NFL mock draft 2026: Kansas City Chiefs select Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State

Welcome back to another year of the SB Nation Community Mock Draft!

As we do every draft season, all 32 NFL sites at SB Nation come together to fill out an entire first-round mock draft leading up to the actual event that takes place from April 23-25. One by one, our site managers will make their picks and provide their reasoning behind the selection. From there, I will provide further analysis on top of giving a final opinion on the pick!

Without further ado, let’s keep things rolling!

With the ninth overall pick in the 2026 SB Nation Community Mock Draft, Arrowhead Pride’s Ron Kopp Jr. and the Kansas City Chiefs select Carnell Tate, wide receiver, Ohio State!

Kopp Jr.’s analysis:

My analysis: The Chargers have missed Tyreek Hill since he was traded to the Dolphins and while they’ve found success as a team since that move, Mahomes has had to carry an offense with an aging Travis Kelce and some young wideouts who just haven’t been able to come up as often as Hill did for the team.

Xavier Worthy has looked good in spurts as the team’s dangerous speedster who can score in a number of ways, but injuries took four games from him in 2025 and he has yet to break 700 yards receiving in either of his first two seasons. Adding another receiver who should demand attention will only further open up the passing game back to a place both Andy Reid and Mahomes prefer. Instead of Reid needing to scheme open his speedsters who lack size and strength in the end zone, Mahomes can now utilize Tate’s notable 50-50 ball skills inside the 20.