First-Round Mock Draft Has Chiefs Trading Out Of Ninth Pick In Move With Cowboys

As of now, the Kansas City Chiefs own the No. 9 and No. 29 overall picks in the upcoming draft, which begins Thursday.

But since Kansas City’s first pick is just inside the top 10 and the immediate teams behind them don’t need help at defensive end per se, trading back a few spots may be how the Chiefs handle its business in the first round. ESPN’s Peter Schrager certainly see it this way, as in his final mock draft for ESPN (first-round only), Schrager has the Chiefs trading back in a move with the Dallas Cowboys, swapping both of their first-round selections. The Chiefs would send the ninth and 29th picks to Dallas in exchange for the 12th and 20th overall picks.

There’s a chance that the Cowboys select Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. with the ninth pick, but Schrager believes Dallas will select LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane to help elevate the secondary. Schrager has the Chiefs selecting Bain, which has been the consensus recently.

Bain would provide a much-needed boost to the defensive line which struggled to sack the quarterback consistently in 2025. “The Chiefs have done their homework on the edge rushers near the top of this class, and I could even see them trading up instead of down if Bailey or Reese slid just a little bit more,” Schrager wrote Wednesday. “But moving back three spots (while moving up nine spots later in Round 1) and still getting a top-three edge rusher in the class?