The Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in unfamiliar territory as the NFL calendar flips to December. At 6-6, they’re not chasing a first-round bye-they’re fighting just to stay in the playoff picture. For a franchise that’s been the gold standard in the AFC over the past several seasons, this year’s version has been anything but dominant.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t the same Chiefs team we’ve grown used to watching steamroll its way into January. Normally, by Week 13, Kansas City is jockeying for home-field advantage and fine-tuning for another deep postseason run.
But this season? They're sitting at .500, and if the playoffs started today, they’d be on the outside looking in.
That reality has brought something else into the conversation-something that hasn’t mattered much in Kansas City for a while: the NFL Draft. As it stands, the Chiefs are projected to pick 13th overall in the 2026 Draft.
That’s not just mid-round-it’s the top half of the first round. And for a team led by Patrick Mahomes and coached by Andy Reid, that’s a surprising shift.
To put that in perspective, the last time the Chiefs were even remotely involved in the top half of the first round was back in 2017. That’s when they made the bold move that changed everything-trading up from No. 27 to No. 10 to draft Mahomes.
That deal cost them two first-rounders and a third, but it gave them the face of the franchise and a future Hall of Famer. The NFL landscape hasn’t been the same since.
Now, if we’re talking about the last time Kansas City actually used a top-half pick without trading up? That goes back even further-to 2013.
That year, holding the No. 1 overall selection, they took offensive tackle Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan. That was the first major personnel move under then-new head coach Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey, a foundational piece for what would become one of the league’s most consistent powerhouses.
Of course, Chiefs fans are hoping this current draft projection is nothing more than a temporary blip. There’s still time for Kansas City to string together wins and climb back into the playoff mix.
With a Week 14 matchup against the Houston Texans on deck, the opportunity is there to start building momentum. But the margin for error is razor-thin.
If the season ended today, here’s how the 2026 NFL Draft order would shake out after Week 13:
2026 NFL Draft Order After Week 13:
- Tennessee Titans (1-11)
- New York Giants (2-11)
- New Orleans Saints (2-10)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-10)
- Cleveland Browns (3-9)
- Washington Commanders (3-9)
- New York Jets (3-9)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-9)
- Atlanta Falcons (4-8)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4-8)
- Minnesota Vikings (4-8)
- Miami Dolphins (5-7)
- Kansas City Chiefs (6-6)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6)
- Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1)
- Detroit Lions (7-5)
- Houston Texans (7-5)
- Baltimore Ravens (6-6)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
- Buffalo Bills (8-4)
- Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)
- Indianapolis Colts (8-4)
- San Francisco 49ers (9-4)
- Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)
- Green Bay Packers (8-3-1)
- Seattle Seahawks (9-3)
- Los Angeles Rams (9-3)
- Denver Broncos (10-2)
- Chicago Bears (9-3)
- New England Patriots (11-2)
Now, it’s worth noting that a lot can change in the final five weeks of the season. Teams in the middle of the pack-like Kansas City-are still just a win or two away from reshaping their postseason outlook.
But for the moment, the Chiefs are staring at a December where every game is make-or-break. The draft is no longer just a distant thought-it’s a looming reality if things don’t turn around fast.
This is a team with championship DNA, led by a quarterback who’s proven time and again that he can deliver when it matters most. But if the Chiefs want to avoid being part of the early draft conversation, they’ll need to rediscover that spark-and fast.