Laddie Morse
With about 11 more days to go until training camp begins, it’s time to be real. Unless something spectacular happens for these following players, they’re just not going to be making the 53-man roster of our World Champion Chiefs. I know this is all speculation prior to Training Camp… but here goes.
On Offense, the Chiefs may end up carrying 7 WRs, 4 TEs, 2 QBs, 3 RBs and that leaves space for only 9 OL. It seems more likely that the Chiefs carry 10 OL into the season — and we all remember what happened when the Chiefs played the Bucs in Super Bowl LV with less than excellent results — so that will likely leave them with only 6 WRs. So, let’s being there:
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Wide Receivers
Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice and Justin Watson appear to be locks to make the final 53. After that, several will be duking it out to make the last two (assuming they go for only two). Those players include:
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Kadarius Toney – Reid and others have said “Toney is the most talented WR“, he may be a lock, but we don’t know that for sure
Mecole Hardman – was re-signed late in the offseason, might be a lock
Skyy Moore – was drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft, but hasn’t shown up yet, at all
Justyn Ross – an offseason Kingdom fav from last offseason
Cornell Powell – a 5th round pick from 2021
Nikko Remigio – not only had a great 2023 offseason and preseason, but he’s a favorite to make the squad this year, consistent excellence.
WRs On the Outside Looking In
99.9% sure they aren’t making the final 53
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Montrell Washington – 3rd year player who was drafted by the Broncos in 2022 in the 5th round, 4.48 speed
Jaaron Hayek – a 6-foot-0 199 lbs. rookie UDFA out of Villanova. With 4.59 speed he must breakout in TC
Phillip Brooks – a 5-foot-7, 175 lbs. WR out of K.State has 4.51 speed and must also breakout to be noticed
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Tight Ends
It’s doubtful that the Chiefs are returning to the FB role. Consequently, they will likely go with four TEs. Travis Kelce, Jared Wiley, Noah Gray are fixtures. Next there’s Irv Smith Jr. who was signed this offseason. He was originally drafted in the 2nd round by the Vikings. It’s part of Brett Veach’s plan to sign players who were previously drafted high. Here is Smith scoring a TD on a pass that looks very much like a Reid route (0:11):
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TEs On the Outside Looking In
Gerrit Prince – attended Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, went to UAB, signed as a UDFA by the Jags then cut. Signed by the Chiefs last year to their Practice Squad. Is a 6-foot-5, 240 lbs. TE with 4.77 speed
Baylor Cupp – a 6-foot-6, 260 lbs. TE out of Texas Tech with 4.55 speed (pretty darn good)
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Offensive Linemen
The Chiefs have kept 9 or 10 offensive linemen for 3 straight years now (with LG Joe Thuney ending the year on IR), ever since they lost Super Bowl LV to the Bucs due to poor OL play. They ended that season with 8 OL including: Nick Allegretti, Andrew Wylie, Stephen Wisniewski, Austin Reiter, Daniel Kilgore, Yasir Durant, Mike Remmers, and Martinas Rankin.
Those that appear as locks this year include: RT Jawaan Taylor, RG Trey Smith, OC Creed Humphrey, LG Joe Thuney, LT Kingsley Suamataia and/or Wanya Morris. Other locks include: IOL Hunter Nourzad and IOL CJ. Hanson. That leaves several players fighting it out for 2 spots. They include: OT Lucas Niang, OL Mike Caliendo, OL Chukwuebuka Godrick (6-5, 293 lbs.).
OL On the Outside Looking In
Griffin McDowell – a 6-foot-4, 301 lbs. OL out of Tennessee Chattanooga is a UDFA by K.C.
Ethan Driskell – a 6-8 3/4, 320 lbs. OL out of Marshall, ArrowheadPride says he brings “athleticism & a mean streak”
Nick Torres – a 6-foot-6, 306 lbs. rookie UDFA OL out of Villanova
I can see Veach re-signing Driskell and/or Torres to the Practice squad if they make it through a day without being signed by another team.
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Running Backs
Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards Helaire appear to be locks. A question many have, is: will they bring back speedy RB Jerick McKinnon? At this point, I doubt it. They will either be keeping Welsh Rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit (who runs a 4.43, and says it’s actually faster than that, but ran that time at 6-foot-3, 209 lbs.). Rees-Zammit was clocked going 24 MPH. BTW… that’s blazing fast.
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Or… K.C. could be going with a RB like:
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6-0, 228 – Carson Steele – 4.75… or,
6-0, 216 – Deneric Prince – 4.41… or,
6-0, 220 – Keaontay Ingram – 4.53… or,
5-7, 202 – Emani Bailey – 4.61+… or,
5-10, 196 – Haasan Hall – 4.46.
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My take is that they stick with Deneric Prince because of his size and 40 time, plus he’s was very good last offseason and this year as well.
RBs On the Outside Looking In
Carson Steele – is too mid-sized to be a full fledged FB
Keaontay Ingram – Good Size and moves. May be re-signed to the PS
Emani Bailey – To small to make a huge difference
Haasan Hall – May work out as a scat-back & could be re-signed to the PS
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On Defense, we have the same number as on offense: 25. That leaves space for 4 DEs, 4 DTs, 5 LBs, 6 CBs and 6 Safeties. Let’s see how it all works out.
Defensive Ends
George Karlaftis leads this group. He and Felix Anudike-Uzomah (FAU) and Mike Danna appear to be locks. With DT Chris Jones jumping outside on occasion, it makes the DE position much stronger. That leaves several players trying to nail down the last spot because I believe K.C. keeps four DEs. Those who appear to have a shot include:
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B.J. Thompson (we’ll have to see how K.C. responds to his seizure)
Malik Herring – my pick to start the year on the 53.
