We are still over two months away from the 2026 NFL Draft, so there is plenty of time for predictions on the 32 first-round picks to change. The Kansas City Chiefs hold the ninth-overall selection, making this one of the most anticipated drafts in the team’s recent history.
Since the regular season ended, the Arrowhead Pride staff has been monitoring all of the mock drafts authored by NFL media to see which players are being matched with the Chiefs most often. We have compiled information from 29 unique mock drafts published by 15 different outlets since January 12.
The most often-chosen player is no surprise to anyone following the early parts of this year’s draft cycle.
Chiefs’ selections in mock drafts
The top 4 most picked, as of February 12
RB Jeremiyah Love — Notre Dame (41%)
DE Rueben Bain Jr. — Miami (17%)
S Caleb Downs — Ohio State (14%)
WR Jordyn Tyson — Arizona State (10%)
The momentum for Love has been prevalent since the end of the Chiefs’ disappointing 2025 season, one that featured a subpar rushing attack and two primary ballcarriers preparing to hit free agency.
However, the hiring of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and running backs coach DeMarco Murray could strengthen the argument to select Love, whose talent could make him one of the highest picks in recent history at the position: the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Ashton Jeanty with the sixth-overall pick last year and the Atlanta Falcons selected Bijan Robinson with the eighth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Those are the only two backs selected in the top 10 since the 2018 draft, when Saquon Barkley was selected by the New York Giants.
One simple explanation is the allure of Downs, who may not be available by the time the Chiefs pick in April. Tice and McDonald wrote Downs into the fifth-overall pick of the Giants — but on the flip side, Baumgardner picked Love with Downs still on the board. In his mock draft, Bain is the second defensive player off the board to the Tennessee Titans at four.
Bain feels like a polarizing prospect, but one that the Chiefs should absolutely be targeting with the top-10 pick. Can the same be said about Tyson, the wide receiver with a college career severely impacted by injury?
Three mock drafts from three different outlets matched the Chiefs with the potential no.1 receiver. At the same time, only one national source we tracked went another route to draft a wide receiver: former ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay, in the McShay Report newsletter, wrote Ohio State’s Carnell Tate as the answer to Kansas City’s quest to boost the receiving corps for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The top three most selected players for the Chiefs’ selection at nine make sense — but does Tyson fit in that group as one of the most likely options? What high-profile draft prospect is missing from mock drafts picking for Kansas City? Let us know in the comments.
