The Chiefs surprised some when they traded up to draft cornerback Mansoor Delane at No. 6 overall on Thursday night.
That was by design, General Manager Brett Veach said in his press conference, as the club wanted to keep its interest in Delane pretty quiet. In reality, the Chiefs knew Delane was the player they wanted weeks ago.
“[I]t’s funny because, three, four weeks ago, when we were going through the ’30’ visits, I bumped Steve [Spagnuolo] and said, ‘We’re going to bring our corner in,’” Veach said. “And he said, ‘Don’t bring him in. Just don’t bring him in. Let’s just Zoom him. Let’s keep it quiet.’
“I thought we did a good job. I think a lot of people thought we might go offensive line there. But this was our guy the whole time. Again, assuming [David] Bailey and [Arvell] Reese were off the board — again, great players. But we had Delane right up there. And it’s hard to find good corners. And I know that we’ve done well over the years of addressing corners late. But when you’re kind of within reach of a top corner, we did that a couple of years ago, I think we traded a 3 and a 4 to get McDuffie. So, traded a 3 and a 5 to get Mansoor Delane, so we’re extremely excited.”
Entering Day 1 of the draft, the Chiefs had the No. 9 overall pick, with Washington at No. 7 and New Orleans at No. 8. Veach said that given the Saints’ losses at cornerback over the last two years, Kansas City figured New Orleans would be its top competition for Delane. So, having engaged with the Browns on what a potential trade down could look like, the team executed a deal with Cleveland, moving up to No. 6 overall for a coveted player at a premium position.
“He’s super fluid. He’s athletic,” Veach said of Delane. “Obviously, he ran that 4.3 [40-yard dash]. But he’s a guy that plays patient, is super aware, has great ball skills. He’s tough, he’ll tackle. We think he can play inside and outside.
“Again, we feel like he was the most complete corner. I’m sure he was the consensus No. 1 corner. And, again, when you’re picking at [No.] 9, and you’re right there ,and you can get the No. 1 corner in the draft, you go get him.”
Chiefs Clips
The Chiefs have selected defensive tackle Peter Woods at No. 29 overall in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Woods played his college ball at Clemson, where he appeared in 35 games with 24 starts. He was a first-team All-ACC honoree in 2025, recording 30 total tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, and two passes defensed. He also showed versatility by playing offense, rushing for two touchdowns.
He finished his collegiate career with 14.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, and two forced fumbles.
This is Kansas City’s second selection of the first round, as the club also traded up to pick cornerback Mansoor Delane out of LSU.
The Chiefs acquired the No. 29 overall pick from the Rams as part of the deal for cornerback Trent McDuffie.
They have now added to their defense with a corner and a D-tackle.
The Chiefs had been trying to move up in round one. And they did.
Moving from No. 9 to No. 6 in a trade with the Browns, the Chiefs have taken LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane.
The Chiefs also gave up a third-round pick (No. 74) and a fifth-round pick (No. 148) to creep up three spots for Delane.
Kansas City needed a player like Delane. From the trade of Trent McDuffie to free-agent losses, the Chiefs need to retool the defense if they hope to get back to the Super Bowl for what would be the fifth time in Patrick Mahomes’s career.
The Chiefs also have the 29th pick in the draft, thanks to the trade that sent McDuffie to the Rams.
Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge, the Kansas City Star reports Thursday.
Merritt, dressed in orange jumpsuit, made his court appearance via Zoom.
He requested court-appointed counsel, and a public defender entered the plea on Merritt’s behalf. Johnson County District Judge Wayne Smith set a $2,500 personal recognizance bond with conditions of no alcohol, drugs or firearms, and no contact with the victim of the alleged crime, according to the newspaper.
Merritt bonded out after his hearing.
His next court date is scheduled for June 24.
On Thursday morning, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint accusing Merritt of “unlawfully, knowingly, or recklessly” causing bodily harm to a daughter, which constitutes a domestic violence offense.
Merritt, 54, has held his job with the Chiefs since 2019. He has previously held NFL coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Giants and Jets and has spent time as a college assistant coach. The Dolphins made Merritt a seventh-round pick in 1993, and he had a brief NFL playing career before entering coaching.
Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery.
The Kansas City Star reports that an Overland Park, Kansas, police officer arrested Merritt at about 8:50 p.m. Wednesday and he was booked into the Johnson County jail at about 10:25 p.m. No bond has been set.
On Thursday morning, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint accusing Merritt of “unlawfully, knowingly, or recklessly” causing bodily harm to a daughter, according to the report.
Merritt is due in court today.
The 54-year-old Merritt has been the Chiefs’ defensive backs coach since 2019. He has previously held NFL coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Giants and Jets, and spent time as a college assistant coach. He was a 1993 seventh-round pick of the Dolphins and had a brief NFL playing career before going into coaching.
The Chiefs said they are aware of the arrest and have no comment. Merritt will likely be put on leave and the NFL will begin an investigation into a potential violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.
The Chiefs will be honoring their former linebacker Derrick Johnson during the 2026 season.
The team announced on Thursday that Johnson will be inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame this fall. He will be the 55th individual inducted into the group.
Johnson joined the Chiefs as the 15th overall pick of the 2005 draft and he spent the next 13 seasons in Kansas City. Johnson appeared in 182 regular season games and six playoff contests over that time and wrapped up his career with one season as a Raider.
Johnson was a first-team All-Pro in 2011 and he was selected to four Pro Bowls. He finished his Chiefs career with 1,154 tackles, 27.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, four interception returns for touchdowns, 23 forced fumbles and eight fumble recoveries.
Justin Fields doesn’t know whether he’ll get a chance to start games for the Chiefs or not this season, but the quarterback sees upside to being in Kansas City either way.
Fields was acquired in a trade with the Jets last month to give the Chiefs an experienced option as Patrick Mahomes makes his way back from a torn ACL. It’s unclear if Mahomes will be ready for Week 1, but Fields said on Tuesday that he is excited about “a new start, the tradition here, the culture here” as well as the chance to learn from his new teammate and head coach Andy Reid while filling any role on the roster.
“Just the winning, to be honest,” Fields said, via Nate Taylor of ESPN.com. “We of course knew of each other, but we really didn’t communicate before coming here. I’m excited to learn from [Mahomes]. I’m already kind of picking his brain a little bit and just observing how he goes about things in the meeting rooms, field and stuff like that. I’m excited, of course, to work with Coach Reid and [offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy] and all the guys on offense.”
Fields hasn’t done much winning over the course of his NFL career, so that would be a different experience even if it comes on the bench rather than the field. It would also mark a quick turnaround for a Chiefs team that finds itself in the unusual position of coming off of a losing season.
Chiefs wide receiver Nikko Remigio signed his exclusive rights tender on Monday, according to the NFL’s transactions report.
Remigio, 26, signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2023, and he played games for the team the past two seasons. He has seen action on 70 offensive snaps and 147 on special teams in 19 games, with one start.
He has totaled four touches for 80 yards and 40 kickoff returns for a 25.9-yard average.
Remigio played 14 games last season.
As the Chiefs get their offseason program started, quarterback Patrick Mahomes remains on the mend from his torn ACL.
Head coach Andy Reid said on Monday that Mahomes continues to make progress in his recovery, but the team is going to be cautious.
“He goes to meetings, he can lift, do all of that, rehab,” Reid said, via transcript from the team. “That’s the phase he is in right now, so we will just see — play it by ear and see where he is at.
“He’s doing great, but we just have to be smart with this thing.”
At the league meeting, Reid noted that the Chiefs will defer to the medical experts when it comes to Mahomes’ timeline after he suffered the season-ending knee injury in December. There’s a chance Mahomes could be ready for the start of the season — or even training camp — but Kansas City has been careful not to put out a public timeline.
The Chiefs are bringing back their punter for 2026.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the club is re-signing Matt Araiza to a one-year deal.
Araiza, 25, has been Kansas City’s punter for the last two seasons. He averaged 47.6 yards per punt last season, maintaining the role for all 17 games.
In 2024, Araiza averaged 48.8 yards per punt with 25 of his 62 punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
