NFL Draft pick Jadon Canady brings versatility to Chiefs secondary

The Kansas City Chiefs made their priorities clear with their approach to the 2026 NFL Draft. General manager Brett Veach selected four consecutive defenders before finishing with three mid-to-late round picks on offense. Chiefs fans need to be excited for the versatility and athletic upside their team added over the past few days, including the addition of Oregon defensive back Jadon Canady.

Across his five seasons in college, Canady logged more than 800 snaps as an outside corner, over 1,000 snaps in the slot and roughly 550 combined at free safety and dropped down in the box. Versatility is his calling card. He gives Steve Spagnuolo’s defense diverse subpackage options and unlocks a wide variety of post-snap rotations. More importantly, he provides immediate competition for players like Chamarri Conner and Kader Kohou.

Canady uses his vision and instincts to make plays in zone, but he shines in man coverage opportunities. His agility and twitchy footwork help him mirror and smother routes. Canady is a smooth athlete with the explosiveness to recover from missteps. His extensive experience shows up on tape when he anticipates the receiver’s next move at the top of the stem.

Canady is undersized at 5'10.5", 181 lbs., but his ball skills and timing help him compete against larger athletes at the catch point. He struggles to get off blocks and takes some poor angles in run defense, but no one questions his motor and willingness to attack downhill.

The Chiefs used the 109th overall pick on Canady. Arif Hasan’s consensus big board, which pools data from 134 analysts, including key industry insiders, ranked Canady 143rd in the class. That might make the pick seem like a reach, but several analysts, including for NBC Sports and for CBS, listed Canady as a top 100 prospect. He finished 106th on the final big board.