Chiefs’ 53-man roster projection 3.0

The Kansas City Chiefs have concluded their preseason, and general manager Brett Veach will now turn his attention to trimming the roster down to 53 players. That initial roster is due on August 27 at 3 p.m. Arrowhead Time.

My projections are based upon things I've seen, heard and hypothesized (Go back and read 2.0 here). Let's dive in one more time:

Offense (25) Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports Quarterbacks (2): Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz

NO CHANGE.

Wire to wire, there was never a question about the quarterbacks.

Running backs (2): Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire

OUT: Deneric Prince

The unexpected emergence of Carson Steele from undrafted free agent hopeful to roster lock makes one of these running backs expendable so that the Chiefs can address other positions.

Based upon Clyde Edwards-Helaire sitting for the third and final preseason game, the odd man out looks to be Deneric Prince. Prince showed improvement this training camp, and he ran into an unfortunate numbers game now that Kansas City will undoubtedly keep Steele. My guess is that Prince remains with the Chiefs on the practice squad, ready for the next-man-up call should an injury strike.

Like Prince, Louis Rees-Zammit will probably stay with the club on the practice squad, and the Chiefs can see what they have in 2025. Head coach Andy Reid knows Rees-Zammit is a world-class athlete, but he needs a year of seasoning to compete for a roster spot.

Fullback (1): Carson Steele

NO CHANGE.

See above for notes on Steele. Midway through August, he told reporters he wanted to be the "Swiss Army knife" for the Chiefs. It appears he will get his wish.

Wide receivers (7): Hollywood Brown, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman, Kadarius Toney

IN: Kadarius Toney

OUT: Justyn Ross

As we have said since the beginning of the preseason, the top four names here are locks for the roster. The rest of the position leaves room for debate.

Skyy Moore played three total snaps on Thursday night against the Bears, broken down by one on offense and two on special teams. It may be unpopular among fans, but this indicates he has made the 2024 roster.

Mecole Hardman, Justyn Ross and Kadarius Toney were the choices to play with Chris Oladokun; Nikko Remigio only saw one snap in the first half. Hardman is on the team, and he will handle kickoffs (with Steele) and punts.

If the Chiefs keep a seventh receiver (which I expect they will due to the injury to Brown), I think it comes down to Ross or Toney.

"We went through last year with him, so we kind of know who he is," said Reid of Toney after the game on Thursday night. "He is a talented kid. He's battled to make the team and all that bit. We've never questioned the talent there at all, it's just him staying healthy was the main thing."

It still sounds like something that could go either way, but Toney's health seems to be there (at least right now) — and Reid values his upside. I also think tight end Jared Wiley's presence on the roster may hurt a would-be role for Ross, who I imagine the Chiefs would try to get back on the practice squad with Remigio.

Tight ends (4): Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jared Wiley, Irv Smith Jr.

IN: Irv Smith Jr.

I have gone back and forth on Smith throughout these projections. In this final iteration, I've decided to include him. Excluding Prince opened up a roster spot — one that I think could go to Smith, as it allows Reid to get creative with four tight ends on the field simultaneously.

Offensive line (9): LT Kingsley Suamataia, LG Joe Thuney, C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith, RT Jawaan Taylor, Wanya Morris, Mike Caliendo, Hunter Nourzad, Lucas Niang

NO CHANGE.

I think the offensive line room is set, and as I mentioned in projection 2.0, I like "Chu" Godrick and seventh-rounder CJ Hanson to continue to develop on the practice squad.

Defense (25) Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images Defensive tackles (5): Chris Jones, Tershawn Wharton, Derrick Nnadi, Mike Pennel, Neil Farrell

NO CHANGE.

I have seen some 53-man projections showing the Chiefs saying goodbye to Nnadi, but Reid went out of his way to compliment his play after Thursday's game. The sixth-year run-stuffer is likely OK for the initial roster.

The final spot here presumably comes down to Matt Dickerson and Neil Farrell, and I'm still giving the edge to Farrell.

