When do the Chiefs actually pick? Projected times for Nos. 9 and 29 picks in 2026 NFL Draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Kansas City Chiefs find themselves looking at a potentially busy Thursday night.
It's the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and not only do the Chiefs have a pick in the top-10 -- they also pick twice.
The Chiefs have their own pick, which is slated to be No. 9 overall.
They also pick at No. 29, which is the pick they got from the Los Angeles Rams in the trade for cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Kansas City could also find itself in trade spots to move around the board, so it's a night worth following closely for Chiefs fans.
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The 2026 NFL Draft begins at 7 p.m. Central time on Thursday, April 23rd, so the Chiefs will be on the clock twice sometime after that.
It's worth noting that the pick time this year has dropped to eight minutes per first-round pick (it used to be 10 minutes per pick).
With eight picks before the Chiefs' first selection, you're looking at about an hour -- which would put the Chiefs on the clock sometime around 8 p.m. Central.
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Even if the draft doesn't kick off right on the hour, picks will also be made quicker than the full time, so that's about when the Chiefs will pick.
Well, unless they make a trade. Really, Chiefs fans should tune in right from the beginning. There's some speculation that they could trade up as high as Nos. 2-4. Such a trade would likely require the use of the 29th pick, too.
If the Chiefs keep pick 29, that's potentially three or so hours into the draft. Kansas City seemingly would make that pick around 10 p.m. Central, although that's late enough in the draft that it's hard to predict.
And again, if trades come into play, everything could change anyway.
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