Kansas City Chiefs NFL Draft 2024 guide: Picks, predictions and key needs

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Kansas City Chiefs NFL Draft 2024 guide: Picks, predictions and key needs

The Beast, Dane Brugler’s expansive guide to the NFL Draft, is here. 

The Kansas City Chiefs have the 32nd pick in the NFL Draft when Round 1 begins April 25 in Detroit. The Chiefs own seven total picks in the seven-round draft.

Chiefs’ draft picks

ROUND PICK OVERALL NOTES

1

32

32

2

32

64

3

31

95

4

31

131

5

24

159

From Cowboys

5

38

173

Compensatory

7

1

221

From Titans

Full draft order

Every pick in the seven-round NFL Draft.

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NFL Draft details

• Round 1: April 25, 8 p.m. ET
• Rounds 2-3: April 26, 7 p.m. ET
• Rounds 4-7: April 27, Noon ET

All rounds will be televised on ESPN/ABC and NFL Network and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.

About the Chiefs

• Head coach: Andy Reid (12th season with team)
• Last year’s record: 11-6

In February, the Chiefs became the NFL’s first repeat champion in two decades. The team’s next mission is to become the first franchise to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The team is led by coach Andy Reid, general manager Brett Veach, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and pass rusher Chris Jones. In their biggest move of the offseason, the Chiefs re-signed Jones to a five-year, $158.75 million contract, including $60 million guaranteed. They also traded cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the Tennessee Titans and signed speedy wide receiver Marquise Brown to a one-year deal. The arms race in the AFC is intensifying. The Chiefs understand they need to draft well in order to stay on top.

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Chiefs’ key position needs 

Wide receiver: The wise move is for the Chiefs to keep investing high draft picks into the position, considering Mahomes is in his prime and Kelce will be 35 in October. Adding Brown in free agency was a start. But adding a dynamic rookie should help the Chiefs offense regain potency.

Left tackle: At this point, the Chiefs don’t have a clear starter. Wanya Morris, a second-year player, may need more time to develop before fully earning the role. The Chiefs could also re-sign nine-year veteran Donovan Smith to another one-year contract. But if a talented tackle is available in the first two rounds, the Chiefs will grab him. Veach is always in favor of creating competition at premium positions, especially when it comes to protecting Mahomes’ blind side.

Defensive end: Re-signing Mike Danna to a three-year contract lessens the need here as he and George Karlaftis remain the top two players on the depth chart. Felix Anudike-Uzomah, a second-year player, is likely be the Chiefs’ third defensive end. You can’t have too many pass rushers, and with Charles Omenhihu recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee, Veach could look to add here during the draft.

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Chiefs draft analysis

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The Athletic’s most recent mock drafts

April 17: Dane Brugler’s 7-round mock draft
Brugler predicts the Chiefs will take Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell with the 32nd pick and fortify their lines later in the draft.

April 8: Nick Baumgardner’s mock draft
Baumgardner has the Chiefs selecting Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey at No. 32.

April 4: Bruce Feldman’s mock draft
Feldman shares coaching intel on each pick, including the Chiefs trading out of the first round and picking Western Kentucky receiver Malachi Corley in Round 2.

March 25: Chiefs mock draft 2.0
Nate Taylor moves up to grab Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell in Round 1.

March 25: NFL mock draft
Ben Standig has the Chiefs taking Arizona left tackle Jordan Morgan.

March 21: Beat writer mock draft 2.0
Taylor closes out the first round by taking plug-and-play left tackle Kingsley Suamataia.

March 6: NFL GMs, execs mock draft’s top 10
Drake Maye is the popular pick — but largely by default.

March 5: Dane Brugler’s post-combine mock draft
Brugler has the Chiefs taking the fastest man in combine history, Texas receiver Xavier Worthy at 32.

Feb. 22: Beat writer mock draft 1.0
Taylor stays put at No. 32 and grabs a prime target for Patrick Mahomes in Adonai Mitchell.

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Chiefs’ last five top picks

2023: DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, No. 31 — With the draft in Kansas City last year, the Chiefs made a fairy-tale selection. Anudike-Uzomah grew up in Lee’s Summit, Mo., and attended his first NFL game at Arrowhead Stadium when he was 7 years old. But as a rookie, Anudike-Uzomah had a redshirt season as an understudy to Jones and Karlaftis. In 2024,  Anudike-Uzomah could earn a starting role if he has an impressive training camp and preseason.

2022: CB Trent McDuffie, No. 21 — McDuffie has blossomed into a star cornerback, a defender who can be effective as a blitzer, in the slot or on the perimeter . In 11 games as a rookie, McDuffie recorded seven pass breakups, one sack and one fumble recovery. He made improvements as a sophomore by creating more turnovers, forcing five fumbles to go with nine quarterback hits, three sacks and seven pass breakups.

2021: LB Nick Bolton, No. 58 — Bolton has become one of the Chiefs’ most dependable players. He set the franchise record for most tackles in a single season in 2022 with 180. Last season, he returned from a wrist injury to collect 40 tackles in the team’s four-game postseason run. Bolton’s biggest highlight came when he returned a fumble recovery 36 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl LVII.

2020: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, pick 31 — Edwards-Helaire lost the starting job midway through the 2022 season to rookie Isiah Pacheco. In a backup role, Edwards-Helaire still was productive in the second half of last season, producing 188 yards on just 17 receptions. But Edwards-Helaire’s rushing yards declined in each of the past three seasons. He was at his best in his rookie year when he produced 1,100 all-purpose yards in 13 games.

2019: WR Mecole Hardman, pick No. 56 — Hardman will always be known for catching the 3-yard walk-off touchdown in overtime to win Super Bowl LVIII for the Chiefs. His best receiving production came in 2021, when he finished with 693 yards. An abdominal injury cut short his 2022 season after he had scored six touchdowns in eight games. As a first-time free agent, Hardman signed a one-year deal last spring with the New York Jets. But by October, he was back on the Chiefs’ roster after a minor trade deadline deal.

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(Photo of Adonai Mitchell: Ricardo B. Brazziell / USA Today)