The Chiefs took a lot of criticism for how they rebuilt their secondary, but one move is already looking a lot smarter than it did on draft night.
Kansas City moved up three spots to grab LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane with the No. 6 pick, and the cost drew plenty of heat. That came after the team traded All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie for draft capital instead of paying him, then let Jaylen Watson and safety Bryan Cook walk in free agency. For a group under a microscope, the pressure was immediate.
Delane didn’t help himself at first. A shoulder injury slowed him through OTAs and minicamp, and his limited availability only added to the criticism. But once he got on the field, the payoff showed up fast.
His breakout moment came in the Chiefs’ opener against the Denver Broncos, when he jumped an underthrow from Bo Nix for an interception that swung the game. Delane re-injured his shoulder on the play, and that remains something to watch, but the talent has been obvious ever since.
What stands out is that he’s not just a cover guy. Delane has played with force, shown a willingness to tackle, and brought the kind of physical edge that fits right in with Nohl Williams on the other side. Williams brings that same bruising style, and together they’ve given Kansas City a different look at corner.
The Chiefs haven’t been perfect on the back end. The Indianapolis Colts moved the ball with relative ease in Kansas City’s 33-30 OT win in Week 2. Still, Delane has done enough to make the early return look promising, and the team appears to have found the shutdown corner it wanted.
With the early bye in hand, Kansas City’s hope is simple: get Delane fully healthy and take the shoulder issue out of the equation. The Chiefs will likely keep an eye on his snap count, but he’s already looked ready to handle the job. If this start is any indication, Delane is going to keep drawing attention as this new-look secondary keeps taking shape.
In Other News...
Chiefs Teammates Share A Bond Bigger Than Football
Trey Smith and Kenneth Walker III have become much more than teammates in Kansas City. Both lived through serious blood clot conditions that put their football futures in doubt and forced them to confront something far bigger than the game, and now they are using their platform to help other people understand how sudden and dangerous those medical issues can be.
Their work has taken them into public awareness efforts aimed at getting the message out that blood clots can affect anyone, including young elite athletes. Through the National Blood Clot Alliances "Stop The Clot, Spread The Word" campaign, the Chiefs players are helping turn personal adversity into education, a reminder that the most important victories sometimes happen away from the field. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Are Riding Kenneth Walker Harder Than Fans Might Realize
Kansas City has leaned on Kenneth Walker III to open the season, and the workload has been as heavy as the eye test suggests. The Chiefs are trying to make sense of offensive line issues while also easing rookie Emmett Johnson into the mix, a balancing act that has made Walker the centerpiece of the ground game as the team heads toward its bye week.
DeMarco Murray knows the territory better than most, which gives this start a little extra context inside the building. Murray once ripped off a similarly fast opening to a season during his own playing days, so the Chiefs staff has some perspective on what it means to ride a back this hard early, even if the larger question now is how long they can keep doing it without asking too much of one player. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Fans Are Split Over How Kenneth Walkers Viral Highlight Was Shared
Kenneth Walker has given Chiefs fans plenty to talk about this season, and one of his more memorable bursts came on a 21-yard run in a recent game that showed off the same tackle-breaking ability he has displayed all year. The run fit the larger picture around Walker, who has made defenders miss repeatedly and has become a player worth watching whenever Kansas City gets into space and lets him work.
The conversation shifted online after a viral, AI-generated image of the play began circulating and drew immediate scrutiny from fans. What might have been a simple highlight post instead turned into another example of how quickly sports imagery can become a debate about accuracy, authenticity and how much room AI should be given in the way games are presented. [Read more 🡒]