Jhelum Mehta
Updated:
Free agency season is officially here, and the rumor mill is spinning at full throttle. Everywhere you look, there’s another big name hitting the market or a fresh batch of projected landing spots popping up across the league.
The countdown to NFL free agency is ticking down, and this year’s class is loaded with impact players and rock-solid contributors. The legal tampering window opens Monday, March 9, which means backchannel deals will start flying fast. Players can officially ink contracts starting Wednesday, March 11, and by the end of the week, we’ll likely see over a billion dollars in new deals handed out across the league.
With that frenzy in mind, I decided to play GM for a minute and build my dream locker-room reload for the Kansas City Chiefs—a free agency blueprint designed to keep everything revolving around the one constant in KC: Patrick Mahomes.
Kansas City Chiefs Top 5 Choices For 2026
- Kenneth Walker, RB, Seahawks
Kenneth Walker, 25, flipped the switch when the lights got bright. He punched in four playoff touchdowns before capping the run with Super Bowl MVP honors, after posting 1,027 rushing yards in the regular season. Seattle declining to tag him instantly turned him into one of the hottest names on the market, and you can bet front offices around the league are scrambling to clear cap space for the explosive playmaker.
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, the Chiefs are staring at a mini reset. With Travis Kelce weighing retirement and Patrick Mahomes dealing with a nagging foot injury, the front office is working overtime to reload the locker room for another Lombardi push. The RB room is basically a blank depth chart heading into 2026, and the run game lacked its usual juice last season. If KC wants to bring that offensive firepower back, Walker feels like the kind of centerpiece signing that could immediately jump-start the offense. - Stefon Diggs, WR, Patriots
Stefon Diggs, 32, is still one of the most recognizable names on the market. The four-time Pro Bowler was cut loose by New England after a quiet postseason and a down year that saw him find the end zone just four times. Sure, the days of his 2020–23 Bills dominance might be in the rearview mirror, but Diggs still runs crisp routes and knows how to get open. Kansas City probably won’t hand him Patriots-level money, but plugging a savvy veteran like Diggs into the Arrowhead passing attack could give Mahomes another reliable chain-mover. - Reed Blankenship, S, Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles have some tough calls to make this offseason, and safety Reed Blankenship is one of the bigger ones. After a somewhat underwhelming campaign with 53 tackles, Philly fans aren’t quite sure where he stands in the team’s long-term plans. That uncertainty could open the door for other teams to make a run at him. For the Chiefs, a dependable safety with range and football IQ would be a valuable addition to the secondary. Blankenship might not be the splashiest name on the board, but he’s exactly the kind of steady back-end defender you can build around for years. - Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers
Mike Evans, 32, already has a résumé that screams future Hall of Famer. With 108 career touchdown grabs, he’s been one of the most consistent red-zone nightmares in the NFL for over a decade. Now the question is what comes next. Does Evans hang it up after a season shortened by hamstring and collarbone injuries? Does he run it back with Tampa Bay for one more playoff push? Or does he chase one last ring somewhere else? Evans has made it clear he wants to play for a true Super Bowl contender. If that’s the case, Tampa might be out of the picture. And let’s be honest—Evans in Chiefs red catching passes from Mahomes would be downright terrifying for opposing defenses. - Kyle Pitts, TE, Falcons
Kyle Pitts, 25, picked the perfect time to break out. In a contract year, he hauled in 88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns, continuing a steady scoring climb over his career (1-2-3-4-5 TDs across five seasons). The big debate around Pitts is whether that production was fueled by Atlanta’s thin receiving corps or a true leap in his development. Either way, he’s easily the top tight end on the market, likely commanding somewhere around $12–14 million per year unless the Falcons slap the $16 million franchise tag on him. For Kansas City, the interest makes sense. With Travis Kelce’s future uncertain, the Chiefs could be eyeing Pitts as the next dynamic weapon at tight end—a player capable of keeping the Mahomes offense dangerous for years to come.
