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Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt was at the team facility during NFL Draft weekend and remains with the club as rookie minicamp continues Saturday.
Merritt appeared in Johnson County District Court via Zoom on Thursday, April 23. He was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, stemming from an incident alleged to have occurred Wednesday, April 22 that led to his arrest.
The Johnson
County District Attorney’s Office filed the charge against the 54-year-old Merritt, alleging he “unlawfully, knowingly, or recklessly” caused bodily harm to a daughter, which constitutes a domestic violence offense, according to court documents. A public defender entered a not guilty plea on Merritt’s behalf.
At the time of the incident, the Chiefs said they were aware of the arrest and had no comment.
On Saturday, head coach Andy Reid addressed the matter.
“Dave’s been very up-front with everything,” Reid said. “We’re still going through that whole procedure.
“In this case, you always let the law enforcement part take care of itself and work its way out. And so that’s where we’re at right now, but we’re aware, and we’ve had communication with both sides there, with the law enforcement side and Dave.”
2. Kansas City Chiefs: A+
Favorite pick: Mansoor Delane is the easy pick here, but so too is R Mason Thomas, who I thought had a chance to sneak into Round 1. He’s Nik Bonitto, also a former second-rounder out of Oklahoma, who is now one of the best pass rushers in the league. Thomas adds some juice off the edge for a team that desperately needs it.
Best value: I figured Emmett Johnson would be long gone by the time the Chiefs got him in Round 5, but this was the draft where tight ends got pushed up and running backs got pushed down. Don’t be fooled by his 4.56 40 time at the combine (he improved that to 4.49 at his pro day, for what it’s worth), he’s a high-volume, versatile playmaker with elite short-area quickness and contact balance who excels as both a one-cut runner and a high-level receiving threat. If you were to build a perfect Andy Reid RB, that would be the scouting report.
Most surprising pick: Garrett Nussmeier is this year’s Quinn Ewers. But I’ve been screaming for years that “fit matters,” and while it probably stings to go from “possible first-rounder” to “eight spots from being Mr. Irrelevant,” there are few better landing spots than Kansas City.
2026 NFL draft: Scouts, coaches, execs on 32 teams’ classes | ESPN
The Chiefs’ trade-up for LSU corner Mansoor Delane was based on a combination of projections and intuition. Kansas City’s internal draft simulator suggested either Washington (No. 7) or New Orleans (No. 8) or both could be threats to pick Delane. In fact, Kansas City felt a strong pull that New Orleans’ chances to go corner were at least decent despite the smoke around the Saints taking a receiver, which they ultimately did. Its simulations suggested that Delane would be one of New Orleans’ top three options. Kansas City didn’t want to take a chance, shipping third- and fifth-rounders to Cleveland to move up.
Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain was one of the fallback options. So, the final tally for Kansas City’s first-round haul, after trading Trent McDuffie to Los Angeles and the deal with Cleveland, looks like this: Delane, defensive tackle Peter Woods (29th pick) and a savings of $65 million over four years in exchange for McDuffie and the two picks. The savings come from McDuffie’s four-year, $124-million deal with Los Angeles vs. the combined contract worth for Delane and Woods ($59M).
“That can work for them, but you’re banking on Delane being as good as the All-Pro you already had in your building,” an NFC executive said.
Three things that would make this Chiefs draft class a success | The Kansas City Star
3. They have the freedom to spend on the offense next offseason
The Chiefs didn’t ignore the offense this offseason. After all, Kenneth Walker is now one of the five richest running backs in football. That’s an investment.
But they put a heck of a lot more resources — namely, draft capital — into the defense than a Patrick Mahomes-led unit that has ranked in the middle of the pack in scoring.
How would we look back on that as the right path?
Well, if they don’t have to spend capital — financial or draft — on the defense a year from now.
The Chiefs are heading into summer workouts thinner on pass catchers than they’d probably like, but the future of the position is in a far more precarious spot. Their top option, Rashee Rice, is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and tight end Travis Kelce is likely entering the final year of his career. They’ll also need to address right tackle next offseason.
They’ll have a lot of work to do on the offense, in other words, and much of that work comes at some premium positions.
If this draft class is a success and sets the foundation for the next wave of this defense, the Chiefs should have a lot of tools with which to work, too.
The defense should be set.
The offense should get the resources.
Mansoor Delane’s former coach tells Chiefs exactly what they’re getting | Arrowhead Addict
Brian Kelly, Delane’s former head coach at LSU, shared a story about Delane that shows Chiefs fans exactly the kind of player they’re getting for their defense. It’s one that fans absolutely need to hear.
“I remember in spring practice, first day there, [Delane] comes up to me and he goes, ‘Coach, you’re making this too easy’. I said, ‘We’re not giving you enough reps or what’s the deal?’,” Kelly shared. “He goes, ‘No, the splits, the receiver splits are telling me every single route you’re running.’ I was like, okay we got a dude here! … He’s a student of the game and those are the kind of guys who separate themselves.”
Around the NFL
Indiana’s Kaelon Black became the sixth running back picked by the Niners over the last six drafts when he was selected in the third round. Unsurprisingly optimistic that Black can succeed where other picks have floundered in the past, head coach Kyle Shanahan is of the mind that the Hoosiers product was the second-best back in the 2026 draft after No. 3 overall pick Jeremiyah Love.
“We had him as the second-rated back on the board,” Shanahan said this past week on The Rich Eisen Show. “So, that’s just our evaluation, right or wrong that’s our evaluation.”
San Francisco’s evaluation — which put him above Jadarian Price, who went to the Seattle Seahawks with the last choice of the first round — led to Black getting picked by the 49ers at No. 90 overall. Black was also the first player drafted who had not attended the 2026 NFL Combine.
Ravens coach on QB Diego Pavia: ‘Show us what you can do’ | ESPN
Pavia signed with the Ravens this week after becoming the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted in 12 years. He is currently competing with Connecticut’s Joe Fagnano for Baltimore’s No. 3 quarterback job, although the Ravens could look at more quarterbacks this offseason.
“So now he’s in the door and it’s like, ‘Show us what you can do,'” Minter said Saturday. “And just like all the undrafted rookies, that’s what I would say.”
Minter added, “For us, we see it as an opportunity to bring a player in that could potentially be something, and that’s really what this is for us.”
Pavia, who was not made available for interviews, has become one of the most polarizing figures in college football. Throughout the predraft process, there were questions about Pavia’s age (24), lack of height (5-foot-10) and decision-making off the field.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Andy Reid says Chiefs’ rookie has ‘a little bit’ of LeSean McCoy to him
As the Kansas City Chiefs continued their rookie minicamp on Saturday, we got our first chance to see fifth-round pick, former Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson on the field in a Chiefs uniform.
Although these are unpadded practices, head coach Andy Reid has seen enough to have a good, initial impression of the newcomer.
“Smart kid, good kid, and he’s got that lateral quickness,” said Reid, before comparing Johnson to another former player he used to coach. “I mean, we had LeSean McCoy here for a bit, and he’s got a little bit of that to him, where he can shift gears and still get himself upfield quickly.”
Reid went on to praise Johnson as a pass blocker and describe him as a natural pass catcher. It’s something the rookie back takes pride in, as he talked about during his press conference on Saturday.
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