The Kansas City Chiefs appear likely to miss the playoffs in the 2025 season, which should show the organization that members of the old guard, including star tight end Travis Kelce, might need to be phased out as the 2026 NFL Draft starts to creep ever closer.

Marcus Mosher and Ryan Fowler of FanSided both had the Chiefs trying to add at positions of need following a brutal 2025 season. One of them is firmly trying to find a replacement for Kelce, while the other wants them to add a cornerback who could be a cornerstone of a new-look unit.

Mosher believes that Kansas City should get a Kelce stand-in in Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in the first round, as there are precious few tight ends in this class who could come right in and make an impact in that sort of fashion.

Fowler, on the other hand, is looking right at the secondary and eyed inserting another standout player in the form of Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy. Perhaps he could reunite with teammate Omarr Norman-Lott and bring even more of Knoxville to Kansas City.

Chiefs select Kenyon Sadiq, Jermod McCoy in 2026 NFL Mock Draft

Sadiq not only appears to be one of the safer players in this draft, but he might be the only tight end who is even selected in the first two rounds. With a tremendous blend of speed in the open field, sticky hands, and effort as a blocker, Sadiq is someone who could help the Chiefs transition away from Kelce.

The big question surrounding McCoy is health, as he missed the entire 2025 season with a knee injury. When healthy, McCoy is an aggressive corner with the ball skills and disposition needed to be a tremendous defensive back under a coach like Steve Spagnuolo.

While neither of these picks will be able to give the Chiefs a running back with a bit more verve than Kareem Hunt or a defensive tackle that can fix their incredibly squishy interior outside of Chris Jones, they do give them a player who could slide right in as a Kelce replacement and a corner that could form one of the best tandems in the league with Trent McDuffie.

Kansas City is going to look much different in the 2026 season, which means that whomever they pick with this selection is going to earn a role as one of the de facto leaders of the team.