It’s entirely too early to project the depth chart for the Chiefs.
The offseason roster sits at 69 of the allotted 90 roster spots. The Chiefs will still look to add more free agents. They’ll also look to round out their roster through the NFL draft, and adding some undrafted free agents as well.
While the roster still has a lot of changing to do, it’s not bad idea to get a look at a depth chart before heading into the draft. We can perhaps discover some strengths and weaknesses of the roster through this process. Let’s take a look:
Offense
| Pos. | First | Second | Third |
| QB | Patrick Mahomes | Chad Henne | Chase Litton; E.J. Manuel |
| RB | Damien Williams | Darrel Williams; Carlos Hyde | J.D. Moore |
| FB | Anthony Sherman | Aaron Ripkowski | |
| WR | Tyreek Hill | Gehrig Dieter | Byron Pringle; Davon Grayson |
| WR | Sammy Watkins | Demarcus Robinson | Marcus Kemp; Sammie Coates; Josh Crockett |
| TE | Travis Kelce | Deon Yelder | David Wells |
| LT | Eric Fisher | Justin Senior | |
| LG | Andrew Wylie | Cameron Erving | Ryan Hunter |
| C | Austin Reiter | Jimmy Murray | Tejan Koroma |
| RG | Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | Kahlil McKenzie | Dillon Gordon |
| RT | Mitchell Schwartz | Pace Murphy |
Observations:
- The third quarterback position is up for grabs between incumbent Chase Litton and newcomer E.J. Manuel. I have a feeling that Litton will prevail after a year in the system. The Chiefs might even have to keep him on the 53-man roster.
- The running back group is not quite as deep as last year. Darrel Williams and Carlos Hyde are likely in a battle for second string touches. Will system experience or snaps as a professional prevail in this battle? It’s a toss up after that, but whoever contributes most on special teams could be the winner.
- Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins remain the top two guys for Kansas City. Gehrig Dieter is the current favorite behind Hill. He was the first guy in the game during the playoffs when Hill took a breather. Demarcus Robinson also saw his fair share of action. Marcus Kemp has proven to be a solid special teams player, but he needs to take a big step forward on offense or he’ll be deemed replaceable. Byron Pringle is a fan favorite, but he’ll have plenty to prove coming off injury.
- The tight end group is as weak as it has been since before the days of Travis Kelce. The Chiefs need to find some depth to compete with Deon Yelder. Keep in mind the team stashed Yelder on the active roster a week or two after they signed him to the practice squad. They like him, and even though we haven’t yet seen much from him, we could in the future.
- Offensive line depth is surprisingly strong, even at the center position, after the Chiefs let Mitch Morse and Jordan Devey walk in free agency. Tejan Koroma was the No. 2 center on the Chiefs’ depth chart in 2018 before suffering an injury. Jimmy Murray was also stashed on the Chiefs’ roster for most of the 2018 season.
- I’m curious to see if Pace Murphy or Justin Senior are capable of playing swing tackle for the Chiefs in 2019. If not Andrew Wylie could potentially revert back to that role, the team could also look for a developmental swing tackle in the draft.
- It’ll be interesting to see how the guard position shakes out. I think the top three guys are Wylie, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, and Cameron Erving. If injury strikes the team could be in trouble. Where is Kahlil McKenzie in his development? Dillon Gordon was promising before injury, will he be healthy? Ryan Hunter spent the entirety of 2018 on the practice squad, is he ready to contribute? There are questions that need answered at guard.
Continue…
Defense
| Pos. | First | Second | Third |
| DT | Chris Jones | Joey Ivie | Henry Mondeaux |
| DT | Derrick Nnadi | Xavier Williams | Justin Hamilton |
| SDE | Breeland Speaks | Cavon Walker | |
| SLB | Damien Wilson | Ben Niemann | |
| MLB | Reggie Ragland | Martrell Spaight | |
| WLB | Anthony Hitchens | Dorian O’Daniel | Raymond Davison |
| WDE | Alex Okafor | Tanoh Kpassagnon | Rob McCray |
| LCB | Bashaud Breeland | Charvarius Ward | Dontae Johnson |
| RCB | Kendall Fuller | Tremon Smith | D’Montre Wade; Step Durham |
| FS | Daniel Sorensen | Armani Watts; Jordan Lucas | Leon McQuay |
| SS | Tyrann Mathieu | Eric Murray; Harold Jones-Quartey |
Observations:
- The defensive interior seems like the big strength of the Chiefs right now. One name to get familiar with is Joey Ivie, the Chiefs like him quite a bit, particular as a piece in the Steve Spagnuolo’s NASCAR packages.
- How the linebacker group ends up will be one of the more intriguing story’s of training camp. I think most of the positions are probably an open competition with the exception of the SLB spot. Reggie Ragland will get first look at the MLB spot, but don’t count out Anthony Hitchens or Martrell Spaight being a better option there.
- Fans feel like Dorian O’Daniel has showcased enough to earn the weakside linebacker spot. I think the Chiefs will use him more often as a subpackage linebacker right away, but ease him into a starting role as the season goes on. This will be his second season in a row learning a new system.
- As for the defensive end spots, I think the Chiefs are building a healthy rotation there. Breeland Speaks and Alex Okafor have the feel of the main guys for now, but that could easily change after the draft. Tanoh Kpassagnon feels like a LEO in the 4-3 under, he seems built for that wide nine. Finally Cavon Walker is someone to keep an eye on during training camp, he played interior defensive line for the Bears, but he played defensive end in college.
- The cornerback group doesn’t have a lot of name recognition, but on paper it looks like a solid group. They need to add more competitive depth, but I feel like they don’t need to press to find an immediate starter in the draft. I’m curious to see the steps forward that Tremon Smith and D’Montre Wade will take in their second seasons.
- The Chiefs safety group is now headlined by Tyrann Mathieu, and while he brings a significant amount of versatility, his role with the Chiefs will likely involve him playing closer to the line of scrimmage. Daniel Sorensen will take on a new role in Spagnuolo’s defense.
- I think the most intriguing thing will be how safety depth shakes out. Can Harold Jones-Quartey take a spot from one of the Chiefs’ incumbents? Will Eric Murray improve with a new group of coaches. How will Armani Watts look in his return from injury? Can this coaching staff find a way to take advantage of Jordan Lucas’ range? Lot’s of questions to be answered from this group.
Special teams
| 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 | |
| PR | Tyreek Hill | Tremon Smith |
| KR | Tremon Smith | Tyreek Hill |
Observations:
- This group is pretty straight forward. It’s worth noting that the Chiefs checked in on a punter at the Mizzou pro day. They’re also looking at several receivers in the draft with experience as a return man.
