{"id":864174,"date":"2026-04-11T18:57:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T18:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864174\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T18:57:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T18:57:44","slug":"5-stud-cbs-kansas-city-chiefs-could-target-in-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/864174\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Stud CBs Kansas City Chiefs Could Target in 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas City Chiefs <\/a>moved Trent McDuffie in a trade and saw Jaylen Watson walk in free agency this offseason. Leaving a noticeable hole in the secondary. While there\u2019s belief in Kristian Fulton and Nohl Williams, the numbers don\u2019t lie\u2014those two logged under 700 combined snaps in 2025, compared to over 1,500 from McDuffie and Watson. That\u2019s a massive chunk of reps\u2014and trust\u2014missing from the back end.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s pass-first NFL, you can never have enough dogs in the secondary. If the Chiefs want to keep their defense playoff-ready, adding firepower at corner in the 2026 NFL Draft isn\u2019t just smart\u2014it\u2019s necessary. There are snaps up for grabs, roles waiting to be claimed, and a clear need for impact talent on the outside.<\/p>\n

Expect Kansas City to be aggressive at CB early in the draft as they look to reload, not rebuild, for another Super Bowl run. Let\u2019s break down the top five cornerbacks who could be on their radar in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

Mansoor Delane<\/p>\n

\"NFL:Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Mansoor Delane is CB1 in this class, period. Elite production, elite r\u00e9sum\u00e9. He locked things down in 2025\u2014gave up just 13 catches all season while earning unanimous All-American honors and First-Team All-SEC. That\u2019s some shutdown corner territory. Turn on the tape, and it gets even better.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s scheme-versatile, thriving in press-man and zone-match looks, and he\u2019s done it across systems\u2014from Virginia Tech to LSU. The production backs it up: 191 career tackles, 27 PBUs, 8 picks, plus a strong 2025 run at LSU with 2 INTs and 11 PBUs. Delane is a sure-shot tone-setter. Put him with the Chiefs, and that secondary reload gets real scary, real quick.<\/p>\n

Jermod McCoy<\/p>\n

\"NFL:Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Jermod McCoy\u2019s 2024 season at Tennessee was the kind of r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that gets a CB into Round 1 conversations. With 44 tackles, 4 INTs, and 12\u201313 PBUs depending on the stat sheet you\u2019re looking at. On top of that, he posted an 89.6 PFF coverage grade\u2014top 3 in the SEC and top 10 nationally. That\u2019s lockdown production in a conference loaded with NFL receivers.<\/p>\n

From a Chiefs perspective, this is exactly the profile that hits. In a Steve Spagnuolo defense, it\u2019s not just about traits\u2014you need corners who can find the ball, hold up in coverage, and finish plays. McCoy checks all three boxes. He\u2019s sticky in coverage and plays the ball like a receiver. Led Tennessee with 4 picks, stacked up double-digit pass breakups, and even snagged one in a statement win over Alabama. That\u2019s the kind of turnover juice Spags lives off\u2014flip the field, punish late throws, and swing momentum in one snap.<\/p>\n

Keith Abney II<\/p>\n

\"NFL:Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Keith Abney\u2019s calling card is as clean as it gets; he finds the football. His 2024 tape backs it up\u20145 picks, 9 PBUs, around 38 tackles, and consistent takeaway production year over year. This isn\u2019t a one-season flash; it\u2019s a pattern. His ball tracking and timing at the catch point? Elite. He plays the QB\u2019s eyes, trusts his instincts, and shows up right when it matters.<\/p>\n

And unlike some ball-hawk corners, he\u2019s not afraid to get his hands dirty\u2014comes downhill, hits with intent, and holds his own in run support. In the AFC, where offenses will test your discipline snap after snap, that matters. Abney isn\u2019t just a playmaker\u2014he\u2019s assignment-sound, physical, and instinctive. That\u2019s how you earn snaps in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

Brandon Cisse<\/p>\n

\"NFL:Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Brandon Cisse is exactly the kind of long, physical corner NFL teams love to bet on. He\u2019s got that prototype build\u2014around 6\u20191\u201d\u20136\u20192\u201d, long arms, wide wingspan\u2014the kind of frame that lets you get hands on receivers early and wreck timing at the line of scrimmage. Press-man? That\u2019s his lane. He thrives on physical reroutes, disrupting releases, and making life uncomfortable from snap one. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, there\u2019s legit safety conversion upside, as he can be a tone-setter on special teams early, and he\u2019s got the traits to handle outside CB duties or take on matchup-specific assignments. Cisse is a traits-heavy, scheme-flexible defender with upside\u2014and that\u2019s exactly the kind of bet teams like the Kansas City Chiefs love to make on Day 2.<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Ponds<\/p>\n

\"NFL:Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Ponds is flat-out one of the most productive DBs in this class\u2014and the numbers jump off the page. Back in 2023, he stuffed the stat sheet with 51 tackles, 7 INTs, and a ridiculous 21 PBUs. Add in Freshman All-American honors, and you\u2019ve got a guy who didn\u2019t just show up\u2014he took over from Day 1. Ponds profiles as a high-end nickel\/slot weapon at the next level. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s got a knack for jumping passing lanes, elite route recognition, and the kind of QB-reading instincts that lead to game-changing plays. If you want an instant-impact nickel who brings juice, versatility, and turnover production, Ponds is your guy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kansas City Chiefs moved Trent McDuffie in a trade and saw Jaylen Watson walk in free agency…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864175,"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-864174","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\/116387609412000992","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864174","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=864174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}