Updated Chiefs 3-round NFL mock draft after the Trent McDuffie trade

The Kansas City Chiefs have acquired another first-round pick, shipping veteran cornerback Trent McDuffie off to the Los Angeles Rams as part of a package centered around the 29th pick in this year's draft.

The move looks like it will radically shift how the Chiefs approach not only the draft but a pivotal offseason overall. The full ramifications won't be known until we see what the team does in free agency with some of its newfound cap space, but it sure looks like the early picks for the Chiefs will now trend more defensive than originally expected.

Round 1, Pick 9: CB Mansoor Delane, LSU

The McDuffie trade makes it pretty clear that the Chiefs will use one of their first-round picks on a corner. It just depends on who's available where. LSU's Mansoor Delane is regarded as one of, if not the, best corner in this draft, so he'll be really tempting at this spot (assuming the likes of Carnell Tate and David Bailey don't fall).

Delane is an extremely well-rounded player who has the potential to be a lockdown No. 1 corner on the outside. If he's still on the board here, the Chiefs almost have to pull the trigger, because with McDuffie gone, the corner situation is full of question marks.

Jaylen Watson, the other starter, is set to become a free agent. Kristian Fulton was a healthy scratch at times last season. Nohl Williams played well enough in 2025 to justify a larger role, but will the Chiefs trust him to step in as a full-time starter? Clearly, talent needs to be added here, and this is the easiest way to do that.

I'm sure Andy Reid won't love passing on Jeremiyah Love or Makai Lemon here, but it's necessary to improve the defense in the wake of the McDuffie trade.

Round 1, Pick 29: EDGE T.J. Parker, Clemson

If I'm the Chiefs, I want Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion here, but it's hard to see him dropping past the Bills at No. 26, Assuming Concepcion isn't there, the team could do with a different receiver, but all the guys left on the board feel like reaches, especially when the Chiefs pick again 11 spots later.

Former Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker would make a lot of sense here, though. Parker's numbers took a bit of a dip in 2025, but he was among the top prospects in this class entering the year, and overall he's proven to be adept at rushing the quarterback.

Parker is also a capable run defender, which should allow him to get on the field early with the Chiefs. Edge rusher might not be the biggest need this team faces, but it's certainly a need, and finding guys who can create pressure on the edge will be very important a year or two from now once Chris Jones begins to age (if that process hasn't begun already).

Round 2, Pick 40: WR Malachi Fields, Notre Dame

The Chiefs need receiver help. Hollywood Brown, Tyquan Thornton and JuJu Smith-Schuster are all free agents, while Xavier Worthy has yet to prove he can be the elite deep threat that Kansas City thought it was getting when it drafted him in the first round in 2024. Rashee RIce has been good, but he also keeps finding himself in legal trouble, which has to concern this front office.

That makes adding at least one or two receivers between the NFL Draft and free agency very important. At No. 40, Notre Dame's Malachi Fields stands out as a clean fit.

Fields spent the first four seasons of his career at Virginia before transferring to Notre Dame, where he caught 36 passes for 630 yards and five touchdowns in 2025. It was a drop-off in production from his numbers at UVA, but that was to be expected on a team with as many weapons as Notre Dame had (and that ran the offense through Love and the running game most of the time).

Fields won't necessarily blow the top off a defense, but he's a big body with a big catch radius who can serve as a strong outside possession receiver for the Chiefs, and his size and leaping ability will help him corral 50/50 balls from Patrick Mahomes.

Round 3, Pick 74: RB Emmett Johnson, Nebraska

It's time to completely redo this backfield. Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are free agents, and former wide receiver Brashard Smith is far from ready to take over as the lead guy.

The Chiefs could certainly look for a free agent at running back like Travis Etienne, but even then, it would be good to add another body to this room. Etienne is good, but he's not so good that K.C. can get away with not adding insurance.

Nebraska's Emmett Johnson is a tough player to get a read on. He was very productive in college, leading the Big Ten with 1,451 rushing yards this past season and scoring 12 rushing touchdowns while also catching 46 passes. At the same time, his NFL Combine testing was ... meh.

But here's the thing: Johnson tested worse than a lot of other running backs at the Copmbine, but he also actually did every drill. Other backs skipped out on drills which would have presumably brought their numbers down, so his relative testing numbers don't really scare me.

Johnson was a three-down back at Nebraska who showed his toughness simply by doing every drill. If he's on the board at this spot, the Chiefs should be thrilled, because he can be an instant-impact player.