The Kansas City Chiefs are in the thick of the 2025 NFL season, but folks in the building are already evaluating 2026 NFL Draft prospects with the college football season well underway.

The team has sent scouts across the country to watch games over the past five weeks and will continue to do so as the season progresses. The Chiefs currently own six picks in the 2026 NFL Draft and are poised to earn a compensatory pick as well.

Our A to Z Sports NFL Draft team has unveiled its first collaborative 2026 mock draft during the 2025 NFL season. What choice did they make for the Chiefs? Find out below.

“The Chiefs haven’t had great luck in drafting edge rushers, especially ones who are bigger in stature. Thomas is the opposite of that (he’s quite undersized), giving the Chiefs something opposite of George Karlaftis that they don’t have: speed on the edge. It doesn’t necessarily fit how Steve Spagnuolo wants to play, but adjustments can be made given Thomas’ talent.” – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Minnesota

Keep in mind that the latest Super Bowl odds determine draft order.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 243 pounds, R Mason Thomas is closer to the stature of a strongside linebacker in Steve Spagnuolo’s system than that of an edge rusher. And that could be the plan for a player like Thomas in Kansas City, should a player like Leo Chenal walk in free agency in March. He’s earned his nickname “The Closer” for a reason. The senior is coming off the most productive season of his career in 2024, recording 23 combined tackles, with 12.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, a pass defended, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, including a 17-yard return for a touchdown. Through four games in 2025, Thomas has seven total tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and a pass defended. He has some moments on tape that are certainly reminiscent of what Kansas City once had in Frank Clark.

THE CLOSER ❌ pic.twitter.com/52CEKm6NF3

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 20, 2025

All of that said, I have a hard time believing, given what happened with a player like Joshua Uche, that the Chiefs would make a first-round investment in a player that doesn’t fit the mold that Spags is typically looking for. The only way I can see this happening is if an NFL team finally decides to poach Spagnuolo and offer him a head-coaching job this offseason, and they bring in someone who doesn’t have the same rigid defensive scheme.

What would I have done differently in this 2026 NFL mock draft?

R Mason Thomas wouldn’t be my first choice with players like Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey and Oregon S Dillon Thieneman going shortly after the Chiefs made their pick. Bailey is much closer to the prototypical Steve Spagnuolo edge rusher, while Thieneman would serve as a suitable replacement for pending free agent Bryan Cook. I also wouldn’t put it past the Chiefs to take a look at the running back and tight end positions.

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