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The Kansas City Chiefs' decision to trade down in the 2016 NFL Draft ultimately led to the selection of All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones. This pivotal moment in the team's history showcased the importance of strategic decision-making in building a Super Bowl contender.
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**How the Chiefs lucked into drafting All-Pro Chris Jones | ESPN**
KANSAS CITY, Mo. â One of the most significant discussions in the Kansas City Chiefsâ history occurred almost 10 years ago in their draft room â and Ryne Nutt can recount every detail.
âThere was a big argument,â said Nutt, an area scout at the time and the Chiefsâ current vice president of player personnel.
The source of the debate was a defensive tackle out of Mississippi State named Chris Jones.
â[Some] people had reservations about Chris,â Nutt said during the week of Super Bowl LIX.
Inside the large room that night, just before the start of the 2016 NFL draft, was team owner Clark Hunt, future Hall of Fame coach Andy Reid and John Dorsey, the grizzled, old-school general manager.
Surrounding the trio was a deep roster in the Chiefsâ front office, some of whom are now leading other franchises â Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts general manager), Ryan Poles ( general manager) and Mike Borgonzi ( general manager). Brandt Tilis, the â vice president of football operations was there, too, along with Nutt and Brett Veach, who soon replaced Dorsey as the Chiefsâ general manager.
The trade down allowed the Chiefs to acquire more picks and ultimately select Chris Jones, who became an All-Pro defensive tackle.
Key figures included team owner Clark Hunt, head coach Andy Reid, and general manager John Dorsey, along with several scouts and executives.
The Chiefs debated between Chris Jones and Robert Nkemdiche before deciding to trade down and select Jones.
The selection of Chris Jones significantly strengthened the Chiefs' defensive line, contributing to their rise as a Super Bowl contender.

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âAll right, guys, look at the [draft] board,â Dorsey said that night. âWho do you like?â
The Chiefs held the 28th pick. The groupâs conversation led it to agree that the club needed more depth along the defensive line. Two players were next to each other on the Chiefsâ draft board.
âIt really came down to Chris and Robert Nkemdiche,â Nutt said. âI donât want to go through who said what, but it was a pretty heavy consensus of [people wanting] Robert Nkemdiche.â
Later that night, based on the groupâs debate, Dorsey executed a shrewd trade to move the Chiefs out of the first round to collect more picks. For Dorsey, the centerpiece of the deal with the San Francisco 49ers was the 37th pick. The next day, the Chiefs needed to make that pick a valuable one, one that would help the team continue to rise as a Super Bowl contender.
Looking back, the Chiefs made the correct decisions. **Chiefs NFL Draft scenarios: 5 paths, including trades, that could make sense | The Athletic** **Scenario 2: Take the receiver you like**
**How it could turn out**
**First round, No. 9:**Ohio State WR Carnell Tate
**First round, No. 29:**Clemson EDGE T.J. Parker
It doesnât take long when cycling through potential mock drafts to get one in which the Chiefs would have all of this yearâs receiver prospects available.
No one *really* knows whatâs going to happen on draft night, and the Chiefs having the chance to take any wideout they want in a draft seems like something that might not happen again in the Mahomes era.
So here weâll go with the top consensus guy in Ohio Stateâs Carnell Tate. The Chiefs have never been afraid to trust in their own scouting evaluations, though, so USCâs Makai Lemon or Arizona Stateâs Jordyn Tyson certainly could be in play as well.
Take Tate first, and the Chiefs could circle to defense with their next pick. In this mock, Clemson edge rusher T.J. Parker is available and would add a good-sized, high-motor edge rusher to the rotation. **Kenyon Sadiq Meets Travis Kelce as NFL Visits Fuel Draft Buzz | Sports Illustrated** During his visit with the Chiefs, Sadiq found himself face-to-face with one of the greatest tight ends to ever play in the NFL, Travis Kelce.
âIt was awesome,â Sadiq told Amaranthus. âJust kind of a moment of realization⊠like, this is the NFL.â
Entering his 14th season in the NFL, Kelce had just finished signing his contract extension when the two crossed paths, creating an unexpected but meaningful moment for the rising prospect from Idaho. Most NFL players are out of the building for the offseason but the Chiefs coaches wanted to introduce Sadiq and Kelce, since he happened to be in the building.
âHeâs a super down-to-earth person,â Sadiq said. âHeâs not going to try to ego you by any means⊠I think thatâs pretty rare, especially being the celebrity or caliber that heâs at. It was really cool.â
The interaction offered a glimpse into the standard Sadiq is chasing in the pros and potentially the role he could one day fill. Kansas City, armed with multiple first-round picks, looms as a fascinating potential landing spot for a tight end with Sadiqâs skill set. **Five Things We Learned from GM Brett Veachâs Pre-Draft Media Availability | The Mothership** **3. Regarding the draft, Veach was asked to share an area in which he has grown over his time with the Chiefs.**
As part of his answer, Veach emphasized the importance of patience in his role while also citing the need to recognize that every team has their own, differing evaluations on each player.
âYou spend so much time on these guys, and you have such strong convictions on players, itâs one of those things that when you do the amount of work and you live in a film room, I think you get into this mindset where you think everybody sees the board just like you do,â Veach said. âIâm not saying our boards are always right, but you think that everyone thinks like you. Even now, when Iâm our doing our mocks and Iâm trying to project the first eight picks, Iâm thinking, âWell, this is definitely going to happen,â but then what happens is that it doesnât happen because not everyone sees the board like you. I think itâs just about being patient and being fluid and having an understanding that there will be more guys that you like later on in the draft and not operating with that mindset that, again, everyone sees it just like you do.â **NFL Draftâs most interesting teams: Can the Chiefs retool with extra draft capital? | Yahoo Sports** **Chiefs highest pick since 2017**
The Chiefs havenât had a pick higher than 21st overall since 2017, when they traded up to take Mahomes. This year is much different.
