After falling 40-22 to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX — a game where Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times and Kansas City’s defensive front struggled to slow down Jalen Hurts — the Chiefs may be taking a page out of Philadelphia’s playbook in the 2025 NFL Draft.
In his latest mock draft, Pro Football Focus’ Mason Cameron projects the Chiefs to select Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon with the No. 31 overall pick.
“Despite charting just one year of notable production,” Cameron writes for PFF. “Harmon is a high-football-IQ player on the interior with a competitive spark that will allow him to compete at the next level and become a mainstay next to Chris Jones.”
Harmon is coming off a breakout final season with the Ducks, posting a dominant 91.2 PFF pass-rush grade on true pass sets and an elite 17.6% pass-rush win rate — good for the 99th percentile among interior defenders.
Why Taking Derrick Harmon Makes Sense for The Kansas City Chiefs
For Kansas City, the move would not only add more juice to Steve Spagnuolo’s pass rush but could also represent a long-term contingency plan with Chris Jones entering his age-31 season and playing on a year-to-year basis.
As the Eagles proved in the Super Bowl, controlling the line of scrimmage can be the difference in slowing down even the league’s most dangerous offenses. Harmon’s burst, technique, and ability to collapse the pocket could be exactly what the Chiefs need to maintain their defensive identity and keep pace in a rapidly improving AFC.
Pairing Harmon with Jones, even for a season or two, could give Kansas City one of the league’s most disruptive interior duos — and ensure that the next time Mahomes gets to the big game, it’s the Chiefs applying the pressure.
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