D
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs cashed the board's mistake on Mahlman: D.
by Gravespire ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 5 steals
· 0 reaches
When a board-topper like Riley Mahlman slides to the Round 7 slot, you do not overthink it, and the Chiefs did not. The math is unkind, and the D follows.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped quarterback, which is a strange place to end up.
On the needs board they went 6 of 8, with wide receiver the one that mattered most.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, quarterback very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 21 they get a sticky cover corner, and a steal at that. More want than need.
In slot 32 they get a bendy edge with upside at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
Fair-plus on Tate Ratledge, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value with a capital V on Ajani Cornelius in the Round 3 slot, a genuine coup. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nic Anderson at No. 85 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Dasan McCullough at pick No. 96 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Rylie Mills in the 128th overall pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Bryson Nesbit slipping to Round 5, Pick 32 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking Riley Mahlman in pick No. 193 is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.