Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt recently spoke with reporters. He discussed rookie defensive back Mansoor Delane's development.

"Trending. (Mansoor Delane) He's a young man, as we all know, came in, and next thing, he ended up having an injury and set him back for a little bit, and going into training camp, he was set back even a little more, but all of a sudden now he's back," said Merritt, "And to be honest with you, it's just the fact that he's back out there running around because there's nothing wrong with his legs. It's all between the ears, but he's trending to be where we want him to be. He's getting better."

The Chiefs selected Delane sixth overall in the 2026 NFL Draft and hasn't disappointed while battling early injuries. Merritt also noted that Delane seems to have embraced the game's physicality.

"I would say (Mansoor Delane) he had that in his DNA, and we had to continue to bring it out of him. I think when you look at a lot of these young guys, you have some guys that are going to come in the league and they're just natural physical guys." said Merritt, "There's other guys that you're going to have to train them and teach them along the way: this is how you stay safe when you go to take on the block or when you go to tackle. There's techniques that you use and one of the things that we use all the time is stepping to contact, stepping to contact and making sure you're creating hard joints. So, he has embraced that and has done well."

Delane has recorded 15 total tackles, 1 interception, and 2 passes defended through 4 games this season.