The Kansas City Chiefs will be in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine this week, getting a firsthand look at the top prospects who have declared for the NFL Draft.

With the big event on the doorstep, it’s the perfect time to restart our offseason mailbag series and answer all of the biggest burning questions for Chiefs Kingdom. Be on the lookout for posts on my social media channels on X, BlueSky, and Facebook seeking questions for the mailbags. I will try to stick with a bi-weekly cadence throughout the offseason.

This week, we’ll cover questions about Josh Simmons’ health and availability, predict the team’s first free-agent signing, discuss NIL’s impact on how the Chiefs view certain draft prospects, lay out the team’s biggest needs for the offseason, and talk about whether K.C. is still in “win-now” mode.

Kansas City Chiefs Offseason Mailbag – Week of Feb. 23rd, 2026

Without getting into his personal business how confident is the team that Josh Simmons will be available for all of next season? – Bella Anderson

Well, to start off, Simmons is expected to make a full recovery from his dislocated wrist and fracture injury that he suffered late in the 2025 NFL season, which landed him on injured reserve. It’s the type of injury that can sideline players for 8 to 12 weeks, depending on severity. He should realistically be available to start the 2026 NFL season in September, so long as he doesn’t suffer any sort of setbacks during this rehab and recovery period. As for the off-field family situation that saw him miss a period of games during the season, both the team and Simmons have indicated that it’s not something expected to recur during the 2026 NFL season or at any point in the future.

Veach always comes out swinging with an early FA signing, what position group does he target first this year? WR, RB, DL? – Kyle Maskell

I wager the Chiefs will prioritize the running back position when free agency opens, and I think we learn about who they’ll sign during the legal tampering period. Obviously, there’s quite a bit of smoke surrounding Travis Etienne Jr. and his fit with the Chiefs. I won’t be shocked if he’s the guy, but I know they’re also making sure they’ve got backup plans lined up in the event he’s retained in Jacksonville. As far as financial investment goes, running back is simply the easiest and cheapest position to get done. From there, I expect the defensive line to be another priority with guys like Derrick Nnadi, Mike Pennel, and Charles Omenihu slated for free agency.

In the 2026 NFL draft, will Veach continue to chase talent who started as freshman in college and have 3 years starting experience? And with the NIL deals being handed out, will the age of drafted players by Veach rise this year? – Matt Lehr

I think both of these questions sort of go hand-in-hand. With players staying in college longer due to NIL, they’ll naturally have more starting experience and be older when they go to the league. The Chiefs and every other NFL team will have to be much more flexible and much less rigid when it comes to the qualifiers that they look for in certain draft prospects. You’re going to see a lot more fifth- and sixth-year seniors who didn’t start until the latter half of their career. At the end of the day, you want to draft good football players regardless of how old they are and how much college football they’ve played. I don’t think guys like Miami DE Ahkeem Mesidor and Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez will be disqualified or ruled out by Kansas City because they’re older prospects. At the same time, I think you’ve got to have a plan to integrate those types of players into the system quickly, knowing that the window closes a bit quicker.

What is the outlook for the team? Are they “win-now” always? Are they willing to make decisions with a longer-term outlook? That is to say, what perspective are they making judgment calls using as they move closer to a pure Mahomes era (no Kelce or Jones)? – ZachLaymansNFL

I think Brett Veach will reiterate this during his combine podium session, but this team feels like any season in which Patrick Mahomes is the starting quarterback, they’ve got a shot at winning a Super Bowl. Veach has always emphasized balancing short-term needs and longer-term roster construction. I don’t see that view going anywhere, even with guys like Travis Kelce and Chris Jones getting a little long in the tooth. I think where things might be different this year is that they’re coming off an Andy Reid-worst season, they’ve got some new coaches on staff, and the holes in their roster are more prominent than ever. What they’ve got to figure out is, what are the position groups that need wholesale change, fixing, and long-term investment, and what are the spots that you’ve already got enough to get by? I think about the right tackle position, for instance. If the Chiefs move on from Jawaan Taylor, do you go out and draft a guy or sign a guy in free agency? In my opinion, you probably figure out how to make it work with the six other guys you have on the roster who play offensive tackle. You’re realistically not going to fix every problem with the roster in a single offseason, but some will need to be prioritized based on the health of other positions.

A position group needs assessment from you would be welcome culminating in which to select at pick 9. I see Edge biggest need; RB as biggest gap from rest of league; then WR and DT. Thanks. – FolkstoneABQ

The cupboard is absolutely empty at the running back position, with Brashard Smith and ShunDerrick Powell as the only two players under contract for 2026. I view it as the team’s biggest need across the board. They need a long-term investment in free agency, and it wouldn’t hurt to grab a young player in the draft, either. From there, I tend to feel that the edge rushers and defensive line have the largest talent deficit among any other position group on the roster. They’re not giving up on the idea that DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah can become a contributor in 2026, but they’re also not counting on it based on history. I wouldn’t be shocked if they targeted a player with inside/outside versatility in free agency, who can contribute as a pass-rusher. Safety is a position group that I think is underrated in the needs discussion, especially if Bryan Cook were to leave in free agency. Chris Roland-Wallace, Jaden Hicks, and Chamarri Conner seem more like a supporting cast than a main cast. Linebacker could also use some love if Leo Chenal leaves in free agency. When looking at long-term needs, the wide receiver position stands out the most in my eyes. Rashee Rice has proven unreliable, and I don’t think you can realistically extend him, even if he lights it up during his contract year. Chad O’Shea should be able to get the most out of Xavier Worthy, but I think this is a group that needs some more long-term investments with Tyquan Thornton, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Hollywood Brown as pending free agents.

Kansas City Chiefs News

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Charles Goldman