Chiefs quiet on Mansoor Delane pre-draft, ‘Maybe they don’t want me’

“And that just shows the want they had for me,” he added. “So I’m just so glad that they appreciate my game like that. And I’m just trying to repay it back.”

What makes this pick even more compelling is how quietly it all came together.

Unlike many top picks, Delane didn’t have a long list of visits or obvious signals pointing to Kansas City. In fact, from his perspective, the Chiefs stayed relatively under the radar.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Delane said, on his pre-draft contact with the team. “I had a Zoom call with them.”

“But I was wondering,” Delane admitted about the Chiefs as he went through the pre-draft process. “I know some people did visit with them, so I was like, okay, at least they do do 30 visits.”

“I guess maybe they don’t want me,” Delane expressed.

They did — enough to trade three picks for a three-spot rise in the top 10.

Now, Delane walks into a defense that has built its identity on discipline, intelligence, and a standard that doesn’t waver. For a young player, that environment isn’t just appealing — it’s foundational.

“Speaking volumes to the culture,” Delane said, when asked what stands out most about Kansas City. “That’s the biggest thing for me.”

“I just want to be in a place where the culture is great,” he continued, “Where the standard I can just adhere to it and ultimately make me a better player.”

“I’m just excited,” Delane noted.

That excitement extends to how he’ll be used — and developed — at the next level.

“I think it’s going to be great,” Delane said, on working with Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “Just the intelligence he brings to the game. It fits the way I play the game with intelligence.”

“I can’t wait [for] the way he uses me,” he added. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m up for the challenge.”

There’s confidence there — but it’s grounded.

No promises. No projections. Just a clear understanding of who he is and what he brings.

“I think you just get in what’s advertised,” Delane said, on what fans can expect. “ I’m not a straight-cut guy, and I just take care of my business.”

“And… I bring wins,” Delane boasted.

The franchise that made an aggressive move to secure him has a high standard on and off the field. Before we learn more about him as a player, he came across as someone who wil meet the standard set by this team’s culture over the last decade or so.