Just when it seemed like this Kansas City Chiefs season had hit rock bottom, a whole new basement emerged: After losing Patrick Mahomes to a torn ACL last weekend, Andy Reid's team watched backup Gardner Minshew leave their Week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans in the first half due to ... you guessed it, another ACL tear.
Chiefs are concerned that QB Gardner Minshew tore his ACL, as @mattderrick also reported. There will be additional tests but Minshew could be the second Chiefs’ quarterback in two games to tear his ACL. pic.twitter.com/vDVoxOTGKb
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 21, 2025
That left the offense in the hands of 2022 seventh-round pick Chris Oladokun, which went about as you'd expect: Oladokun threw for 111 yards on 11-of-16 passing, and Kansas City couldn't muster a single touchdown in a 26-9 loss. Not only are the Chiefs missing the playoffs; at 6-9, they're hurtling toward the bottom of the AFC.
But for as bleak as Sunday was, it might also present a light at the end of this particularly dark tunnel. With Minshew on the shelf for the rest of the year, it's unclear how Kansas City will score in its final two games against the Broncos and Raiders. A 6-11 finish is now not just on the radar but pretty dang likely, and that means good things for the Chiefs' draft stock. Kansas City is now up to No. 12 overall in next year's first round, with more room to climb if the Falcons and Dolphins (also 6-9) can find a win or two. Here's how Reid, Brett Veach and Co. should use this rare opportunity toward the top of the board.
Round 1, pick 12: RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
The Chiefs' running game has officially reached a breaking point. No longer can Kansas City's offense drag a predictable, entirely shotgun-based, "just get us three or four yards to keep us on schedule" to the Super Bowl; this passing attack and this defense aren't what they once were, and more is required.
The good news is that the Chiefs have hit on their picks along the offensive line, from Creed Humphrey to Trey Smith to Kingsley Suamataia. The bad news is ... everything else about this rushing infrastracture. The whole thing needs a face lift, from perimeter personnel to finding a quality fullback that can allow Mahomes and Co. to be more multiple and go under center more often. But it starts with, you know, the guy Mahomes will be handing the ball to.
If any team could justify sinking this sort of pick into a running back, it's the Chiefs; that's the luxury of employing arguably the best quarterback on Earth. Will Love be there at No. 12 after his sensational season at Notre Dame? It remains to be seen, but he's the sort of impactful, do-it-all runner this offense sorely needs.
Round 2, pick 43: WR Denzel Boston, Washington
Speaking of overhauls! It's not just that this receiving corps doesn't have enough talent; it's that it doesn't have enough diversity of talent, overindexed on smaller players who can't win downfield and need offense manufactured for them. Boston isn't the twitchiest or most explosive athlete, but he was wildly productive at Washington — and most importantly for K.C., he'd give them a shot of size they're desperately lacking on the outside.
At an easy 6-foot-4 and over 200 pounds, Boston is a certified ball-winner, excelling in contested catch scenarios. He's not a technician, and he doesn't yet have mastery of the full route tree, but his size/speed combination combined with his exceptionally strong hands will allow him to immediately step into the starting lineup and offer Mahomes someone he can target in man coverage. This WR room has been thrown out of the weight room far too often this season, and Boston can at the very least hold his own in that regard. And plus, he has the raw tools to become a legitimate downfield threat as well.
Round 3, pick 76: CB D'Angelo Ponds, Indiana
Ponds, on the other hand, is a diminutive corner at 5-foot-9 (and really, even that listing might be generous). But the currently undefeated Hoosiers have given him their toughest assignments on the outside regardless, and he's responded with pugnacious play both at the line of scrimmage and at the catch point.
He's also a tremendously smart player, a prerequisite for getting to the top of the Big Ten at that sort of size deficit, which would make him a dream for Steve Spagnuolo to coach up. With potentially Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie moving on in the offseason, the Chiefs need to replenish their defensive secondary with fresh bodies. Ponds might not be an instant star, but he's got the tools to overcome his lack of height and can start in either man or zone schemes.