💥 BREAKING NEWS: Chiefs suddenly face a shockingly high first-round draft pick that could reshape their season in ways no one saw coming.QQ
Uncharted territory for the Chiefs.
The 2025 regular season has been an odd one for the Kansas City Chiefs. They’re now 6-7 after Week 14 and with their playoff chances at an all-time low, fans can turn their attention to the draft earlier than normal.
With the Chiefs likely not making it into the postseason, they’re guaranteed to have a draft pick better than 18, something that is incredibly rare for them in this era. The last time they had a pick not in playoff position was when they traded with the Bills for the 10th pick in the 2017 draft to get some guy named Patrick Mahomes. That worked out pretty well, didn’t it?
Well, if the season ended this very second, the Chiefs wouldn’t quite hold the 10th pick but they’d be close to it. Let’s check out the updated draft standings after Kansas City’s Week 14 loss, according to Tankathon.
Where would the Chiefs pick in the 2026 NFL Draft?
| Number | Team | Record | Strength of Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Giants | 2-11 | .537 |
| 2 | Las Vegas Raiders | 2-11 | .551 |
| 3 | Tennessee Titans | 2-11 | .571 |
| 4 | Cleveland Browns | 3-10 | .486 |
| 5 | New Orleans Saints | 3-10 | .498 |
| 6 | Washington Commanders | 3-10 | .514 |
| 7 | New York Jets | 3-10 | .541 |
| 8 | Arizona Cardinals | 3-10 | .568 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Rams (via Atlanta Falcons) | 4-9 | .502 |
| 10 | Cincinnati Bengals | 4-9 | .523 |
| 11 | Minnesota Vikings | 5-8 | .523 |
| 12 | Miami Dolphins | 6-7 | .482 |
| 13 | Baltimore Ravens | 6-7 | .509 |
| 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | 6-7 | .511 |
| 15 | Dallas Cowboys | 6-6-1 | .447 |
So, there you have it. The Chiefs would hold the 14th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft if the season ended today. That’d be the highest pick they’ve had in the Patrick Mahomes era and they should be able to get an impact player for their roster that can help get things back on track.
It also wouldn’t be shocking if K.C. used this pick to try and add a proven playmaker to help bolster the roster. Either way, the Chiefs will be in unchartered territory and hopefully this will give their roster the much-needed spark it will need for the 2026 season and beyond.
This is all just a weird feeling considering the Chiefs have been Super Bowl contenders since Mahomes became the starter in Kansas City. Even before he took over, Alex Smith had the Chiefs in the playoffs more often than not so to see this team not make it to the postseason and have a pick in the first half of round one is a strange sight for sure.
A lot can change between now and the end of the regular season but with the Chiefs fielding a mere 15% chance to make the playoffs, they’ll likely be picking somewhere in the top 18 of the first round. Time to make sure that pick can come in and help get this team back to the Super Bowl where they belong.
