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Every NFL Team’s Most Promising Building Block Entering 2026
Kansas City Chiefs: CB Nohl Williams
Before this past season, the Kansas City Chiefs had done a ridiculously good job of staying in title contention. A big, not-so-secret part of their success was their ability to successfully reload the roster through the draft.
This year, Kansas City will need to reload its cornerback room in a big way. The Chiefs traded starter Trent McDuffie before losing another starter, Jaylen Watson, in free agency.
In camp, expect plenty of eyes to be on rookie first-round pick Mansoor Delane, whom the Chiefs selected sixth overall after trading up. However, second-year corner Nohl Williams might become a defensive headliner even before Delane.
In fact, the promise that Williams consistently showcased last season might be why Kansas City was comfortable moving McDuffie.
A third-round pick out of Cal, Williams appeared in all 17 games as a rookie and performed extremely well. He finished the year with 48 tackles, a sack, and seven passes defended, and he allowed an opposing passer rating of just 82.9 in coverage.
Why the Chiefs Need Even More from Star Guard Trey Smith in 2026 | Sports Illustrated
Smith’s Strengths and Weaknesses
During his first four years in Kansas City, Smith started 67 of a possible 68 regular season games, plus another 13 in the postseason. As Smith grew as a player, his reliability bolstered his case as one of the league’s best young interior offensive linemen.
Unfortunately for Smith and the Chiefs, the then-26-year-old only appeared in 12 games in 2025 due to back ailments and an ankle injury.
At this point, Smith’s injury-riddled ’25 is still the outlier after four seasons of exceptional consistency, but that will be an issue worth monitoring in 2026.
While Smith’s Pro Football Focus grade understandably dipped in 2025 while playing through injury, he has historically been a dominant run-blocker and strong pass-protector throughout his career.
More than ever, Kansas City needs help at edge rusher. The Chiefs are coming off a season where they did not get enough production from their edge group, placing an immense burden on Chris Jones to carry the defensive line. The team responded by adding some talent this offseason, but they could serve to add more.
Second-year player Ashton Gillotte has already said he is unhappy with how he played during his rookie season and aims to perform more like himself in Year 2. Rookie R Mason Thomas doesn’t fit the typical Kansas City edge rusher prototype, but he was a dynamic speed rusher at the University of Oklahoma and could provide a similar presence for the Chiefs. Second-year players Ethan Downs and Tyreke Smith spent the majority of 2025 on the practice squad and will look to push for roster spots. Undrafted free agents like VJ Anthony and Anthony Dunn could make a splash as well.
However, the primary competition for snaps comes down to Anudike-Uzomah, Gillotte, and Thomas alongside Karlaftis. That sets the stage for opportunity and defines the realistic ceiling for Anudike-Uzomah in 2026.
Cowboys-Chiefs trade? How 2026 draft would’ve looked if KC didn’t switch up | Cowboys Wire
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer recently carved that fact into stone while appearing on the Twins Take podcast. Asked about what it’s like on draft day in regards to being able to take Downs, he allowed that there was a trade in place with the Chiefs that was thwarted by KC’s move up to secure defensive back Mansoor Delane.
“We had four guys targeted that we really felt really strongly about that would fit great in our culture, in our football team, and Caleb was at the top of that list. We actually had a deal in place, a trade in place with Kansas City that we were hoping to be able to make a move for. But they moved up early in the draft…”
The Chiefs were originally picking at No. 9, but moved up to No. 6 in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. And while there are several iterations that could’ve resulted in Dallas moving up to No. 9, this one probably makes the most sense.
The Jimmy Johnson trade chart values the No. 9 pick at 1350 points, while the No. 12 pick is at 1200 points. Both the Chiefs and Cowboys owned two picks in the first round, with Dallas originally sitting with No. 20 an the Chiefs with No. 29.
The former Major League Baseball pitcher and father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes announced that he has been sober for 29 months. Mahomes Sr. shared the milestone in a personal social media post on July 4, reflecting on his progress since February 2024.
