The Kansas City Chiefs came back like gangbusters on the Monday Night Football stage, taking down the Denver Broncos in blowout fashion by a final of 31-10. It was a statement win on multiple levels, leaving both sides of the football with plenty to have their hats on.
It also left room for improvement, which might be the best news. There are still some things to figure out regarding who takes the field and when, which could shift multiple times over the next several weeks. At the very least, Week 1 may have provided an initial justification for depth chart and roster construction, as well as in-game adjustments.
Now that snap counts have been released, what jumped off the page? Let's take a look at three noteworthy takeaways from the first regular-season week of Chiefs football.
As if there was any doubt, the Emmett Johnson Show made its first stop in Kansas City this regular season. Even with starter Kenneth Walker II exploding for perhaps the best game of his career , his younger backfield mate did a very solid job as well. Johnson played 25 snaps to Walker's 47, good for respective percentages of 36 and 68 on the offensive end.
Second-year halfback Brashard Smith , who flashed improved patience , contact balance and overall rushing chops during the preseason, appeared for just three snaps. Each was on special teams, underscoring Kansas City's commitment to its ground attack with just two players.
In all, Johnson toted the ball eight times for 24 yards but made most of his impact as a receiver. Hauling in two passes for 44 yards, both receptions saw him break tackles and turn a decent gain into an explosive one. The nature of a lopsided scoreboard likely got Johnson more reps than he'll see in the future, but Walker also shared considerable time with Zach Charbonnet during the former's tenure on the Seattle Seahawks .
For now, however, Johnson appears to have a more than respectable role for a Day 3 NFL Draft selection .
It was known that Kansas City would be without veteran safety Chamarri Conner on Monday, but it was unknown exactly what the replacement plan would be. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had plenty of options at his disposal, including leaning into the versatility of Chris Roland-Wallace or ditching some of the three-safety looks he'd unleashed in the past.
The heralded mind opted for a hefty dose of Jaden Hicks instead. In a surprise to many, Hicks wound up playing all 51 defensive snaps to Roland Wallace's eight. The results were mixed, as the young defensive back did give up a touchdown to tight end Evan Engram but also logged a pair of Pro Football Focus "stops" over the course of the evening.
Speaking to the media during the preseason, Spagnuolo praised Hicks for ascending and acknowledged his growth after a strong 2026 (glorified exhibition) debut.
"He's kind of been on that trajectory, and he should be," Spagnuolo said. "He's been in the system for a while now. Those kind of guys, I put a little bit more pressure on because I expect them to know more and not make mistakes that, maybe, a rookie would make."
It's expected that Conner will resume duties as the club's go-to man alongside Alohi Gilman once he returns from a knee injury , although the team can't be too upset with gaining some more background on whether Hicks is a viable option.
Throughout the offseason, there was zero question about who the Chiefs would roll with as their two primary linebackers. That got confirmed when the duo of Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill combined to play all but one possible snap on Monday, but what was interesting was who fell in line behind them. With Cooper McDonald getting hurt early on a special teams play, it left the hosts a bit thin at the position.
Rather than thrusting Jeffrey Bassa into the lineup or giving Jack Cochrane premium run, Spagnuolo simply replaced a linebacker with another position. Switching things up in terms of personnel and formation saw him rotate in multiple defensive backs and down linemen. Perhaps the aforementioned injury, paired with rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane being knocked out of the lineup, necessitated some of that. Here's how the snaps were divided:
Bolton: 51
Tranquill: 50
Cochrane: 5
Bassa: 3
Either way, so much has been made about the perceived battle for the third linebacker job . Considering the lack of snaps reflecting such a role for this week, maybe the real SAM 'backer is everyone all at once.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/onsi as Chiefs Snap Count Analysis vs. Broncos: How Did KC Distribute Snaps in Opener? .
