Kansas City’s first-round pick from 2022 didn’t expect to be selected on the NFL Draft’s first night.
As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for Thursday’s 2025 NFL Draft, the team’s All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie took a moment to reflect on his experience in the 2022 draft, when the Chiefs selected him with the 21st pick of the first round.
Surrounded by his family in a rented hotel suite, McDuffie had planned to take in the draft’s first night as a spectator, rather than as a participant.
“To be honest, I did not think I was going [in the] first round,” McDuffie told reporters as Kansas City’s offseason program began on Monday. “I thought I was going [on] Day 2.”
The former Washington cornerback had no expectations. He just wanted to soak in the moment and enjoy the company.
“Let’s all just be together, enjoy the draft [and] have fun,” he recalled of his plans for the evening. “I was really chilling. I was on the couch watching everybody get drafted — talking to my agent, talking to my family.”
Then came the phone call that changed his life. To say the least, McDuffie was surprised.
“I was like, ‘Whoa. I didn’t know they were on the board,’” he remembered of the call from Kansas City. “I didn’t know that was a team that was looking at me.”
There had been no pre-draft conversations between McDuffie and the Chiefs. So when general manager Brett Veach, head coach Andy Reid and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo started introducing themselves on the phone, it was all a blur.
“It’s funny,” he said, “because [when] I look back, I didn’t really know who I was talking to. I didn’t know who the coaches were [or] who Veach was. I had zero communication [before then].”
But despite the chaos and shock of that emotion-filled moment, the calming presence of McDuffie’s family made it one of the most special nights of his life.
“They really held it down,” he explained. “They didn’t put pressure on the night. They were just like, ‘Whatever happens, happens. We’re proud of you no matter what.’ That really allowed that anxiety — and everything that builds up in the draft — to just wash away.”
Now with three NFL seasons behind him (and two Super Bowl rings in his possession), McDuffie remembers the moment with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude — the unexpected beginning of a journey that’s already paid off for both himself and the franchise.
This week, the lives of other NFL hopefuls will change just as McDuffie’s did. Many of these stories will begin with a phone call no one saw coming.