Mansoor Delane and Nohl Williams Star in a Bright Future for the Chiefs' Cornerback Room

It was a bit of a surprise when the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to obtain the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, then even more of a surprise when they used that selection on LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane. Immediately, Delane rightfully had sky-high expectations as the new face of the Chiefs' secondary.

Delane was limited throughout the majority of training camp due to a shoulder injury and then played just three snaps (including an interception of Bo Nix) in Weeks 1 and 2 due to an issue with the same shoulder. Even with just two full games under his belt, Delane looks to be worth that draft selection, and he's not alone as a rising star in Kansas City's overhauled cornerback room.

As any Chiefs or Los Angeles Rams fan knows by now, the Chiefs traded away cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams this offseason, and Jaylen Watson reunited with McDuffie after leaving for LA in free agency. That left a significant void for the Chiefs to fill at corner.

To begin 2026, veteran cornerback Kristian Fulton was entering the second year of his two-year deal with the Chiefs after a disappointing 2025, and '25 third-round draft pick Nohl Williams was looking to follow his promising rookie campaign with a more consistent workload in his sophomore season.

Delane, Williams and Fulton all hit the ground running.

Highest graded CBs in man coverage this season

Mansoor Delane 93.8
Kristian Fulton 92.8
Nohl Williams 91.8
Trent McDuffie 90.9
Travis Hunter 90.3 pic.twitter.com/4Tv5R4kLLU
— PFF (@PFF) September 30, 2026

Delane has been excellent, even when asked to take on difficult coverage responsibilities, as he was asked to do at times against Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers. He's also been a missile in run defense, playing with speed and physicality that fits Steve Spagnuolo's defense perfectly.

Mansoor Delane with one of the GREATEST two-play sequences you’ll see from a rook.

Registers a TFL on Ashton Jeanty, and follows it up with CLAMPING Brock Bowers.

The Chiefs rookie CB NEUTRALIZING some of the NFL’s top weapons 😳🔒 pic.twitter.com/oHzd3YU6qM
— Rookie Watch (@RookieWatxh) October 4, 2026

Delane has the fifth-highest overall cornerback grade from Pro Football Focus through the first four weeks of the 2026 season, while Fulton lands at No. 11. Williams appears at No. 41 in overall PFF grading but lands at No. 23 with his coverage grade alone.

good player this Mansoor Delane https://t.co/HNmzmM6Pbj pic.twitter.com/XPGheGgX3M
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 30, 2026

The one area of concern in the Chiefs' cornerback room comes in the slot, where veteran L'Jarius Sneed has provided some value and some tough snaps in his second act with the team. Sneed has the second-worst PFF grade among qualifying cornerbacks (No. 102 of 103), but he's been a positive force against the run and as a blitzer.

Sneed began the season in excellent fashion against the Denver Broncos in Week 1 before being routinely bested by Indianapolis Colts receiver Josh Downs in Week 2. I'll argue that it's a bit too early (and a bit unnecessary) to rush to end the Sneed-reclaimation experiment, but he's certainly struggled more than the team's trio of outside corners to begin the year.

I'd be interested to see Delane get a bit of work in the slot if that would enable Williams and Fulton to hold the outside corner roles in nickel packages, but I'd also understand some hesitance, as Delane's potential value is probably highest as a shutdown outside corner, and he's still acclimating to the NFL game (though you wouldn't know that if you only watched him play).

What other options could the Chiefs have?

Rookie defensive back Jadon Canady was a healthy scratch in Week 4 as safety Chamarri Conner returned to the lineup, while slot corner Kader Kohou remains on the practice squad, so neither Canady nor Kohou seem particularly close to challenging Sneed for those slot corner reps. Versatile DB Chris Roland-Wallace took a season-high 29 defensive snaps against the Raiders, but Sneed has taken more than 72% of the defensive snaps in every game so far this season.

Ultimately, the Chiefs' slot corner position will require more monitoring (and, ideally, better play) in the weeks to come, but the Delane/Williams outside duo—with room for cameos from Fulton this season—appears to be one of the NFL's most promising young pairings.

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