The achievement comes after Mahomes Sr. made several major changes in his life and continued meeting the requirements of his probation. He also recently received permission to travel to Missouri for an important family event.
Mahomes Sr. marked his latest milestone by thanking those who have supported him throughout his journey.
“Well 29 months down and blessed. Thanks to all who have went down this journey with me. Especially my research rebel,” Mahomes Sr. wrote.
He also shared how his life has changed since he stopped drinking.
“Life as a sober person has been really good. Through the ups and downs I haven’t strayed since Feb 4th 2024,” he continued. “Everyone have a great 4th and be safe out there. These two old folks will be at home celebrating. God Bless.”
Around the NFL
“You have core beliefs, which established during those early years, and then off of those come variations,” McCarthy said recently, via Triblive’s Chris Adamski. “You look at pro football, (there are) a lot of similar plays, a lot of similar schemes — but everybody runs them a little differently.”
When McCarthy last ran an offense, it was led by quarterback Dak Prescott and Dallas was 21st in scoring back in 2024. McCarthy’s taking over a Pittsburgh offense that wasn’t much better in 2025, ranking 16th in scoring – its sixth consecutive season outside the top 10 in scoring.
In so many ways, McCarthy’s approach is very much the theme for the 2026 Steelers.
Even though Tomlin has moved on, Pittsburgh, it could be argued, has no issue turning back the clock.
McCarthy is reuniting with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who’s back for his second year with Pittsburgh and his 22nd – and apparently final – NFL campaign. Rodgers had three head coaches over his time with the Packers, but the majority of his time was spent with McCarthy as his head coach, and Rodgers is enjoying the familiarity of the offense so far.
“I spent 13 years in (McCarthy’s offense),” Rodgers said. “He’s changed some stuff when he was in Dallas. … It’s stuff that we used to run, but he’s just called it something different now.”
Bears QB Caleb Williams gifts Pope Leo XIV autographed jersey | ESPN
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams sent an autographed jersey to Leo, a Chicago native and the first American-born pope in the history of the Catholic Church. The jersey was gifted through Williams’ Caleb Cares foundation and presented to Leo by Brian Burch, the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, on July 4.
Williams inscribed his No. 18 with “AMDG,” which stands for “Ad majorem Dei gloriam,” a Latin phrase that translates to “For the greater glory of God.” It is a nod to Williams’ high school, Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., which was founded by the Jesuits in 1821.
Williams shared the photo of Leo and Burch on his Instagram story with the caption “shoutout DAAAA POPEEEE.” The white jersey with orange numbers are uniforms not typically worn by the Bears, which could be an early look at Chicago’s Nike “Rivalries” alternate uniforms that teams from the NFC North and AFC South will don during the 2026 season.
Ex-NFL star, broadcaster Marcellus Wiley arrested for domestic battery on July 4 | New York Post
Former NFL Pro Bowler and sports broadcaster Marcellus Wiley was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida on Saturday and charged with domestic battery, according to court records viewed by The Post.
The 51-year-old Wiley, whose career as a sports broadcaster has included stints at ESPN and Fox Sports and as a podcast host, was being held without bond.
Additional details related to the arrest weren’t available.
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It wasn’t the highest on the team among the running backs, but Kareem Hunt’s 72% on 25 targets is just barely lower than the rate held by former Chiefs, now Detroit Lions running back Isiah Pacheco (73%), who saw 26 passes thrown his way.
It highlights the difficulty the team has had hitting “easy button” plays, like quick passes to a running back, compared to previous years. In 2022, the last season offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy led the unit before his three-year absence, three running backs topped these marks:
Isiah Pacheco (93%) on 14 targets
Jerick McKinnon (79%) on 71 targets
Clyde Edwards-Helaire (74%) on 23 targetsIn the season before that, Edwards-Helaire caught 83% of the 23 passes thrown to him, and running back Darrel Williams matched that number on 57 targets.
Will the return of Bieniemy also be the return of the running backs as dependable targets in the dropback game? We’ll find out in 2026.
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