![\"Kansas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1238856579-e1772482087562.jpg\")
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAR 01: Brett Veach, general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks to reporters during the NFL Draft Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on March 1, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> can give their roster an infusion of young talent with the nine total selections they currently own in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n They have plenty of position groups that need immediate impact players<\/a>. The Chiefs also need to strengthen their depth in places where they already have quality starters. One underrated aspect to the draft is teams taking players that fill future needs based on contracts that are about to expire.<\/p>\n Linebacker Named \u2018Surprising Need\u2019 for Kansas City Chiefs in 2026 NFL Draft<\/p>\n Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report recently named one surprising need<\/a> that each team could address during the draft. He chose linebacker for the Chiefs, and believes they could get a good one during the late rounds. Here are some options he named specifically:<\/p>\n Jake Golday- Cincinnati \u201cThe Chiefs have clear needs along the defensive line and it would be shocking if they didn\u2019t draft at least one cornerback. But the reality is that their depth across the defense has taken a hit. That\u2019s the cost of having an elite unit. Losing Leo Chenal in free agency is the kind of thing that doesn\u2019t seem like a big deal because they still have Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill, but others are going to have to step up. Last year\u2019s fifth-round pick Jeffrey Bassa could be part of the puzzle, but the Chiefs could feel like they have to add to the room.<\/p>\n Golday boasts a similar draft grade to Bolton when he was coming out of Missouri. B\/R scout Matt Holder believes that many of Golday\u2019s shortcomings could be ironed out with experience. \u2018Jake Golday is a high-level athlete and a potential three-down linebacker in the NFL because of his size (6\u20194\u2033, 240 lbs), strength and athleticism. His biggest flaws can be chalked up to not having much experience playing off the ball.\u2019 Jacob Rodriguez is undersized, but was one of the most productive defenders in college football last season. But his measurables are nearly identical to Tranquill.\u201d<\/p>\n Linebacker Could Quickly Become Chiefs\u2019 Weakest Link on Defense GettyChiefs LB Drue Tranquill<\/p>\n This time last year, Kansas City had one of the most complete linebacker corps in the NFL with Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, and Leo Chenal as its starters. Now, Chenal is gone after signing with the Washington Commanders<\/a> during free agency, and Tranquill is entering the final year of his contract.<\/p>\n It\u2019s dicey on whether or not the Chiefs will bring back Tranquill<\/a>, who will turn 31 years old in August, after the 2026 season. If they don\u2019t, Bolton would be the only one remaining of the three, and he is set to become a free agent following the 2027 season. Both Tranquill and Bolton ranked in the top 15 among Pro Football Focus\u2019 highest-graded linebackers in 2025.<\/p>\n Kansas City doesn\u2019t currently have great depth at linebacker behind Tranquill and Bolton. Jeffrey Bassa is an intriguing player with athletic upside, but he played just 39 snaps on defense as a rookie last season. Cooper McDonald, who was also a rookie in 2025, played only 57 defensive snaps. Veterans Jack Cochrane and Cole Christiansen are also in the mix, but haven\u2019t shown any upside besides being core special teams contributors.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tNick Roesch<\/a> Nick Roesch covers the NFL for Heavy Sports, with a focus on the Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, and Los Angeles Chargers. He previously covered the Chiefs for USA TODAY Sports’ Chiefs Wire, and all 32 NFL teams for A to Z Sports. Roesch’s career in sports media spans 10 years. More about Nick Roesch<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Chiefs\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAR 01: Brett Veach, general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks to reporters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858855,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2063],"tags":[346,7,118,110,2438,2437,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-858854","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\/116363390394035846","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858854","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=858854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDeontae Lawson- Alabama
\nJacob Rodriguez- Texas Tech<\/p>\n![\"Drue](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775564302_789_GettyImages-2182154578-e1773372512190.jpg\")
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