B-
Kansas City Chiefs
Good, not great, for the Chiefs: B-.
by CheeseBurger Up! ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 5 reaches
The Chiefs looked at the value chart, folded it up, and took Markel Bell at slot 74 regardless, 40 picks early. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
The Ponds pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with tight end, quarterback and other spots still on the board. For all the activity, tight end went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The Coleman value carries more weight than any single miss elsewhere.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but tight end.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 9 they get a sticky cover corner. More want than need.
In No. 29 they get a home-run threat at receiver at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went cornerback with D'Angelo Ponds while clear needs at tight end, quarterback and other spots sat open.
Markel Bell in the 74th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Jonah Coleman in slot 109 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
No edge and no loss on Malik Benson in pick No. 148; it is a wash and a sensible one. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr in the Round 5 slot is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A premium they did not need to pay, DJ Campbell a notch or two before his time. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid up for Bobby Jamison-Travis at pick 210 when waiting would have done the job. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.