Andy Reid beams as Chiefs poach DB from rivals and ‘snag’ Aaron Donald-like talent in draft masterclass

The Kansas City Chiefs pulled off a smoke and mirrors masterclass in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Head coach Andy Reid let it be known that he was determined to beef up his offensive line to protect Patrick Mahomes after his season-ending injury in 2025.

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“I am told, again on really good authority, Andy Reid is hell-bent … on figuring out this offensive line and protecting a quarterback who is the epicenter of everything that is success,” Todd McShay of The Ringer reported in the build-up.

But the Chiefs stunned everybody by moving up three spots to select ex-LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane at No. 6 overall.

General manager Brett Veach discussed the move in a press conference and could barely hide his beaming grin as he revealed how he pulled the wool over everybody’s eyes to get defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s man.

“Give credit to our data analytics team,” he said. “Almost every model we ran, looking at the stack of players, we figured (David) Bailey and (Arvell) Reese would go.

“Mansoor Delane was somebody we identified. The predictive model said the Saints were going to be the biggest obstacle (to landing Delane)… If there’s one guy who is more aggressive than me, it’s Mickey (Loomis)… Mansoor Delane was a top-five guy on our board.

“I thought we did a good job, I think a lot of people thought we might go offensive line there. But this was our guy the whole time.”

The Chiefs had a hole to fill after trading Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams, but managed to keep their intent quiet.

“[I]t’s funny because, three, four weeks ago, when we were going through the ’30’ visits, I bumped Steve and said, ‘We’re going to bring our corner in,’” added Veach. “And he said, ‘Don’t bring him in. Just don’t bring him in. Let’s just Zoom him. Let’s keep it quiet.”

Coach Reid was delighted with the pick and happy to give up Nos. 9, 74, and 148 to the Cleveland Browns.

He hinted that teams above them could have been ready to pull the trigger for the former Tigers star.

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“We ended up trading up for him, we felt like we needed to go up and snag him,” said Big Red.

“He’s super fluid. He’s athletic,” Veach later added. “Obviously, he ran that 4.3 [40-yard dash]. But he’s a guy that plays patient, is super aware, has great ball skills. He’s tough, he’ll tackle. We think he can play inside and outside.

“Again, we feel like he was the most complete corner. I’m sure he was the consensus No. 1 corner. And, again, when you’re picking at [No.] 9, and you’re right there ,and you can get the No. 1 corner in the draft, you go get him.”

Chiefs double down on defense

Even Delane was left stunned by his landing spot, with many assuming the Washington Commanders were in play with the No. 7 pick.

“They weren’t really on me too much in this process,” he said. “But they said they just wanted to keep it quiet and make that sneak move.”

The Chiefs were back on the board at No. 29 thanks to the McDuffie Trade, but a run on offensive linemen had left the cupboard bare.

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Despite the need to bolster a struggling offense, Spagnuolo got another new toy instead in the form of Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods.

“This is a kid we had our eye on right from the beginning,” explained Reid.

It is not hard to see why. At his best Woods is an absolute game wrecker, although he doesn’t always hit that mark.

ESPN analyst Louis Riddick — a former front office exec — thought it was a great selection.

“Peter Woods, the defensive tackle from Clemson. You pair him with Chris Jones, hat’s exactly what they need,” he told Scott Van Pelt. “They need somebody to help Chris out get that push up the middle.

“I said this about Peter Woods. I was looking at my notes after he got picked, Scott. And I’m sitting there going, this is a guy who’s been so hot and cold for Clemson, he has drove the coaching staff crazy down there. Why they couldn’t get him to even out his performance?

“When he’s on, he is Aaron Donald-like. That’s what he looks like. A guy who can just wreck the middle of the defense with his penetration and then his lateral chase ability, but he just doesn’t give it to you all the time.

“And so when you pair him with a guy like Chris Jones on a team like Kansas City that has this standard of performance that is basically it’s Super Bowl, Super Bowl wins or bust that will get the best out of him.”

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