Our Bold Chiefs 53-Man Roster Predictions

Sterling Holmes and Josh Brisco go position by position to build their first projection of the Chiefs' 53-man roster heading into the 2026 season. Which veterans are safely locked in? Which young players have earned a spot? And which fan favorites could find themselves on the outside looking in?

View More

Video Transcript

Arrowhead Addict podcast on this Tuesday.

Sterling Holmes, Josh Briscoe, follow him on the X at JB Briscoe, myself at home stretch, KC.

We have so much fun to get into today.

Training camp, baby, and that means 1st 53 man roster prediction is coming down the line.

I'm excited to get into this.

When I did it myself.

I'm surprised, especially with some news regarding Ethan Downs.

That is not great.

A guy who I had as the 5th edge, maybe even 4th edge on the Chiefs roster.

Well , it looks like he might be done for the year.

Very, very unfortunate.

Briscoe, how are you doing?

I'm good, man.

It's good to see you.

Last week around this time, I was holding it down here with Branson from Down Under.

Uh, we got an entire new flavor, both of accent and uh, of mustachioed man in uh last week's edition of the show.

So, I hope the, I think, family reunion situation for you, right?

Hope that was, uh, everything that a collection of Holmes' or whatever other last names are in the mix out there.

Uh, it's everything that you would, you would hope for it to be, and, yeah, unfortunate news.

Today for sure, as you mentioned on Ethan Downs, but, uh, ultimately excited to have actual training camp here to talk about.

Patrick Mahomes is out there and we have at least a, a little first look at the rookies until things get really real tomorrow.

It's a good time to be talking about the Chiefs.

Uh, it was the Guthrie family reunion, uh, the Guthrie's, my mom's side, about 150 of us down there in Southern Indiana.

It was electric.

We did basketball, pickleball, volleyball.

Um, so your middle name is your mom's maiden name.

I don't think I, I maybe I'd put that together at some point, but I love that that rules.

Yeah, correct.

I just sound like a country singer, Sterling Guthrie or Guthrie Holmes.

Uh, my accent down there was strong.

Uh, all of a sudden, instead of, instead of, instead of saying I, I saw something, I seen something, I think is how it kind of ended up going.

Uh, no, I had a great time.

The obstacle course was a blast.

I posted that on.

Uh, Instagram, I think I need to post on Twitter.

I'll post it on there as well.

It was a blast, fun.

Uh, I didn't get injured, but there were hurdles.

There were a, uh, tire, um, you know, you, your feet through the tire, drills, uh, throwing logs, chucking kids into a ball, into like balls like you bowl them almost, bowling kids.

Uh, it was electric.

It was fun.

So I'll post it on Twitter at some point.

Uh, I appreciate everyone hanging out with us as well who, who are here live.

I see Phantom in the chat.

Appreciate you, Chris.

Hello, my dudes.

What's up, Sterling, the Stash Daddy Holmes, and what's up, Briscoe.

What's up, boys?

I, no matter how many times you ask Sterling, I'm not going to start calling you stash Daddy.

Stop asking.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Uh, all right, let's get into it because I want to have some fun here.

We actually have some enjoyable things to talk about and I think the roster will look.

Different, not just in obviously the players, but different in the sense of, I think how it's broken down.

There are some intriguing pieces that I think will be a step in the.

Some, it's something to change versus some previous teams.

Uh, I also found out when doing my 53, um, There are going to be some changes as we go through training camp, obviously, but with the unknown at edge, I threw in an extra position somewhere else because I'm like, I don't think any of these dudes are making the team, but I have to put names somewhere.

So I put guys who I don't necessarily think might be on the team on the team.

Uh, let's get into it, starting with quarterbacks.

I think that they keep 3 this year, which is a surprise and a break from the norm.

They've kept 2 for a very, very long time.

And this year, I think they keep 3 on the 53-man roster.

Mahomes, Fields, Garrett Nussmeyer.

They spent a draft pick on Garrett.

Uh, I don't think he'd make it through to the practice squad.

Maybe he would, but the second you get the stench of Andy and Patrick just even around you, feels like that's something that a team would pick up on.

Um, I think they keep 3 quarterbacks this year, which again, is a break from the norm.

I'm gonna go ahead, I'll give a little cross-promo at the front end.

