The Kansas City Chiefs enter the 2026 NFL Draft with more questions than answers at cornerback. Nohl Williams played a limited role as a rookie, and veteran Kristian Fulton struggled to crack the starting lineup before Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson left for the Rams. The Chiefs need to add some more talent to their secondary.

Texas Longhorns cornerback Malik Muhammad is an extremely lean athlete but meets the NFL’s usual height and arm length thresholds. He is an explosive athlete capable of mirroring and matching receivers in tight alignments. He drives outside releases toward the sideline but is too willing to give up inside leverage and allow cheap access to the middle of the field.

Muhammad is patient toward the top of the stem, which allows him to stay attached to comebacks and curls. However, he is too eager to open his hips earlier in the route. This is particularly detrimental to his game because he lacks smooth change of direction skills. Muhammad requires extra steps to gather and redirect his momentum during his transition out of his half-turn.

I'm definitely intrigued by Texas CB Malik Muhammad. Such a fluid mover that's wired the right way to play physical despite lighter frame. Plus he's got great eyes/instincts in Zone. pic.twitter.com/UFmHGtkLwh

Muhammad has the speed and burst to recover from some of his more labored transitions. Wide receivers fail to test him downfield, and his quick trigger makes him a threat to undercut routes breaking at the short to intermediate levels. His recognition of layered route concepts and vision in zone are excellent, allowing him to sink or trigger to take away the offense’s preferred target.

Muhammad's explosiveness gives him the potential to be effective in man coverage, but his lack of power makes him a questionable asset in press coverage. His tendency to declare his hips early and a lack of true twitch compound concerns about his ability to play at the line of scrimmage. Technical development should help Muhammad clean up some of these issues and unlock a new level in his game.

Muhammad is a highly effective corner in zone coverage with the awareness and developing instincts to create momentum-swinging plays. However, technical inconsistencies and the lack of play strength to provide consistent support in the run game prevent him from earning a grade higher than the late third round.

This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: 2026 NFL Draft scouting report: Texas Longhorns CB Malik Muhammad