Chiefs GM Brett Veach will have more room to operate after NFL salary cap space news.
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Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach.
We are under one month away from the Kansas City Chiefs hitting the clock in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Kansas City has nine total selections to work with, including two in the first round, which is one Night 1 of the draft. The Chiefs still have several needs to fill throughout their roster, but following a strong free agency period, they have a lot of flexibility to take the best players available rather than go by need.
Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach Says ‘Anything’s in Play’ With No. 9 Overall Draft Pick
Veach sat down for a discussion with NFL insider Peter Schrager on Tuesday and hit on a number of different topics. Among them was what positions he is looking at the most to spend the ninth overall selection on.
“It’s a unique draft,” Veach said. “There’s great players up and down the board. We got a lot of work done in free agency, and have flexibility to add a great player that’s going to come in here and help us win and help us compete. I think we have a lot of work [still] to do on both sides of the ball. We added (running back) Kenneth Walker, and we have some good core pieces on the offensive line in place. Whether it be receiver, edge rusher, or defensive back, I think anything’s in play. It’s hard to say when you’re at nine because you don’t know how the first eight picks are going to go.”
Veach kept every possibility on the table by saying anything is in play, but it is interesting that he named wide receiver, edge rusher, and defensive back. Those positions have been the consensus top needs for the Chiefs for the better part of the last month. While you can’t completely dismiss them going another route, it seems very likely they will take one of those three.
What Can We Learn About the Chiefs’ No. 9 Overall Pick Based on Top-30 Visits?
Giants getting close look at Carnell Tate in latest NFL draft news
GettyWR Carnell Tate following the Ohio State pro day.
Kansas City has hosted several draft prospects on top-30 visits. Here are 10 that we know of for sure:
Ohio State WR Carnell Tate
USC WR Makai Lemon
Georgia WR Ted Hurst
Missouri WR Kevin Coleman
Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor
NC State TE Justin Joly
Georgia TE Oscar Delp
San Diego State CB Chris Johnson
Florida TE Caleb Banks
Cincinnati LB Jack Dingle
Wide receiver leads the way with four, followed by tight end at two. That could mean the Chiefs are putting extra emphasis on adding pass catchers for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It is also notable that there is only one defensive back, and zero edge rushers on that list. Top-30 visits aren’t necessarily accurate indicators on who the Chiefs will draft, but they met with those players for a reason.
Among them, Tate, Lemon, and Proctor are the only ones who would require the No. 9 pick to be selected. With more off-the-field issues surrounded Kansas City’s top receiver Rashee Rice, selecting either Tate or Lemon would be very justified. Taking Proctor with the ninth pick could be controversial given how set the Chiefs are along four of the five positions of the offensive line.