I, we did a, uh, a 53-man roster projection over on, over on sister site, Chiefs on SI SI Chiefs.com.

We'll take you there.

Whenever Jordan Foote and I did this, and I, I give you all the backstory because at the start of our 53-man roster.

It was just two quarterbacks.

But we went through the entire exercise and there was a player later on who, I, I said, you know what, I just, I don't think this guy's making the team, but I don't think we need a replacement at linebacker, little, little uh tease for, for what some, some, maybe some switchups there.

But ultimately, we got to the end and we said, all right, well, we got 52.

Let's get on the nut bus, and, and because we agreed, certainly, I, I don't think he's gonna end up probably being a practice squad player.

I think somebody likely scoops him up, but he has a real job to earn here.

He, he, I think we would probably agree.

He is not safe as things stand right now.

But it's just one year for Justin Fields, you'd like to have somebody consistent in that room with Mahomes.

They spent draft pick on him, but it was also really late.

Like, everybody in the league theoretically passed on him 240 times.

There are lots of opportunities for other teams to say, we want Nussmeyer, but I, I do think there's a little bit of value in the Chiefs being the team that took him, and, and so narrowly, I, I'd agree.

I think they, I think they carry 3, but I think it's very close.

That was literally our 53rd spot went to Nussmeyer.

Before we get into running backs, uh, super chat from Phantom, I appreciate you for the super chat here.

It says, what, if any, will the effect be of, uh, Eric Biennay's absence from training camp and what will that be on the Chiefs?

I think the Chiefs are in a unique position to where they have so much continuity on offense.

It shouldn't be a massive factor.

Obviously, you'd like him with some of the young guys, with some of the new coaching staff, the wide receiver coach, running backs coach, would be nice to see.

We talk all the time about accountability and all of these different aspects.

But I think even with him gone, the players will still have the mindset of that because They want to do it for him.

That's how I would view it of like, OK, the enemy is handling his, his family business.

Even though he's not here, we know what he wants and what he expects of us.

Uh, I think Andy might have to be a little tougher on some of those dudes, but we know Andy's training camps aren't easy to begin with.

Uh, it is a sad loss if everything that has transpired with the enemy.

Whatever matters most is his family, but we will, um, We'll see.

I, I, I don't think it's gonna be this massive.

Whole lot training camp.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Yeah, it, it's also, we just don't know how long he's gonna be away for, and so I think, I know it's kind of sidestepping the question a little bit, but I think if he's gone for a couple of practices, there's not really a football takeaway there that you need to have, and he'll be back whenever he's back.

If he ends up taking a longer leave of absence , then the Chiefs would have some questions to answer, and, you know, we made a lot of, of his, his presence at the, at practices and around the team, um, as a reason that they rehired him as offensive coordinator.

So I think not having his voice out there hurts, but again, like, I don't know.

I, I think at some point, we'll probably get a little bit of an idea of what that process looks like for him, or, or how long he's gonna be away for, and um I don't know, the whole thing is just like, gut-wrenchingly sad.

Yeah.

uh, Super chat from Chris says, hey, if you remember, please tell Patrick Allen that his old-time Chiefs buddy Crayfish said hi.

Uh, will do.

When Patrick's probably listening right now.

So, uh, crayfish , Patrick says, says hi.

Uh, running backs.

I have 4.

There's either anywhere from 3.

They had 5 and they kept a fullback a long time ago.

I found it difficult to break down the running back wide receiver in tight end room because there's some names that I don't think.

I don't want to say don't deserve to be on a roster, but it's so early because they're fighting for these spots that it's tough to say, OK, yeah, this guy.

Because if the Chiefs kept 3 running backs, wouldn't be surprised.

The Chiefs kept 5 or 6 wide receivers, wouldn't be surprised.

3 or 4 tight ends wouldn't be surprised, right?

So, I, I, I think that's how my breakdown went.

I ended up going with Kenneth Walker.

Emmett Johnson, Amari DeMarcado, and I went with Breshard Smith still as more of a returner.

He's listed as a running back, but I view it more as a special teams guy.

With the new kickoffs, you need two guys back there.

I think he'll be one.

So.

I went with Burchard Smith.

You took my chance to push back on anything you said.

I, I was gonna say, I actually did have a hard time.

I did not have a hard time making it a 4-man roster there.

I would be surprised if it was less than 4 at running back because of special teams.

