Nick Saban says what needs to be said about Kansas City Chiefs’ first-round draft picks Mansoor Delane and Peter Woods
ESPN College Football Analyst and legendary former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban reacted to the Kansas City Chiefs’ draft picks at No. 6 and No. 29. Find out why he loves Mansoor Delane and Peter Woods.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ decisions in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft earned praise from a legendary college football coach-turned-broadcaster.
The Chiefs traded up to select LSU CB Mansoor Delane at No. 6 overall and stood at No. 29 to take Clemson DT Peter Woods. Nick Saban, the former Alabama Crimson Tide coach, provided analysis of prospects for ABC and ESPN’s 2026 NFL Draft broadcasts. While that analysis tends to be very complimentary of players, Saban isn’t one to hold his tongue if he doesn’t like a player or a team’s decision.
What he had to say about the two players the Chiefs got in Round 1 should reassure every fan of the process that led the team there.
Nick Saban professes his love for new Chiefs CB Mansoor Delane
LSU and Alabama were bitter rivals during Saban’s coaching days, but that didn’t stop him from giving credit where credit was due. There’s a reason that Delane was the consensus No. 1 cornerback in the 2026 draft class.
“This guy is an exceptional cover guy,” Saban said. “Mansoor (Delane), he covers people and mirrors people out of routes as well as anybody I’ve seen this year. He plays a lot of bump-and-run, you can see. His completion percentage against him is the lowest of any corner in college football this year. So, this guy’s fantastic… I love this guy, I’m a DB guy. Anybody who can cover and break on the ball. This guy is pretty physical, too. You know, he’s not afraid to tackle in run support.”
Delane allowed just 14 catches, no touchdowns, and no penalties on 357 coverage snaps in 2025. He allowed just 26% of passes thrown into his coverage to be completed. When quarterbacks targeted him, they generated a 27.5 QB rating. Clemson targeted him 10 times in the season opener, and he allowed a single catch, an interception, and multiple pass breakups. For the rest of the year, offensive coordinators told their quarterbacks, “Find No. 4 pre-snap and don’t throw it there.” Saban’s own Crimson Tide only targeted Delane twice in their matchup last year.
Chiefs DT Peter Woods spurned Nick Saban at Alabama, but he’s not holding grudges
Saban invested a lot of resources into recruiting Woods, who was the No. 1 recruit in the state out of Alabaster, Alabama, out of Thompson High School. He was also the No. 1 overall recruit at his position and in the region. Things didn’t work out for Saban’s Crimson Tide, but there was a reason that they wanted him at Alabama.
“So we recruited Peter (Woods) for five years; he took one trip to Clemson and committed,” Saban said. “The guy does have exceptional initial quickness, can use his hands. He is a good pass rusher. The guy plays hard. He’s relentless in the way he competes. I really like the player. I think this year was a little disappointing for him from a production standpoint. I don’t really know why. I talked to Dabo Swinney about him, and he loves the guy.”
The big question about Woods perplexes even Coach Saban. What happened to him in 2025 after his 2024 season? The production and flash plays dropped off a bit. At the combine, Woods attributed it to not having quite as much versatility within the Clemson defense and having more “dogs” around him. Only time will tell if he’s able to live up to the hype.