2026 NFL Draft week is upon us. Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach has a plan in place; now he just has to execute it.

With the big event on the doorstep, it’s the perfect time to continue our offseason mailbag series. I’ll aim to answer all of the biggest burning questions for Chiefs Kingdom. Be on the lookout across my social media channels on X, BlueSky, and Facebook for future mailbags.

This week, we’ll answer a lot of questions on the 2026 NFL Draft. This includes questions about trading up and trading down, how I would approach the draft if it started at pick No. 29, my Round 1 predictions, & more.

Kansas City Chiefs pre-draft mailbag April, 20, 2026

Are the Chiefs more likely to trade up from 9 or 29?

– Andrew Schnittker

Brett Veach has a tendency to be aggressive trading up, as we’ve seen in past NFL Drafts. He’s traded up over a dozen times during his tenure as GM. With nine picks, he’s going to make a move up at some point; it’s just a matter of when. I’d prefer they trade up from 29, but I feel like they’d prefer to move up from No. 9.

Why move up from No. 9? The Chiefs don’t expect to be picking in the top-10 again anytime soon. And if things go right, they won’t be. Brett Veach admitted during his pre-draft presser that he has a sense of urgency to grab a player they’re excited about. So, I’d expect the team to go up and get their guy, whoever that might be.

My thoughts on the target? I think they would prefer to move up for a defensive difference-maker. Ohio State’s Arvell Reese or Texas Tech’s David Bailey, for instance. Potentially, a wide receiver like Ohio State’s Carnell Tate or Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson. If they have similar grades on those two and USC’s Makai Lemon, it could make them hesitant to move up.

In round 1, what is more likely… A trade up or a trade down?

– ZachLaymansNFL

A trade-up, but I’ll pivot slightly with your question. I don’t think a Round 1 trade down or out happens. I think the best spot to potentially trade down for Kansas City is pick No. 40. There will be a pocket of linebackers, defensive line, defensive backs, wide receivers, and tight ends at that spot. Enough so you can afford to drop down 9-15 spots and still come away with a contributor. I look at the Vikings at 49 or the Eagles at 54 as potential trade-back partners. They each have a late Round 3 pick.

How would you approach the draft if it started at pick 29? With the 9th being used to receive a 2027 1st round pick.

– Matt Lehr

If you’re trading No. 9 to get a high first-round pick in 2027, your targets are WR Jeremiah Smith, DE Dylan Stewart, OT Jordan Seaton, and DT David Stone. All those players play different positions, which creates a challenge. If the Chiefs simply had the No. 29 pick in this class, I think I’d default to the trenches. It all starts up front. On offense, it’s guys like Kadyn Proctor and Blake Miller. On defense, Caleb Banks and TJ Parker. I’d probably lean toward Banks because I think he could be the heir apparent to Chris Jones.

If you had to bet your next paycheck on who the Chiefs draft in round 1, who would it be?

– Leighton YoungBlood

If I were betting my paycheck, I’d hedge my bets. So, I’m going to give you options.

If I had to make a bet on Monday, April 20, I think I’d probably go with a trade-up. Find my reasoning for that above. I know the Arizona Cardinals are the hot name right now at No. 3. I’m just not sure they’ll need to go that high. I think they started realistically talking with the Titans (4), Giants (5), or Browns (6) and target Ohio State DE/LB Arvell Reese. Why Reese? I know his hybrid athletic ability has been compared to Micah Parsons. I think Spags will see him as a more athletically gifted Devon Kennard — deploying him both as an off-ball linebacker and a pass-rushing defensive lineman.

Obviously, that only happens if the Jets don’t take him at No. 2 overall. Rumor has it that New York likes Texas Tech DE David Bailey. It also only happens if you can beat others with a package to trade up. I don’t think the cost of moving up this year will be as high as in other years. It feels like a buyer’s market. It might take No. 29 in addition to No. 9. I’d prefer to package No. 9, No. 40, and a 2027 3rd-round pick.

If they can’t manage a move up, they could target the best available pass-catcher at No. 9: Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, and Kenyon Sadiq. However, the two players I am watching very closely are Ohio State S Caleb Downs and Georgia OT Monroe Freeling. Downs has been described as one of the cleanest prospects in the draft. Freeling might have come out a year too early, but I know the NFL is higher on him than the media. At No. 29, I think you have to strongly consider the defensive line. On the interior, Caleb Banks, Peter Woods, Kayden McDonald, or Lee Hunter. On the edge, Zion Young, Malachi Lawrence, or TJ Parker.

Are there any players who played a bit part or no part this last season the Chiefs are expecting a bigger role for?

– Matt K

I think there are a few players that are naturally expected to have a bigger role this year, like CB Nohl Williams, for example. However, I think this question points to a big failure the Chiefs made in 2025. They expected many guys to continue developing and become contributors, but it just didn’t quite work out that way. They left too much to chance in player development and didn’t have enough contingencies at several positions. So, I could say the same thing about players like WR Jalen Royals, TE Jake Briningstool, and DT Zacch Pickens. I just don’t think the decision-makers in Kansas City want to leave things up to chance this year. They’re going to build competitive depth at multiple positions. If it leads to some redundancy, that’s up to Brett Veach to figure out how to leverage that to improve other positions.