Kansas City Chiefs show 'heavy attention' to 2026 NFL Draft running back at Shrine Bowl who can help solve a recurring problem
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It’s no surprise that the Kansas City Chiefs are looking at running back prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft, given that they’ve only got Brashard Smith and ShunDerrick Powell under contract for the 2026 NFL season. We’re now learning about one of the prospects they’re evaluating at the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl, and the fit makes perfect sense.
According to former Washington Commanders team reporter Ryan Fowler, the Chiefs are among the teams to show “heavy attention” to Wake Forest RB Demond Claiborne alongside the Commanders. The Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, and Miami Dolphins also had formal meetings with Claiborne, per Fowler’s report.
One of the most explosive running backs in Wake Forest’s history, Claiborne finished his career with 2,599 career yards (No. 4 all-time), 26 rushing touchdowns (No. 5 all-time), and 3,602 all-purpose yards (No. 9 all-time) after four seasons with the Demon Deacons. He’s also a talented kickoff return specialist with 22 returns for 579 yards and two touchdowns. He caught 55 passes for 424 yards and two touchdowns during his four-year career as well. At the East-West Shrine Bowl practices this week, Arrowhead Pride’s Ron Kopp caught a great video of Claiborne showing off his pass-catching ability on a wheel route. The All-Star game staff caught another angle of the play here.
Claiborne weighed in at the Shrine Bowl at 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds with 29.5-inch arms and a 72.375-inch wingspan. Claiborne reportedly missed the final two days of practice at the Shrine Bowl due to an injury, but is expected to be fine to compete in the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
Wake Forest’s Demond Claiborne can help fix a recurring problem in the Chiefs’ offense
How many times did you watch the Chiefs run out of the shotgun in 2025 and fail to generate any sort of successful running plays? The answer is too many times. Wake Forest runs an RPO-heavy mesh offense, which means that Claiborne operated out of shotgun on the majority of his snaps. Turn on any highlight reel, and you’re not going to find many snaps from him working under center. That’s not to say he can’t do it, but it hasn’t been his bread-and-butter.
Claiborne averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 90.7 rushing yards per game in 2025, running strictly out of the shotgun alignment. The RPO isn’t going anywhere in the Chiefs’ offense, but they absolutely need to be more effective running the ball on those plays if they’re to find more success in 2026. That’s all going to come down to personnel for Kansas City as they work to revamp their backfield.
Here’s what East-West Shrine Bowl Director of Football Ops & Player Personnel, Eric Galko, had to say about Claiborne leading up to the practice week:
“I think he’s one of the most explosive running backs in this entire draft class, full stop,” Galko said of Claiborne. “I think this running back class is maybe lacking some top-end guys per NFL scouts right now, too. But I think (Demond) Claiborne is going to show the NFL at the Shrine Bowl this year that he’s not only an explosive lateral running back who can make plays upfield, but he’s also a great, elusive short area guy, a guy that evades big contact so we can break tackles. Not a bigger running back, but a guy who doesn’t make a lot, a lot of big hits. But I think he’s gonna show at the Shrine Bowl week that he could be a really dangerous pass-catcher out of the backfield. This is a really explosive player in space, who at Wake Forest was relied upon a lot as a runner… I think at the Shrine Bowl he’ll show that, ‘Hey, this guy could be a really dangerous receiver out of the backfield.’ I think he’s going to be the top senior running back drafted from this year’s draft class. I think one of the first four or five in the overall class drafted with a good Shrine Bowl week is a top 100 pick all day.”
Unfortunately, Claiborne only got a few practices to showcase his talents at the Shrine Bowl. He got a limited chance to show off his speed, acceleration, contact balance, and pass-catching ability, which are littered throughout his tape. He could be a realistic target for the Chiefs on Day 2, in Round 3, or Round 4.
Other prospects who have drawn interest from the Chiefs at the 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl
- Clemson OT Tristan Leigh
- Louisiana LB Jaden Dugger
- Okahoma TE Jaren Kanak
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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