Final Chiefs 53-man roster projection ahead of roster cuts

The Kansas City Chiefs have completed the 2019 preseason.

The next three days begin the grueling task of narrowing down the roster from 90 players to 53 for the 2019 season. They’ll also begin assemble their first iteration of the 10-man practice squad. Here’s a look at my latest projections for the 53-man roster, depth chart, practice squad and injured reserve list:

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Offense – 24 players

Pos.	First	Second	Third
QB	Patrick Mahomes	Matt Moore
RB	Damien Williams	Darwin Thompson	Darrel Williams
FB	Anthony Sherman
WR	Tyreek Hill	Mecole Hardman	De’Anthony Thomas
WR	Sammy Watkins	Demarcus Robinson	Byron Pringle; Cody Thompson
TE	Travis Kelce	Blake Bell
LT	Eric Fisher	Andrew Wylie
LG	Cameron Erving	Jeff Allen
C	Austin Reiter	Nick Allegretti
RG	Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	Kahlil McKenzie
RT	Mitchell Schwartz

Observations:

• For the second year in a row, the Chiefs will go with the two-quarterback approach, despite Moore being with Kansas City for less than a week. Shurmur isn’t ready and needs to work out the kinks in his game on the practice squad. Litton hasn’t grown all that much and has probably played his last game in a Chiefs uniform.
• I’m going with three running backs this season. I think between the two Williamses and Thompson they have enough firepower to last the season. If they run into the injury bug we know that Sherman can handle some carries.
• It’ll be a heavy on the receivers kind of year in Kansas City in 2019. I feel like this is the deepest position and they need to stockpile weapons for the stretch run. Cody Thompson and Byron Pringle both make it because they both provide different skillsets for the team.
• The problem with having seven receivers is that you have to go light on the tight ends. I’m going with Travis Kelce and Blake Bell and that is it. It would have probably been different had Deon Yelder and John Lovett stayed healthy.
• My OL prediction stays the same for the most part but I think that Cameron Erving might end up as the starting left guard over Andrew Wylie.
• The one player on the OL that I am torn on is Kahlil McKenzie. He was playing late in preseason Week 4 and wasn’t even among the starters on the offensive line.

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Defense – 26 players

Pos.	First	Second	Third
DT	Chris Jones	Justin Hamilton
DT	Derrick Nnadi	Xavier Williams	Khalen Saunders
SDE	Alex Okafor	Emmanuel Ogbah	Breeland Speaks
SLB	Reggie Ragland	Jeremiah Attaochu
MLB	Anthony Hitchens	Ben Niemann
WLB	Damien Wilson	Darron Lee
WDE	Frank Clark	Tanoh Kpassagnon
LCB	Bashaud Breeland	Charvarius Ward	Rashad Fenton
RCB	Kendall Fuller	Herb Miller
FS	Daniel Sorensen	Juan Thornhill
SS	Tyrann Mathieu	Armani Watts	Jordan Lucas

Observations:

• If the Chiefs truly believe Speaks has a chance to return from his injury he needs to be on the initial 53-man roster and then sent to injured reserve.
• Attaochu played his way onto the roster with versatility. Being able to play linebacker, defensive end and special teams are far too valuable to pass up.
• I’m only going with five corners right now, but after preseason Week 4, I’m not sure that they don’t look for outside help. For the time being it’s Miller who gets spot No. 5 in Kansas City
• I’m keeping Saunders on the roster but I don’t feel good about it. I hope he’s not a Keivarae Russell situation all-over again. He’s hit the rookie wall already and it feels like 2019 is bound to be a redshirt season for him. The good news is that he did show signs of improvement against the Packers in preseason Week 4.
• Lucas made the case for a fifth safety on the roster. He’s a solid player and deserves a chance to stick in Kansas City.

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Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Special teams – 3 players

Pos.	First	Second
P	Dustin Colquitt	Harrison Butker
K	Harrison Butker	Dustin Colquitt
KO	Harrison Butker	Dustin Colquitt
LS	James Winchester	Travis Kelce
H	Dustin Colquitt	x
PR	Mecole Hardman	Tyreek Hill
KR	De’Anthony Thomas	Byron Pringle

Observations:

• A good varied lineup of return men should keep everybody fresh. I think Hardman and Thomas get the starting nods, but others could work in there as well.
• Colquitt is the guy over Jack Fox and it wasn’t a particularly close competition.

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Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Practice squad – 10

Pos.	Name	School
WR	Jody Fortson	Valdosta State
OL	Ryan Hunter	x
TE	Nick Keizer	x
TE	Deon Yelder	x
RB	Marcus Marshall	James Madison
C	Jimmy Murray	x
DT	Joey Ivie	x
OT	Dino Boyd	Cincinnati
QB	Kyle Shurmur	Vanderbilt
DE	Rob McCray	x

Observations:

• Again, I’m only going with players on the 90-man roster here. They almost assuredly will add some guys from outside their own roster.
• I went with Shurmur at QB. It’s clear that he needs some time to develop. He’s made some smart decisions with the football but he just needs to speed up the process and I think that will come with more repetitions.
• Fortson made a case for himself sticking with the Chiefs on the practice squad. Whether his future is as a tight end or a receiver it’s clear he has something to build on.
• I went with Deon Yelder and Nick Keizer on the practice squad. If you have only two guys on the active I figure it’s best to keep two on the practice squad.
• Marcus Marshall is intriguing enough to keep on the practice squad for 2019.
• The Chiefs opt for more years on the practice squad for Hunter, Murray, Ivie and McCray. All promising young players from last season.
• Dino Boyd is a guy that I like as a future swing tackle option for the Chiefs.

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Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Injured reserve – 6

Pos.	Name	School
DE	Tim Ward	Old Dominion
LB	Darius Harris	Mid Tennessee
WR	Gehrig Dieter	x
TE	John Lovett	Princeton
WR	Marcus Kemp	x
QB	Chad Henne	x

Suspended list – 1

Pos.	Name	School
CB	Morris Claiborne	x

Observations:

• I think Henne and Dieter ultimately end up on injured reserve before the start of the regular season. Speaks will join them afterward because there is hope that he can still return.
• Claiborne won’t return until Week 5 of the regular season, but it’s quite clear that he’s needed.

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