Miami<\/h3>\n

Bain had some steam to be a top five pick in the draft early in the 2025 season, but concerns over his arm length and pass rush abilities will keep him in the range Kansas City picks in. He’s powerful, aggressive, and an adept run defender. But with the NFL’s focus on getting after the passer, he’s a bit of a tweener between a true EDGE and a five-tech defensive end. He’s making it work at the college level as a pass rusher, but there’s a chance he will be stifled by taller, longer tackles at the next level. His floor as a run defender makes him worth the pick, but the ceiling leaves some room to be desired.<\/p>\n

2.41 – Jonah Coleman<\/a>, Running Back, Washington<\/h3>\n

Kareem Hunt is no spring chicken, and Isiah Pacheco has been extremely limited in 2025. Coleman can step in and be the thunder for a thunder and lightning duo, whether that’s with Brashard Smith or a different option through free agency. The Chiefs ranked outside the top 20 in rushing yards per game, and that was with Patrick Mahomes setting a career high<\/a> in rushing yards before getting injured. This team needs to have more of a threat in the backfield, and Coleman is a tone-setter for the offense.<\/p>\n

3.73 – Michael Trigg<\/a>, Tight End, Baylor<\/h3>\n

If this is Travis Kelce’s last ride, Noah Gray can’t be the only option. Jared Wiley hasn’t shown a ton to make him the second tight end, and Robert Tonyan is a ghost of Christmas past, not a viable starter for 2026. Trigg has functional size and athleticism, and was second in missed tackles forced among tight ends in 2025. He’s not a blazer, and needs some refinement, but a swing on prototypical size and some of the best in class contact balance here makes sense.<\/p>\n

4.129 – D.J. Campbell<\/a>, Guard, Texas<\/h3>\n

Campbell is a stout, nasty people mover with a mean spirit at the end of blocks. He’s a great depth option on the interior of the offensive line, and can push to be the sixth offensive lineman on short yardage situations with his great pad level and underrated athleticism. They won’t need Campbell in 2026, but if they decide they want a more aggressive presence on the inside over Suamataia, Campbell can push for reps.<\/p>\n

5.148 – Jalon Kilgore, Corner, South Carolina<\/h3>\n

Kilgore has size, speed, and a knack for knocking the ball out at the catch point. He’s played both slot and outside corner for the Gamecocks in the past three seasons, but is a little inconsistent on a rep-by-rep basis. There’s a reason he’s available here, but the tools make him an enticing swing late.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs are eliminated from the playoffs, so it’s mock draft season for the team slated to pick ninth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4345,"featured_media":258877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33761,1647],"tags":[33533,7811,33723,7738,1776,33743],"class_list":["post-261239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mock-drafts","category-nfl-draft","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-jonah-coleman","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-draft","tag-nfl-mock-draft","tag-rueben-bain-jr"],"modified_by":"Mike Kashuba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261240,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261239\/revisions\/261240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}