And, and also these newer kickoff rules tend to lend themselves more to the running back types.

Um, I think EJ Smith and Jaden Ott are both practice squad, borderline shoo-ins, and legitimately, like, could be on the roster next year when theoretically Amari.

Dearcado probably isn't.

And I don't think Broshard Smith is safe, safe, but I think, it, I think Smith or Ott, EJ Smith, Emmett Smith, the 4th, um, he or Ott need to have a very good camp, or, or Broshard Smith needs to have a poor one.

But I think there, there could be a battle there, but right now, I agree.

I think the incumbent with, with an extra year of experience, who was drafted and gives you some real special teams juice, Broshard Smith, he's my 4th.

OK.

So we're lockstep so far.

7 for 7, wide receiver, uh, I think 5 are easy.

5 will be here for sure, I'd imagine, barring jail or something.

Uh, Rasheed Rice, Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton, Cyrus Allen, Jalen Royals.

I went with Nico Ramijio.

I know there's a case for.

You know, Holiday or Brownlee or Armstrong or DeJesus, um, I like, I just David DeJesus is all I can think about, uh, you said it like, yeah, I heard it like Denny Matthews DeJesus, uh instantly, yeah, so.

They all have a chance, but until I see them do more, I'm going with a special team player because wide receiver 6 really doesn't see the field.

Wide receiver 6 isn't getting actual wide receiver snaps.

I think there's always a disconnect when it comes to fans and the actuality of the team.

Wide receiver, even 5 and 6 for the most part, those are special teams, guys.

You're, you're not just running routes, you're doing the little things and they trust Ramijio.

I think that they would like to find someone more explosive, but they trust him.

So for that reason, right now, I have Ramijio as the 6th guy and probably the last guy, um, On offense, making the roster.

We'll disagree somewhere, but we haven't yet.

I, I think Nico for almost the exact same reason.

Special teams is a tiebreaker, trustworthiness is a tiebreaker.

I'd love to see them.

I really, I would, I would honestly like for one of those other receivers to win that job, to make a really hard push with a really good camp.

Maybe one of those guys does prove to Dave Tobe they can be trusted to do some of those things, and if, if they have a higher athletic ceiling than Remijio does, and I think that could be for the best.

But right now, I, the big question for me is, who is wide receiver 4?

Who is wide receiver 5?

But I think those 6, as things stand right now, are making the roster.

Andrew Armstrong spoke at, at the camp yesterday, that was a little bit interesting that he was like the UDFA receiver that, that got thrown out, I guess that, um.

Because he's technically there through another round, right ?

Regardless.

I thought it was interesting that he was the guy in that next tier that got thrown up there at the podium, but, um, I think right now Nico is year 6, and I, I don't think Jalen Royals has any sort of guarantees in like his playing time, but I'd expect him to be on the roster, even if there's a little bit of a lag there.

Yeah, it feels like the more I hear , the more I, I, I feel like Cyrus Allen is passing him up already, yeah.

So, take it as you will.

Again, I think they're different style of players, right?

Again, I, I think Jalen Royals could do some juju things, but.

Cyrus Allen, when he wears number 13, looks very Keenan Allen-esque and it's, uh, smaller than Keenan Allen, but, uh, still, it's, it's fun to see Allen 13.

Hard not to.

Uh, tight end was one of the harder ones for me because outside of Kelsey, nothing looks good.

Uh, Gray's obviously still on the team.

He's still here.

They didn't cut him because of the contract savings.

So I imagine he is going to be here.

Um.

I went with those two, and then it's a fun question of do you want 3 or 4?

I would like to have 4 tight ends, but I don't think guys deserve it.

And so I went with 3.

It's still hard.

My issue, issue is not the right word.

My thought process on tight end when it comes to tight end 3 and then beyond.

I think you can stash guys on practice squad.

And if you can somehow get two of these three, either on or on practice squad, you're happy of Trey Watson, Jake Brinningstool, Jared Wiley, or, um, Gillenborg .

I, I think that Mason Blind has gotten a little bit of action.

It's kind of, I know we're talking about guys that most people haven't heard of, but.

Yeah.

And so for me, it's, it's like, all right, you have.

Two spots are for dudes that you want on the practice squad.

If someone gets picked up, all right, fine.

