AFC North Scout Predicts Chiefs Draft Polarizing Edge Rusher At No. 9

AFC North Scout Predicts Chiefs Draft Polarizing Edge Rusher At No. 9

The 2026 National Football League draft is right around the corner and the time for mock drafts is nearly over, but there’s still time to predict where certain prospects will end up and how it will impact other teams.

The Kansas City Chiefs will be selecting inside the top 10 for the first time since drafting star quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the 10th overall pick in 2017, a selection that has impacted the organization incredibly. The franchise gets another shot at finding an impactful player early in the draft, but it will likely be used on a defender this time around.

The Chiefs have two first-round picks, No. 9 and No. 29, after finishing 6-11 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014 as well as trading star cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams to secure the late first-round selection.

Edge rusher should be the clear and obvious position that should be addressed in the first round, preferably with No. 9, but there are good prospect pass-rushers going in the late first and early second-round.

According to ESPN’s Matt Miller, it’s common practice in the NFL for teams to conduct their own mock drafts and assign staffers to other teams in the first round in an attempt to predict what could happen at each pick ahead of their own selection.

Miller is doing his own version of this exercise for the third year in a row, using 10 anonymous scouts around the league to predict how the first 10 picks will go. Each scout was given a team that is from a different division or conference and wasn’t allowed to make trades.

The Chiefs were assigned a scout from the American Football Conference North division, and Miller wrote that he was thrilled with how the board shook out, allowing Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. to land at No. 9.

“Bain is a powerful edge with great leverage, a great motor, and he was unstoppable in the College Football Playoffs when you're seeing the best versus the best,” the scout regarding his choice.