The Kansas City Chiefs walked away from the 2026 NFL Draft with seven new players. They’ve continued to add undrafted free agents with the goal of building out the 90-man offseason roster. Naturally, with that type of roster movement, there’s bound to be some players and coaches drawing the short end of the stick.

Which of them came out of the 2026 NFL Draft as winners and which of them came out of it as losers? Let’s find out.

Winner: DC Steve Spagnoulo

There’s no bigger winner after the 2026 NFL Draft than Steve Spagnuolo. Brett Veach invested basically all of the team’s top draft capital in rebuilding the defense. They added two elite coverage guys in Mansoor Delane and Jadon Canady. They added a productive and quick-winning edge rusher in R Mason Thomas. They also got a defensive tackle in Peter Woods, who entered the 2025 college football season as a near-unanimous top-five pick. I’m even pumped about the safety they added in undrafted free agency, Iowa S Xavier Nwankpa. My friends over at KCSN had a third-round grade on him. They’re injecting the defense with speed, athleticism, and youth. The last time they did that (2022), it resulted in a Super Bowl win for Kansas City.

Loser: EDGE Felix Anudike-Uzomah

It felt like Felix Anudike-Uzomah already had an uphill battle coming into this season after how things went up to this point. Now, he’s got to contend with a second-round draft pick at edge rusher in R Mason Thomas. They also got two good undrafted free agents in VJ Anthony and Ethan Hurkett. There’s also Ethan Downs and Tyreke Smith in Year 2 in the system. The competition here is more than enough to push Anudike-Uzomah out if he can’t elevate his game or stay healthy.

Winner: RBs coach DeMarco Murray

I don’t know that any team has ever set up a first-time NFL position coach in a better position to succeed. They added the Super Bowl MVP running back in free agency in Kenneth Walker III. They grabbed a suitable backup in Emari Demarcado. They drafted one of the best prospects in the draft in Round 5 in Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson. But they didn’t stop there! In undrafted free agency, they signed the son of Emmitt Smith. They signed Virginia Tech RB Terrion Stewart. Murray somehow even managed to convince Jadyn Ott to join the Chiefs after things didn’t go so well during his time at Oklahoma. This group is so stacked that Kareem Hunt is probably no longer on the table. I’m actually worried the odd man out might end up being…

Loser: RB Brashard Smith

The Chiefs made it abundantly clear what Smith had to do this offseason to get more playing time. That is to reshape his body to fit the running back position, adding strength and good weight. As DeMarco Murray and Eric Bieniemy reshape the running back room in their image, Smith is a bit of an outsider. Smith was a seventh-round pick, not brought in by the position coach or the offensive coordinator. At the very least, he has Dave Toub in his corner. That could easily change, though. He’ll have a lot to prove in order to earn his roster spot.

Winner: DT Chris Jones

It was painfully apparent that Chris Jones lacked adequate support along the defensive line in 2025. Between free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, the Chiefs added Khyiris Tonga, Peter Woods, and R Mason Thomas. Then they added VJ Anthony and Cole Brevard in undrafted free agency. Jones isn’t just going to be fresh from an actual interior defensive line rotation, but he’s going to have the support and creativity around him that he needs to thrive.

Loser: QB Justin Fields

The Chiefs’ decision to draft LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier in Round 7 is an interesting one. Heading into the 2025 college football season, he was viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the class. Even with his injury-assisted down year with the Tigers, Nussmeier was considered the No. 3 quarterback in this class by analysts like Dane Brugler. I say this all to say, before this pick, Fields was the no-doubt No. 2 quarterback in Kansas City. There’s now a non-zero chance that Nussmeier could slide into the No. 2 spot behind Patrick Mahomes.

Winner: WRs coach Chad O’Shea

O’Shea was already inheriting an underdeveloped wide receiver room. Now, he’s got some more pieces to train up. I know it’s hard to get excited about a fifth-round receiver, especially after Jalen Royals fell flat a season ago. I just think this position needed depth and some different flavors of players. They got Cincinnati WR Cyrus Allen in Round 5, and he fits what they like at Z and in the slot. They grabbed two solid undrafted free agents in Cincinnati WR Jeff Caldwell and Washington WR Omari Evans. Caldwell is especially intriguing given his athletic profile.

Loser: CB Kristian Fulton

Entering the 2026 NFL Draft, Fulton was looking like a starter at the outside cornerback spot opposite Nohl Williams. Then the Chiefs traded up and drafted Mansoor Delane at No. 6 overall. Well, maybe he’ll still play in the sub-package defense instead of Kader Kohou, right? Then the Chiefs drafted Jadon Canady in the fourth round. Well, maybe there’s a chance that Fulton beats out Williams? I’m not super confident in that after Veach said, “I think Kristian Fulton showed what he can do when he’s healthy.”

Winner: Every offensive tackle

The Chiefs’ interest in offensive tackles in the 2026 NFL Draft felt like a farce from the start. They invested a first-round draft pick in Josh Simmons in 2025. They spent a ton of money on Jaylon Moore as a swing tackle and potential starting right tackle. They also have some developmental options, such as Esa Pole, Chu Godrick, Ethan Driskell, and Matt Waletzko. Wanya Morris is still on the team. The right tackle spot always felt like one they could piece together through competition, and the fact that Kansas City didn’t draft a tackle tells me that’s exactly what they’ll do.

Loser: LBs coach Brendan Daly

I had a premonition that Kansas City would likely go leaner at linebacker this year, and the NFL Draft just confirmed it. The Chiefs failed to address the linebacker position in the 2026 NFL Draft after losing LB Leo Chenal in free agency. Cooper McDonald is probably the favorite to take over his spot. I’m sure a few of the undrafted free agents will be interesting and compete there. Daly’s group simply feels worse than it was a season ago, and they seem to lack long-term solutions at the MIKE and SAM positions.

Winner: TE Jared Wiley

The Chiefs did not invest a draft pick in a Travis Kelce successor, but they did sign a Kansas City local, John Michael Gyllenborg, as an undrafted free agent. He’s still pretty raw with only 43 games played at the tight end position. It makes me feel like Jared Wiley will be given at least another season to develop. He lost a good chunk of his rookie year in 2024 after tearing his ACL. He came back last season but really didn’t play at all, with just 28 offensive snaps. In fact, Robert Tonyan had over four times as many snaps as Wiley did in 2025. This is a make-or-break year for Wiley and his ability to stick with the roster. He should see competition from second-year UDFAs Tre Watson and Jake Briningstool.