There are over three months until the 2026 NFL Draft, but with the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason underway, it’s time to consider what draft prospects the Chiefs could select with the ninth overall pick.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: S Caleb Downs, Ohio State
The Chiefs have maximized plenty of talent on defense but Downs would be a different story. The Ohio State safety is a force multiplier who can do anything you’d want from the position thanks to his impressive football IQ. It’s not a big-name position but could make this Chiefs secondary frightening.
The selection of Downs would be an exciting one, despite the unique position. When safeties are drafted towards the top of the draft, it usually works out well. Here are the most recent examples:
Of course, Chiefs Kingdom was the beneficiary of one of the two highest-drafted safeties in NFL history. In 2010, Kansas City drafted Tennessee safety Eric Berry with the fifth overall pick — and a three-time All-Pro career followed.
The hype is building around Downs to become the next great NFL safety. With the Chiefs, he would follow in the footsteps of former safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid as defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s Queen piece on his chessboard of pass defense.
In this scenario, the top two wide receivers in the draft, along with Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, were drafted before the ninth pick. Kansas City does pass up on Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey for Downs, but the overall impact a game-changing safety could have on the defense may be worth it.
