The Kansas City Chiefs face the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road in the second game of the 2019 preseason.
There are currently 90 players vying for a spot on the Chiefs 53-man regular-season roster. Some of them will make it, but 37 of them won’t make it. Here is a look at three of the position battles we’ll be looking at during this preseason Week 2 matchup:
Outside corner
The outside corner spots have quickly become one of the most competitive and intriguing position battles for the Chiefs. The team added Mo Claiborne in free agency, which will certainly beef up the competition, but there is another reason I’m paying close attention to this spot.
Last week’s preseason game afforded a unique opportunity to a young corner. After D’Montre Wade was ejected from the game, Herb Miller came in and shined in his place. He did a really solid job in coverage and had a 67-yard interception return to close the half. The following week in practice, Wade didn’t return early in the week because of a knee contusion. This had Miller running with the second-string defense.
On top of Miller’s emergence, you had some nice plays from Mark Fields and Michael Hunter. Hunter likely won’t play due to a groin injury, but there are some corners that are easing their way up the Chiefs’ depth chart. I’ll be curious to see which two players run with the second-string defense this week and how they handle the challenge of a good young receiver group for the Steelers.
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Tackle
I don’t think the swing tackle job is up for grabs, given the fact that Cameron Erving has proven to be a five-tool player for the Chiefs on the offensive line. He can very literally fill in at any spot and that’s just too valuable of a skill set to forfeit.
However, the emergence of Dino Boyd may make the Chiefs consider carrying an extra tackle on the roster. Boyd was fantastic against the Bengals, and according to PFF, he did not allow a single pressure on his 17 pass-blocking snaps. He didn’t do a bad job as a run blocker either, opening a few holes for different running backs.
I’ll be curious to see if Boyd’s play earns him any action with the second-team. At the very least his play puts him in strong competition with a guy like Pace Murphy, who currently has been working at RT alongside the second-team offense. They could potentially be competing for the same job on the practice squad.
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Receiver
The receiver battle has become more clear over the past several weeks. Marcus Kemp has emerged as a leader on special teams and on the offense. He filled in for Sammy Watkins when he missed practice this last week, effectively making Kemp WR4. He’s what I would consider a lock to make this roster.
That leaves really only one spot remaining if the Chiefs carry their typical six receivers. It’s a fairly competitive battle to fill that last spot. Byron Pringle, Cody Thompson and Rashard Davis are the three players that are in direct competition for that last spot, but a number of players could emerge. I’m not including Gehrig Dieter because he hasn’t been healthy.
Right now, I suspect that Thompson is currently in the lead. He took a few snaps with the first-team offense in the final days of Chiefs training camp, which suggest the team is experimenting with the idea of him making the 53-man roster. Thompson’s performance during the preseason was outstanding with 2-for-2 on catches for 19 yards. He also had a 20-yard catch called back on a penalty. He’s also known as a great special teams player.
If you want to know more about the battle for the last receiver spot, you can find an in-depth look at that here.
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