{"id":838965,"date":"2026-03-28T13:25:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/838965\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T13:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:25:35","slug":"chiefs-look-certain-to-draft-competition-for-kristian-fulton-next-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/838965\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs Look Certain to Draft Competition for Kristian Fulton Next Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

There have already been plenty of changes for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. But few areas have seen the overhaul that the cornerback position has<\/a> had since the new league year started.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs kicked off the new year by trading Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams. Jaylen Watson followed McDuffie soon after, and there were suddenly two big holes in the Kansas City secondary. While Nohl Williams and free agent addition Kader Kohou will be part of the solution, the third spot seems to be entrusted to Kristian Fulton.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fulton\u2019s first year with the Chiefs didn\u2019t completely go to plan, and while Kansas City didn\u2019t spend big in free agency, they got a haul of draft picks by trading McDuffie. Put it together, and it\u2019s likely that Fulton\u2019s competition could be added when the Chiefs are on the clock in next month\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

Kristian Fulton Most Likely to Be Sweating Out Chiefs\u2019 Draft Plans<\/p>\n

Fulton doesn\u2019t have to worry about his job immediately, as the Chiefs\u2019 depth chart is currently light at cornerback. Kohou, Williams, and Fulton are the projected starters, and the final two spots are currently owned by Melvin Smith Jr. and Kevin Knowles.<\/p>\n

While Fulton would be happy if that went into the regular season, it is highly unlikely, considering the nine picks the Chiefs own<\/a> in the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n

Kansas City\u2019s first three picks should be Fulton\u2019s biggest concern. The Chiefs have three selections in the top 40, including their original ninth overall pick and the 29th overall pick acquired in the McDuffie trade.<\/p>\n

NFL Mock Draft Database\u2019s consensus mock draft currently lists the Chiefs to select LSU\u2019s Mansoor Delane<\/a> with the ninth overall pick, but Fulton could still be sweating it out if they decide to go in a different direction, such as Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, fellow Buckeye Carnell Tate (WR), or Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain.<\/p>\n

NFL Mock Draft Database\u2019s consensus big board also has five corners listed in the top 40, which also includes Tennessee\u2019s Jermod McCoy<\/a> (No. 15) and Colton Hood (No. 36), Clemson\u2019s Avieon Terrell (No. 23) and South Carolina\u2019s Brandon Cisse (No. 39). With the No. 74 pick in the third round, it would be a surprise if the Chiefs didn\u2019t select at least one cornerback in their first four selections and could take another in the back end of the draft considering their success at developing young corners.<\/p>\n

All of this means that Fulton will have to be on his game this offseason. The Chiefs signed Fulton to a two-year, $20 million contract last spring, and he only appeared in eight games (two starts), making 16 total tackles. Pro Football Focus also charged Fulton<\/a> with eight receptions for 135 yards with four pass breakups on 16 targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With an offseason knee procedure keeping Fulton out for most of last year\u2019s offseason program and a Week 2 ankle injury that cost him more time, staying on the field will be just as important as Fulton\u2019s performance. It’s become clear that both will play a key role, as Fulton will have to fend off one or possibly multiple cornerbacks after the draft.<\/p>\n

More Kansas City Chiefs News & Rumors:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There have already been plenty of changes for the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. But few areas have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":838966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2063],"tags":[346,7,118,110,2438,2437,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-838965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-chiefs","8":"tag-chiefs","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","12":"tag-kansascity","13":"tag-kansascitychiefs","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116307029152808315","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}