Chiefs Saw Saints As Threat To Draft CB Mansoor Delane

The first trade of Thursday’s opening round saw the Chiefs swing a trade with the Browns to acquire pick No. 6. That allowed Kansas City to move up from No. 9 and take cornerback Mansoor Delane.

Especially with Jermod McCoy facing medical concerns, Delane was seen as the clear-cut top option at the cornerback position this year. That made him an enticing option for the Chiefs, a team looking to restock its secondary. But the two teams direcetly ahead of Kansas City were also candidates to take Delane.

When speaking to the media last night, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said (via ESPN’s Nate Taylor) he viewed the Saints in particular as a threat to select Delane at No. 8. Moving ahead of New Orleans – not to mention Washington at No. 7, a team which expectedly added on defense in the first round – thus became a major priority. Veach said he learned of the Browns’ willingness to move down from 6 during the league meeting, helping pave the way for yesterday’s swap.

The Chiefs had Delane ranked as a top-five player in the class, Bleacher Report’s James Palmer notes. He confirms Veach was concerned about Saints GM Mickey Loomis (no stranger to trading up in the draft) moving up to take the LSU cover man. New Orleans was named as a trade-up candidate during the build-up to the opening round, albeit with an edge rusher being seen as the target. In the end, Loomis and the Saints remained in place at No. 8 and took receiver Jordyn Tyson.

Delane will be counted on to handle a starting role right away for the Chiefs as part of their latest CB reset. Trent McDuffie was traded away earlier this offseason, while Jaylen Watson departed in free agency. Neither Rams addition on that front came entirely as a surprise, but it left Kansas City in need of reinforcements via the draft. Veach accomplished his goal of securing Delane early, and it will be interesting to see how he operates over the next two days on the trade front.