Kansas City has the ninth overall pick due to its poor record. The Chiefs added another first-round pick when they traded McDuffie to the Rams. Kansas City also has a high pick in the second round, 40th overall.
The Chiefs hope their own pick isnât in the top 10 again anytime soon, and hope that cap issues donât cause them to trade one of their best players again. Itâs a rare position for Kansas City to be in, and they have to take advantage of it.
One obvious need for the Chiefs is the secondary. Watson got $51 million over three years from the Rams, Cook got $40.25 million over three years from the Bengals, and the Rams gave up four picks including a first-rounder and a four-year, $124 million contract for McDuffie. Thatâs indicative of how valuable those players are. The Chiefs did sign safety Alohi Gilman and cornerback Kader Kohou, but they will need more to solidify the defensive backfield.
They have the picks to add some immediate contributors, but itâs not like the secondary is the only area of concern.
**How have NFL teams investigated Bainâs driving history?**
Character and off-field investigations are part and parcel to the evaluation process that precedes each yearâs draft. Multiple teams told Yahoo Sports their research on the March 2024 crash began last year. Teams are also aware of a minor collision in October 2025 for which a citation was similarly dismissed as defective. That citation lists no injuries nor damage. And like in the 2024 incident, police assessed Bain was neither speeding nor driving under the influence. NFL evaluators factor this information in as they decide whether to view Bain as someone with a pattern of incidents that dictate caution, or someone who at 19 years old was a driver in a car crash that resulted in a tragic outcome. Four of the five teams that spoke to Yahoo Sports did not consider Bain a significant character risk; the fifth said it would exercise caution but did not view him to be as risky as players in recent NFL history who were involved in crashes while under the influence and/or driving well above the speed limit.
Given the legal implications of any crash, at least some teams escalated this investigation to their executive staffs, including involving the team director of security and general counsel, sources say. Multiple evaluators said the information they gathered led them to conclude Bain was not drinking or under the influence during the March 2024 crash, one evaluator saying they believe Bain does not drink or smoke. Multiple evaluators emphasized their belief that teams should rely on information police gathered at the scene, which did not conclude Bain was impaired. Miami PD did not administer a sobriety test at the scene.
âThis was going to be fully vetted by every team,â one evaluator told Yahoo Sports. âYouâre going to have to feel comfortable either taking him or passing on him for this, but you couldnât just be like, âIâm not going to figure this one out.ââ
Another evaluator expressed empathy: âFor me personally, I just see it as an unfortunate situation. He wasnât drunk driving.â **Jets cancel top-30 visit with NFL Draft prospect David Bailey | SNY** The Jets have decided to cancel their top-30 visit with Texas Tech pass rusher **David Bailey**ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, reports SNY NFL Insider Connor Hughes.
Bailey, an NFL Draft prospect who led college football with 14.5 sacks last season with the Red Raiders, was supposed to meet with New York at the teamâs facilities for player evaluations, including interviews and medical checks, but that will no longer take place.
The Jets did meet with a handful of young talent during their top-30 visits, which have a deadline of April 15. Some of those players include Indiana WRÂ **Omar Cooper Jr.**, SD State CBÂ **Chris Johnson**, NC State DEÂ **Cian Slone**, Ohio State EDGEÂ **Arvell Reese**Â and Baileyâs teammate SÂ **Cole Wisniewski**.
Teams around the league use these visits to evaluate a playerâs character, intelligence and injuries and view them as a helpful tool when making final decisions on potential draft picks. **Dexter Lawrence wants out of New York with dispute about more than money | NBC Sports** Not only have talks broken off between the Giants and Dexter Lawrenceâs representation, but the defensive tackle wants out of New York.
Paul Schwartz of the *New York Post* reports that Lawrenceâs trade request is not about money. Lawrence wants to move on from the Giants as the dispute has escalated beyond the contract.
Lawrence, who has two years remaining on his deal, has sought a raise over his annual average of $22.5 million since the 2025 offseason. The Giants added $3 million in incentives to Lawrenceâs deal a year ago, and he earned $18 million.
General Manager Joe Schoen addressed Lawrenceâs situation during his pre-draft news conference earlier this week. Schoen characterized it as âgood conversationsâ between the sides with hopes of working something out so that Lawrence will remain with the team.
Talks, though, have hit an impasse, and the Giants now are concentrating on the draft.
With a week to go before the 2026 NFL Draft kicks off, Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach sat down at his desk and fielded questions from reporters in a Zoom press conference.
He prefaced his preview of the draft with a state of the team, coming off a 6-11 season that was the first losing season for the Chiefs under the leadership of head coach Andy Reid.
âThe position weâre in⊠our expectation every year is to go out there and try to win our division and make the playoffs and have a chance to compete for a championship,â Veach said. âWith that being said, there are a lot of areas to improve on our roster, on both sides of the football.â
âI think it does open up that ninth pick to go any one direction,â Veach declared. âCertainly, weâll see how the first five or six picks go, but I think whether itâs the defensive backfield, offensive line, edge rusher, receiver⊠we need help in all those areas. I do think that weâll be in a position there to get one of those players and then add throughout the course of the draft.
âI just think where we are with our roster, you really canât eliminate any âoneâ need because I think there are a lot of them.â