And I think as far as the active 53 goes, I'll go Jared Wiley because he has the highest draft pedigree and he's been here the longest.

He also has the body type that should be able to block, although he hasn't.

But like if you look at the body, he's, you know what I'm saying?

Like, Noah Gray is undersized.

Jared Wiley looks like he has the body composition for it, just we haven't seen it.

Yeah, and that wasn't his calling card out of college.

I, we ended up keeping 4, and I, I do kind of, I, I don't mind the idea of throwing numbers at it and just saying like, hey, 3 or 4 of these guys are really close for us, so we'll take the ones that do make it through waivers.

I don't mind that strategy from you at all, but I, I do think it's Kelsey and Grey for sure.

I think having 4 on the roster makes some sense.

Uh, we went Wiley and Brenningstool as the 3 and 4.

I, I kinda wanna open up the opportunity for it to be Trey Watson as, as the 4th guy that maybe, you, you just need somebody who can help move some bodies, and I, I don't know, we just haven't seen Brenningstool be healthy enough last offseason to really show what that could look like, and Gilleborg starting on the pup list, so I think, I think he's Your, your first stash and, and remember his name next year, kind of candidate out of, out of camp so far.

It doesn't mean his, his season's done or anything like that, but it's so hard for, for young tight ends to make an impact early.

Some of the like blue chip talents can obviously do it, but this is something that I feel like we've talked about more and more in recent years of realizing like, well, it does make sense that You know, even, even pretty high pedigree tight ends don't really develop into the player you want them to be until year 2, year 3, year 4, because you need to understand the logic and the job of an offensive lineman and the logic and the job of a pass catcher.

If you're going to do it at the highest level and be on the field for the vast majority of the snaps, that's harder than we give it credit for.

So, I, I do think that's the tiebreaker for Jared Wiley as you hope that mentally, he's in a good place, um, but he has, I think, 2.

Career catches and Noah Gray is coming off of his worst year since his rookie season, and Travis Kelsey is 37 or going to be.

Um, it is a really fragile thin group for me right now.

There's a, there's a version of it that's perfectly fine because you get a bounce back from Noah Gray and Travis Kelsey looks like Travis Kelsey again, but one or two bad breaks in that room is, is really concerning.

Uh, I love this from, from Steven.

Uh, Brennan Stool is gonna be the Justin Ross of tight ends.

All the hype and, uh, We'll see with production because Brendanson was this last year and then he got injured.

So he was the stash, but I'm, I am willing to do.

The right, the, the stash, the guy coming out of being stashed the year prior has the higher stock for me than the guy who I think is about to get stashed now, but I, I don't think, I don't think there's a lot guaranteed there.

I even think Jerry Wiley needs to, he, he needs to like be in the right place throughout training camp, and he might be able to do that.

I'm not, that's not a judgment on if he will or not.

He just needs to be because they need some more reliability somewhere in there.

Yeah , Wiley, I don't think it's necessarily safe, but I think he is the highest.

Percentage chance of that next tier of guys.

And I think Brendan Stowe was next in line.

If I was keeping 4 tight ends, I think Brendan Stowell would have been my 4th.

Uh, still, Will Disley , come on down, please.

It'd be lovely.

Uh, all right, offensive line, I kept 9.

Kept 9, which means if you're doing math at home, that's 24 on offense, which means I have 24 on defense with 3 special teamers.

It's not always 25, 25.

Sometimes it's 26 and 24, uh, but I went 25 and 25.

Obviously, the starting five, you have Trey Smith, Creed, Josh Simmons, uh, Jaylen Moore, Kingsleyumataa.

As far as the backups, I went Eapole, uh, Hunter Norizad, Mike Caliendo , and then it comes to what's your flavor.

I went with Khalil Benson as a little bit of a, of a, of a dart throw.

Uh, I heard really good things about Khalil Benson.

He obviously got a good chunk of change as a UDFA.

Feels like they like him a lot.

Uh, I wasn't, Matt Derrick, I believe, said that he was getting some run with the ones now, uh, not today, but just in general through, through some of the stuff and.

Now take it as you will.

It's not like, oh, he's gonna start.

No, it's just what can he do with other starters around him.

Uh, I think Khalil Benson is my pick as far as that goes.

Ethan Driscoll, Chuw Godrick, I wouldn't fight you on.

Uh, if they wanted an extra guard, it's probably CJ Hanson.

