Saturday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs open up their preseason schedule with a road game against the Arizona Cardinals, giving us our first look at the team near the end of training camp, which will conclude Wednesday at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said that his starters would play during the first quarter, but it’s likely that they will play only a series or two. So the matchup will be a tremendous opportunity for those on the back half of the 90-man roster to prove they have what it takes.
There may only be a handful of starting spots up for grabs, but there will be stiff competition for the last few spots on the roster.
1. The offensive line rotation
Training camp’s biggest story has been first-round rookie Josh Simmons’ emergence as the clear-cut starter at left tackle. The early questions about his health — and his readiness to play at the pro level — appear to be resolved. He has taken every one of training camp’s first-team snaps.
While Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith are both locks as the team’s starting center and right guard, there are still questions about left guard and right tackle. While Kingsley Suamataia and Jawaan Taylor have both played the majority of snaps at these positions, free-agent acquisition Jaylon Moore has rotated into both spots during camp. More recently, Moore has been rotating almost exclusively at right tackle. It will be interesting to see how Moore is used on Saturday night.
2. Rookies on the defensive line
Second and third-round picks Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte will both make their professional debuts on Saturday night. Both have had plenty of attention during training camp, getting significant work with the first team.
Early in camp, Lott — a defensive tackle — missed some time with an ankle injury. But since then, he’s often been on the field with the starters, drawing praise from his teammates. Meanwhile, Gillotte — a defensive end — started camp a little slowly. Since then, however, he has picked up momentum, putting together a string of solid performances.
Kansas City’s defensive line is one of the team’s deepest position groups. Seeing Norman-Lott and Gillotte get their first taste of live NFL action should be fun to watch.
3. Tyquan Thornton with the first team
Another big storyline has revolved around the former New England Patriots wideout, who came to the league as a second-round pick in 2022. He’s also spent lots of time with the first team during training camp, making some downfield plays with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Thornton joined the Chiefs’ practice squad after New England released him in November. This season, he’s looking to revive his career – and after spending an entire offseason in Kansas City, he appears to have developed a nice chemistry with Mahomes.
While the Chiefs’ offense will likely keep it simple on Saturday night, keeping an eye on Thornton’s usage and snap count could reveal quite a bit about his chance to make the roster. We should also watch to see how he is used on special teams, because he could end up being a four-phase player in that unit.
During the offseason, Kansas City added free agent running back Elijah Mitchell, who had a lackluster 2024 season. In St. Joseph, Mitchell has been mixed into first-team snaps, appearing to find a role catching the ball out of the backfield. That makes him a candidate to become the team’s third-down back in 2025. He’s also been worked into second-team snaps with second-year fullback Carson Steele.
Meanwhile, Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have taken the majority of the snaps with the first team. Both appear ready to reprise their roles as RB1 and RB2 this season. The 30-year-old Hunt appears to be in better shape than he was a year ago — a full offseason and training camp seems to have been a positive for him — while Pacheco seems to be back to 100% following his 2024 injury.
Since the Chiefs know what they have in both players, their usage will likely be kept low. We should see plenty of work from both Mitchell and Steele.
Also watch for rookies Brashard Smith and Elijah Young. Smith — a seventh-round pick out of SMU — has shown versatility and speed in college and at camp. Young spent time at Missouri before transferring to Western Kentucky for his final two years of eligibility.
When the Chiefs are deciding which players will make the opening 53-man roster, those with an ability to contribute on special teams have traditionally had an inside track. Kansas City notably puts value on what special teams coordinator (and assistant head coach) Dave Toub calls “four-phase players,” meaning that they can play on the team’s kickoff, punt, kickoff-return and punt-return units.
Here’s the rule of thumb: if two players have roughly the same ability on offense or defense — but one can contribute more on special teams — then that player will be the most likely to make the 53-man roster.
The NFL’s new kickoff rules may have reduced the value of those who can only play on special teams — but with defense on the rise across the league, quality punt and punt return teams will continue to be needed.
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