Neil Farrell – hoping he balls out
Truman Jones – not much of a chance for him
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The odd man out for now is Charles Omenihu. He will likely start the year on IR then when he returns one of these other DEs will be cut or waived.
DEs On the Outside Looking In
B.J. Thompson – if a player is put on the IR before the season begins he must stay on it throughout the year. I expect that will happen with B.J. Thompson.
Malik Herring – He may be the fourth player to make the 53 man roster, but will also be the one bumped when Charles Omenihu returns.
Neil Farrell – I’m still waiting for Neil Farrell to blossom.
Truman Jones – at 6-foot-3 and 250 lbs. Jones is about the same size that Dee Ford was, but it’s not the same 3-4 defense. Odd man out IMHO
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Defensive Tackles
Chris Jones heads this group. I’m not sure why they keep re-signing Derrick Nnadi, could it be, to stop the run? Nnadi, Tershawn Wharton and Mike Pennel probably round out the four they keep on the 53. If not Pennel then…
DTs On the Outside Looking In
Mike Pennel – he’s now 33 years old, but just helped K.C. win their last two rings.
Matt Dickerson – signed as a UDFA in 2018 and has also played for the Raiders, Cardinals and Falcons. Helped K.C. win a ring following the 2023 season. Important to note: he’s a twin.
Alex Gubner – he’s a rookie UDFA, at 6-foot-2 and 294 lbs. he may be a little bit smallish, but he won the Big Sky Defensive MVP with 45 tackles, 9.5 tackles-for-loss plus 3 sacks.
Fabien Lovett Sr. – he’s also a rookie UDFA, at 6-foot-3 and 316 lbs. has the size and was a stellar DT coming out of Florida State. Played at the same college at Derrick Nnadi… only 7 years later.
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Linebackers
Locks include: Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal, and Jack Cochrane. They will likely keep 5 LBs so we need to see what other’s can do to chase the last spot on the 53… or possibly chase Jack Cochrane off.
LBs On the Outside Looking In
Cam Jones – was an UDFA last year when he joined the Chiefs. Could be someone who chases Jack goodbye.
Curtis Jacobs – Jacobs has looked great in OTA and he’s my guess to make the 53.
Cole Christiansen – was an UDFA in the Chargers system in 2020 and stayed with them in 2021 as well. After being waived by them was signed by K.C. in Sept of 2022. Had one tackle, but remains a question mark.
Swayze Bozeman – a rookie UDFA who is 6-foot-1, 224 lbs. out of Southern Mississippi.
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Cornerbacks
Trent McDuffie was a stellar first round pick two years ago. He will be the headliner in the defensive backfield this year. He’s followed by Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson Nic Jones should be a growing nickel back. All others will be vying for the 5th and 6th spots on the 53-man roster.
Kamal Hadden – Hadden was a 6th round draft pick this year so he’s likely to be the 5th man up. That leaves one spot open really.
Ekow Boye-Doe – 6-foot-0, 171 – was a 2023 UDFA with the Chiefs, a K. State product
Christian Roland – Wallace – 6-foot-0, 200 lbs. – played his college ball at Arizona and then USC, and is a rookie UDFA
D.J. Miller – is 5-foot-10 and goes 185 lbs., played his college ball at Kent State
Kelvin Joseph – was a second round pick by the Cowboys in 2021 and he was considered a first round talent then, but his draft stock fell due to character concerns. Joseph also played for the Dolphins and the Seahawks along the way and because he was signed to a reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs this past January, he earned a SB ring. This is exactly the kind of signing Veach likes to make. Get a first round talent and see if he can straighten things out while with the Chiefs. Joseph turns 25 years old this coming November so, maybe.
Miles Battle – is 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 204 lbs. and has the kind of size K.C. loves. On top of that he has 4.37 speed and when it comes to CBs with that kind of speed it’s all about make-up speed when they’ve lost t he battle in the first ten yards. Hopefully Battle can stick. My prediction is that Battle makes the 6th spot on the 53.
Keith Taylor – also has the size that K.C. adores in: 6-foot-2, 195 lbs. but he only has a 4.54 40 time.
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Safeties
If the Chiefs go with six Safeties it all begins with Justin Reid. They signed him to a three year deal two years ago so this may be his last year with the Chiefs. Next, Bryan Cook will likely start next to Reid then it’s Chamarri Connor and Jaden Hicks who was a 4th round draft pick this year. That leaves 2 open spots to go:
Deon Bush – will turn 31 years old in August and if the Chiefs decide to go young, he’s out. Nevertheless, his veteran leadership should prove worthwhile. Bush had the game ending INT in the end zone vs the Ravens in the AFC Championship game. Here it is (0:09):
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When Bush was with Chicago he once returned an INT 91 yards for a TD. He will likely be a keeper. Bush has been with the Chiefs for the past two years and helped to win the last two Super Bowls.
Nazeeh Johnson – NJ was a 7th round pick in 2022 by the Chiefs and played in 33% of the Special Teams snaps that year. Last year in TC NJ injured his ACL and was out for the season. We’ll see if he’s ready to compete this year.
Trey Dean – runs a 4.68 40 yard dash and that slow time will likely keep him off the Chiefs roster this year.
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Special Teams
There are typically three players who will make up the Special Team roster: a Punter (Matt Araiza), a place kicker ( Harrison Butker) and a Long Snapper (James Winchester).
That makes up the 53 man roster… and shows us who doesn’t make the team. We do have Training Camp coming up in less than two weeks so if someone is hurt, that likely changes everything. What do you think?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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