The Kansas City Chiefs started off very quiet this offseason, not making any big moves in free agency. They opened the 2020 league year with just 60 players on the 90-man offseason roster. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has since added six players in the 2020 NFL draft. He’s also signed 19 undrafted free agents, rounding out the 90-man offseason roster.
Since we haven’t had an opportunity to see these players on the field together yet, holdovers from the 2019 season will have a big advantage in our depth chart projections. Some draft picks will also have an advantage based on draft status and what we’ve learned about them thus far from the players, coaches and staff.
Here are our latest updated projections for the offseason depth chart:
Offense (45)
| Pos. | First | Second | Third | Fourth |
| QB | Patrick Mahomes | Chad Henne | Jordan Ta’amu | Shea Patterson |
| RB | Damien Williams | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson, DeAndre Washington | Eljiah McGuire |
| FB | Anthony Sherman | John Lovett | ||
| WR | Tyreek Hill | Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle | Kalija Lipscomb, Maurice Ffrench | Aleva Hifo, Andre Bacellia |
| WR | Sammy Watkins | Mecole Hardman, Gehrig Dieter | Jody Fortson, Justice Shelton-Mosley | Felton Davis, Cody White |
| TE | Travis Kelce | Deon Yelder | Ricky Seals-Jones | Nick Keizer |
| LT | Eric Fisher | Greg Senat | Yasir Durant | |
| LG | Andrew Wylie | Martinas Rankin | Jovahn Fair | |
| C | Austin Reiter | Nick Allegretti | Darryl Williams | |
| RG | Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | Lucas Niang | Ryan Hunter | |
| RT | Mitchell Schwartz | Mike Remmers | Jackson Barton |
Observations:
- Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy referred to Clyde Edwards-Helaire as “a piece of the puzzle.” The same coach named Damien Williams the starter in Kansas City a year ago. I think that Williams starts the season off as the No. 1 RB on the depth chart. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen, but things are shaping up to be a committee in the running back room.
- The Chiefs have a ton of receiver depth to work through this offseason. What we know they’re looking for is a player to replace Hardman on the kick return unit. Right now, it’s really a toss-up between undrafted free agents until we see them hit the field and find out more about their roles, specifically on special teams.
- The tight end position feels like it’s going to come down to who can operate as an inline blocker best when the team is in 12 personnel. Yelder has the advantage now because he was on the active roster in 2019. I suspect that both Seals-Jones and Keizer give him a run for his money.
- I’m going with Wylie over Rankin at left guard only because he had more starts in 2019. I think that spot will have a lot of competition this offseason. I could even see a player like Allegretti or Remmers sneaking in there.
- For the time being, I am listing Niang at second-string right guard. I still believe his best spot is tackle, but Veach claims he’ll come in and compete at guard right away.
- I’m curious to see where guys like Senat and Barton fit in. Both are intriguing from a developmental standpoint, but the Chiefs seem to have brought in stout competition at the tackle spot. The guys they brought in (Niang, Remmers, Durant) are touted as having more versatility too.
Defense (41)
| Pos. | First | Second | Third |
| LDE | Alex Okafor | Taco Charlton | Demone Harris, Tershawn Wharton |
| LDT | Chris Jones | Mike Pennel | Khalen Saunders, Braxton Hoyett |
| RDT | Derrick Nnadi | Breeland Speaks | Devaroe Lawrence |
| RDE | Frank Clark | Tanoh Kpassagnon | Mike Danna, Tim Ward |
| LB | Anthony Hitchens | Willie Gay Jr. | Ben Niemann, Darius Harris |
| LB | Damien Wilson | Dorian O’Daniel | Emmanuel Smith, Bryan Wright, Omari Cobb |
| LCB | Charvarius Ward | Antonio Hamilton | BoPete Keyes, Jalen Julius |
| RCB | Bashaud Breeland | L’Jarius Sneed | Chris Lammons, Hakeem Bailey |
| SCB | Rashad Fenton | Alex Brown | Lavert Hill, Javaris Davis |
| FS | Juan Thornhill | Daniel Sorensen | Rodney Clemons |
| SS | Tyrann Mathieu | Armani Watts |
Observations:
- I have Charlton listed ahead of Harris because Harris wasn’t very effective last season. Harris had just four tackles, two tackles for loss and quarterback hit in four games played with Kansas City. Two of those games he played more than 50% of the defensive snaps. I think they’ll try to replace Harris in the rotation if they can.
- I have Speaks listed at the defensive tackle position. Last time we saw Speaks he was playing defensive end at 285 pounds. I think he’ll end up playing both defensive end and tackle in Kansas City in 2020, that is if he makes the team.
- We know that Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo wants the rookie, Gay Jr., to replace Reggie Ragland at the SAM linebacker position initially. I have him listed exactly where Ragland fell on the depth chart last season.
- I think O’Daniel will be afforded every opportunity to win a job in Kansas City this year. It’ll be up to him to earn that job and fend away other players from taking it.
- My gut tells me that Sneed will be the beneficiary of Breeland’s off-field mishaps this offseason. I think he’ll take second-string snaps behind Breeland initially and start opposite Ward when the season begins. Sneed’s versatility allows him to shift into a different role later when Breeland returns.
- Keyes will have a bit more of a battle for playing time to Sneed. Even though the Chiefs traded back into the seventh round to draft him, he’ll have to prove to be better than Brown or Hamilton if he wants snaps.
Special teams (4)
| Pos. | First | Second |
| P | Tommy Townsend | Tyler Newsome |
| K | Harrison Butker | |
| KO | Harrison Butker | |
| LS | James Winchester | |
| H | Tommy Townsend | Tyler Newsome |
| PR | Tyreek Hill | Mecole Hardman |
| KR | Mecole Hardman | Tyreek Hill |
Observations:
- Dave Toub may call it a “true competition” but everything else he’s said indicates that Tommy Townsend is currently ahead of Tyler Newsome. We’ll see how that shakes out as the offseason progresses.
- As for the kick and punt return units. I still think Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman are the No. 1 and No. 2 options respectively. Will they end up being the starters there? Probably not. However, if the Chiefs need a spark from a kick return, you can bet that Toub is trotting out Hill or Hardman over a UDFA return specialist.
