The 90-man roster released Monday can help us get a glimpse
of what we might see in September"With the release of the Kansas City Chiefs’
90-man roster on
Monday
Juan
Thornhill white jersey , we finally have a rough picture of the players
the Chiefs will use to construct their final 53-man roster this fall.There’s
every reason to expect there will be more changes as we continue through the
offseason — one new player has already been signed since the roster was released
— but we thought it would be illuminating to use the 53-man roster from the
beginning of September as a guide to break down the 90-man roster by position,
and help us see where the team might be headed in 2019.Offensive lineSeptember:
Mitch Morse, Bryan Witzmann, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Kahlil McKenzie, Eric
Fisher, Mitch Schwartz, Andrew Wylie, Jordan Devey and Cam Erving.The Chiefs
started the season with nine offensive linemen: a center, three guards, three
tackles and two swing linemen.Almost immediately, Witzmann was released, swing
lineman Cam Erving took over at left guard, and Austin Reiter was brought
up.Erving, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Kahlil McKenzie, Eric Fisher, Mitchell
Schwartz, Andrew Wylie, Dino Boyd, Ryan Hunter, Pace Murphy and Justin SeniorThe
Chiefs currently have 13 offensive linemen on the roster.All five of last year’s
starters are likely to return.Reiter will face competition from seventh-round
pick Allegretti, but Allegretti could just as easily make the team as a swing
lineman; think of him as taking Devey’s spot. McKenzie — who was on the active
roster, but inactive for every game in 2018 — seems to be a player the Chiefs
want to keep developing.Wylie is likely to make the team as a backup tackle.That
makes eight.Five players — all but Murray listed as tackles — will likely be
competing for the last spot on the offensive line.Tight endSeptember: Travis
Kelce and Alex EllisDemetrius Harris wasn’t on the opening roster because he was
set to serve a suspension in Week 1.He replaced Ellis in Week 2.Now: Travis
Kelce, Blake Bell, John Lovett, Deon Yelder and David WellsFive tight ends are
now on the roster.Kelce is obviously a lock.Many expected — perhaps hoped — the
Chiefs would get a tight end in the draft, but that didn’t happen.So now it
looks like four players will compete to back up Kelce.Bell — with NFL playing
experience — would seem to have the inside
track
Juan Thornhill
Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , but Lovett is a wild card.The Chiefs seem to
think this former college quarterback — like both Kelce and Bell — has potential
as an NFL tight end or H-back.Andy Reid is always thinking.Running
backSeptember: Kareem Hunt, Spencer Ware, Damien Williams, Darrel Williams,
Anthony ShermanThe Chiefs started the season with five running backs — including
fullback Sherman.With the release of Hunt and another injury to Ware, Damien
Williams was the starter by season’s end, backed up by Darrel Williams and the
returning Charcandrick West.Now: Damien Williams, Carlos Hyde, Darrel Williams,
Darwin Thompson, James Williams, J.D. Moore, Marcus Marshall and Anthony
ShermanThe Chiefs have eight running backs on the roster.It’s easy to guess
Damien Williams will return as the starter with Hyde as his main backup —
although it’s not very hard to imagine those roles could be reversed.With Aaron
Ripkowski’s release after his early offseason signing, it seems clear that
Sherman will again be the team’s fullback.The Chiefs have seemed high on Darrel
Williams, but they seem high on sixth-round pick Thompson and UDFA James
Williams, too.It comes down to this: five players will be competing for two
backup positions, and it looks like it will be an interesting battle.Note:
Marcus Marshall was signed after the release of the first 90-man roster.At this
writing, the corresponding roster move is unknown.Wide receiverSeptember: Tyreek
Hill, Sammy Watkins, Chris Conley, Demarcus Robinson, De’Anthony Thomas, Marcus
KempThe Chiefs began 2018 with six wide receivers.Thomas was injured early in
the season, and Watkins’ availability was inconsistent throughout the year,
which allowed Gehrig Dieter to see playing time.Now: Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins,
Demarcus Robinson, Marcus
Kemp
Kansas City Chiefs
Jerseys Stitched , Gehrig Dieter, Mecole Hardman, last year’s linebacker
corps.Jones, Nnadi, Clark and Okafor (or Ogbah) look like the starters, with
returning veteran Williams and third-round pick Saunders backing up the starting
