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Head coach Andy Reid (left) and quarterback Patrick Mahomes (right) of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Kansas City Chiefs still have a lot of things to iron out before the start of the 2026 new league year in March.
Although they have taken some steps to get there, the Chiefs are still over the salary cap. They also have numerous holes to fill throughout their roster following a disappointing 6-11 season. Several key starters are set to become free agents in a matter of just weeks.
Kansas City currently has five selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, and are projected to get an extra compensatory pick in the fifth-round for the loss of defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton. That isn’t a high volume of picks, but fortunately it will be selecting in the top of the rounds rather than the bottom.
Kansas City Chiefs Make List of ‘Most Desperate Teams’ Heading Into 2026 NFL Draft
The folks at Pro Football Focus recently ranked the teams that they feel are in desperation mode heading into this April’s draft. Here’s what Mason Cameron had to say about the Chiefs, who landed at No. 7 on the list:
“After a disappointing end to their nine-year run as AFC West champions, the Chiefs will aim to reload and make a run at the division again in 2026. The problem: an exodus of key players on both sides of the ball, and little cap space to retain them all.
Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook and Leo Chenal headline potential departures on defense, while Travis Kelce, Juju Smith-Schuster, Marquise Brown, Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt face the same fate on offense. Patrick Mahomes already restructured his contract to open $43 million in cap space, yet the Chiefs still have a $3.2 million cap deficit. While other players could face contract restructures or be cap casualties, the Chiefs are unlikely to be able to retain everyone, let alone sign a recently released former receiver (Tyreek Hill).
As far as assets go, the Chiefs are in an unfamiliar and fortuitous situation, slated to make a pick in the top 10 for the first time since trading up to select Patrick Mahomes in 2017. The pick should net them another structural piece to the roster, but with numerous holes, the pressure is there to draft a strong rookie class. Luckily, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has a solid track record for finding talent on draft day.”
Chiefs’ Offseason Circumstances Aren’t as Dire as Some Think
Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach
GettyKansas City general manager Brett Veach
On the surface, it appears that the Chiefs are in a tough situation. However, they have several easy solutions to a lot of their issues. General manager Brett Veach recently stated that the team can create up to $60 million in cap space with simple contract restructures. That would give them the ability to bring back at least a couple of their pending free agents, as well as acquire new ones.
Many Chiefs who are set to hit free agency are players that Kansas City can live without, such as Pacheco, Brown, Smith-Schuster, and Hunt. It won’t likely retain all of the big three between Cook, Watson, and Chenal, but that’s just life in the NFL. The Chiefs should be able to keep at least one of them, possibly even two.
If the Chiefs get impact players in the first few rounds of the draft, they can definitely get back to being one of the NFL’s elite teams. This is arguably the most important drafts of Veach’s career, but the last time he was faced with this similar situation in 2022, he turned in one of the most impressive draft classes of the last decade.