Given that Charles Omenihu will eventually return — and defensive line coach Joe Cullen pushes all his linemen toward inside-outside versatility — I do wonder if the Chiefs could keep someone such as Fabien Lovett over a fifth defensive end.

Reid always talks about the "five best" in terms of the starting offensive line. Perhaps this is the year the Chiefs simply keep the 10 best along the defensive line.

Defensive ends (5): George Karlaftis, Mike Danna, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Malik Herring, Truman Jones

NO CHANGE.

I still believe the first four players here are solid. Truman Jones didn't play Thursday night, but that likely had to do more with a knee injury that kept him out of Monday's practice than roster safety.

I kept him in our final projection, but see the above for my concern. This could be the position where Veach seeks outside help.

Linebackers (5): Nick Bolton, Leo Chenal, Drue Tranquill, Jack Cochrane, Cam Jones

NO CHANGE.

This is one of the position groups I feel relatively confident about.

The top three players are obvious, and Cochrane (336) and Cam Jones (283) were among the top five players in special teams snaps last season. I like Cole Christensen, Curtis Jacobs and Swayze Bozeman as candidates for the practice squad.

Cornerbacks (6): Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Nazeeh Johnson, Joshua Williams, Chamarri Conner, Kelvin Joseph

IN: Chamarri Conner

OUT: Nic Jones

Nazeeh Johnson and Joshua Williams are both currently banged up with hamstring issues, so note that this projection has been built assuming they get healthy over the next two weeks heading into opening night. If the injuries linger, the shape of this room could change.

Kansas City needed to get Jaylen Watson some snaps on Thursday night, and I thought the fact that he initially worked across from Kelvin Joseph (and not Keith Taylor, Nic Jones or Kamal Hadden) might have been telling.

Chamarri Conner appears to be the starter at nickel, with Trent McDuffie continuing to mix in there for particular looks. We listed Conner as a cornerback here because that's what the Chiefs are doing. Kansas City likes Jones and Hadden as the next men up for the slot, and I think both stick around on the practice squad should they go unclaimed.

Safeties (4): Justin Reid, Bryan Cook, Jaden Hicks, Deon Bush

IN: Deon Bush

Conner's position switch (on paper) opens up the door for the Chiefs to keep Deon Bush, who can play on all four phases of special teams in addition to his backup safety duties. If Carson Steele won the preseason on offense, his counterpart would be Jaden Hicks on defense.

Specialists (3) Placekicker Harrison Butker, punter Matt Araiza and long-snapper James Winchester

There is no competition for any of the specialists in camp.

Under contract, not counted on active roster (2)

Reserve/PUP: Charles Omenihu

Reserve/NFI: BJ Thompson

Chiefs position quantities at the 53-man cutdown since 2013

Here's a look at Chiefs position quantities throughout the years since Andy Reid took over the Chiefs in 2013:

Chiefs' offensive roster by positions Year QB RB WR TE OL FB Total Year QB RB WR TE OL FB Total 2013 3 3 6 3 8 1 24 2014 3 5 5 3 9 1 26 2015 3 3 6 3 8 1 24 2016 3 4 6 4 8 1 26 2017 3 2 6 3 9 1 24 2018 2 4 6 2 10 1 25 2019 3 4 5 3 9 1 25 2020 2 3 6 4 9 1 25 2021 2 3 5 4 10 1 25 2022 3 4 5 3 9 1 26 2023 2 3 7 3 10 0 25 Chiefs' defensive roster by positions Year DL LB CB S Total Year DL LB CB S Total 2013 7 9 4 6 26 2014 6 9 5 4 24 2015 6 10 5 5 26 2016 6 9 6 4* 25* 2017 7 9 6 4 26 2018 6 9 5 5 25 2019 10 6 4 5 25 2020 10 5 5 5 25 2021 9 6 6 4 25 2022 10 4 6 4 24 2023 10 6 5 4 25

*Eric Berry had a roster exemption at the 53-man roster cutdown in 2016 and was included in most cutdown listings.

Poll How do you feel about this 53-man roster projection?

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