tackles. Either Okafor or Ogbah — along with Speaks and Kpassagnon — will
compete for the two backup defensive end positions.Right now it looks like
Speaks or Kpassagnon will be mutually exclusive; if one of them makes the team,
the other probably won’t.LinebackerSeptember: Justin Houston, Dee Ford, Tanoh
Kpassagnon, Breeland Speaks, Anthony Hitchens, Reggie Ragland, Ben Niemann,
Dorian O’ Daniel and Terrance SmithLast season, the Chiefs started with nine
linebackers to run the 3-4.We’re guessing they’ll carry seven to run the 4-3
Under.Now: Damien Wilson, Jeremiah Attaochu, Reggie Ragland, Ben Niemann,
Anthony Hitchens, Dorian O’Daniel, Rob McCray, Martrell Spaight, Raymond
Davison, Darius Harris and Gary JohnsonExactly how Spagnuolo will arrange his
Sam, Mike and Will linebackers in his 4-3 Under scheme is shrouded in
mystery.For guidance, I reached out to our Craig Stout, who thinks the Chiefs
will go with Wilson and Attaochu as the starter and backup at Sam, Ragland and
Niemann at Mike
Kansas
City Chiefs Jerseys 2019 , and Hitchens and O’Daniel at Will.But Craig
also thinks the Chiefs would be better off with Hitchens and Ragland as the Mike
linebackers, with O’Daniel and Johnson as the Will players.So while we don’t yet
know how they’ll be lined up, it looks like Wilson, Attaouchu, Ragland, Hitchens
and O’Daniel have the best chance at the first five roster spots, with Niemann
and Johnson leading the other six linebackers competing for the last
two.Defensive backSeptember: Kendall Fuller, Steve Nelson, Orlando Scandrick,
Tremon Smith, Charvarius Ward, Eric Berry, Armani Watts, Eric Murray, Jordan
Lucas, Daniel SorensenThe team started 2018 with 10 defensive backs — five
cornerbacks and five safeties.Berry was “day-to-day” until the final games of
the year, Watts was lost to injury early on, and the secondary was basically a
mess — although both Ward and Lucas showed flashes late in the year.Now:Kendall
Fuller, Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, Keith Reaser, Tremon Smith, Rashad
Fenton, Tyrann Mathieu, Armani Watts, Juan Thornhill, Jordan Lucas, Daniel
Sorensen
Juan Thornhill
black jersey , Leon McQuay, Jalin Burrell, Mark Fields, Dontae Johnson,
Harold Jones-Quartey, Dakari Monroe and D’Montre WadeThe Chiefs have acquired a
lot of players to try and upgrade this position group for 2019 — 18 defensive
backs are now on the roster.Fuller and Breeland look like the likely starters at
cornerback, followed by Ward, Reaser, Smith and/or possibly Fenton.Smith has so
far seen little NFL experience at his position, so it will be interesting to see
if he continues to get a lot of work as a kick returner, or if Fenton (or
possibly Hardman) gets more of that work in 2019.Mathieu is clearly a lock at
starting safety, but there are a lot of players lined up who could conceivably
be starters alongside him.Watts now seems like the safest bet as the other
starter, but cases could also be made for the just-drafted Thornhill, Lucas and
Sorensen.SpecialistsSeptember: Harrison Butker, Dustin Colquitt and James
WinchesterNow: Harrison Butker, Dustin Colquitt, Jack Fox and James
WinchesterNot much to see here.The Chiefs clearly feel comfortable with Butker
and Winchester; no players are on the roster to challenge them.The team is doing
its due diligence with Fox, but Colquitt is likely to remain as the old man of
the team.That’s how the 53-man roster looks to us right now.How does it look to
you? After the Chiefs’ season came to an end in the AFC Championship Game, Dee
Ford said he has no problem with the team using the franchise tag to keep him in
the fold in 2019.The Chiefs have not made any announcements about their plans on
that front, but it certainly sounds like there are no plans to let Ford get away
this offseason. The defensive look is expected to change with Steve Spagnuolo
taking over as defensive coordinator for Bob Sutton, but pass rushers are always
at a premium and General Manager Brett Veach didn’t sound like he’s preparing to
say goodbye to Ford.“We’re excited about bringing him back,” Veach said, via
Matt Derrick of .Veach was not quite as emphatic when it came to Justin
Houston‘s future in Kansas City. Houston is set to make $15.25 million with a
cap hit of $21.1 million with $14 million coming back to the team if they move
on without him. They could also look into other alterations to the contract and
Veach said there will “be a time and place” to go through the various scenarios
involving Houston.
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