But those are the nine I'm going with with Khalil Benson being the last offensive lineman, uh, in for me.

We took 9, but Driscoll over Khalil Benson, that was the only difference in those 9, and um I do think that some of that hype this offseason on Benson was legitimate.

I'm doing kind of another thing where the guy who, like, the giant with the crazy frame, who's actually been around a little bit now, you're, you're kinda knocking on the door with Driscoll, where I wonder if he gets cut again, is that gonna be the time that that he gets Eapole, like, Rapole got claimed and, and went with the Jets for a little bit last year before he got cut again, the Chiefs brought him back.

I, I, I hope, really, I, I hope that Driscoll has developed enough to make the Chiefs scared about cutting him because that would mean that he's beginning to show the things you need from him as an NFL player.

Benson, I think, is an, is a slam dunk practice squad candidate if he makes it.

The league doesn't have enough offensive linemen ever.

That's always something to be a little bit wary of, but he was a post-rookie minicamp signing.

He was an invitetee and then signed after, so he wasn't even like a priority undrafted free agent.

He was a later UDFA, which I think can say good things about what he showed in those practices, but also might remind us that the league isn't going to swoop him up like they might the eight-footer, uh, Ethan Driscoll, and I'm only slightly exaggerating.

I am exaggerating, but he feels like an eight-foot tall guy when you see him around these other giants that play the position.

Uh, let's go to the defensive side of the ball.

Uh, D-line is just a mess right now.

Uh, without.

Without Ethan Downs.

The hard part with D-line, I, I went with 9, by the way.

I went with 9.

Yeah, you have to, you just have, you have to find 9.

And the hard part is, I think one, maybe 2 of these guys might not make it because they'll probably find someone off of the scrap heap or veteran, a small trade somewhere.

I think they're gonna have to add edge.

And if that's the case, I actually think they end up with 10 on the D line, but right now I have 9, and it's gonna take away a different position.

I'll get to in a moment.

Um, my 9, the obvious ones, Chris Jones, Car Loftus, Glati, Woods, Tonga, uh, our Mason Thomas.

I got to these two, which I think are tough.

Omar, Oman Lott if he's healthy.

Which I think he will be.

So I'm, I'm putting him on it.

Then the final two, FAU as of now, they need FAU.

It's not even like a hope.

It's a need.

They need FAU.

So right now, he's the, the last edge and he's, he's the edge 4 right now.

Edge 4, maybe even edge 3. and then Cole Breevard, the big boy who's 34, uh, 346.

He is my backup for Tonga.

I need a 9.

I didn't.

OK, so you had an extra interior D-lineman.

That's.

And the reason why, because I know people will say, well, what about Edge?

Yeah, they'll bring someone in.

I, I, I don't see, it's a Tyreek Smith.

I, I don't really see him making the roster.

I think for me, They're going to, whether we like it or not, have Chris Jones play a lot of edge.

A ton of edge.

I, I think he is going to, he played 40% out there last year.

And I would be surprised if it wasn't at least that, if not 50 this year based on the, the current roster construction.

Maybe you see a smattering of Peter Woods out there, but if that's the case, then you're gonna have to get another interior guy.

Well, you want a run stopper just behind Tonga in general.

That ends up being, um, Brevard.

So, that maybe might be the, the biggest dart throw I have as far as like random name, but I, I think it makes a lot of sense.

I see a phantom Ethan Downs.

Now, Ethan Downs would have been, but he tore his ACL today.

Uh, according to reports, so.

Yeah, and I, I don't mind that call at all.

I think especially if Omar is in some way a health question and you want another, another run-stuffing defensive tackle body type, like, Peter Woods can do some of that, and you hope that if Omar is healthy, he can do some of that.

There's a lot of resources between Jones, Tonga, Woods, and Omar, so that, I just went with those four as your only 4 interior D-line.

and then Breevard is like, he, he's the practice squad elevation guy a few times throughout the season and somebody gets hurt, I, I think there's logic to that.

We ended up taking 5 edges, which I know is also, it's like, who, how do you find that?

This was actually before Ethan Downs was, was hurt, or before we knew the extent of the injury as well.

I, I'll give Jordan Flip the hat tip for VJ Anthony, Vincent Anthony, the rookie undrafted free agent out of Duke.

Big boy on the edge in that way.

65, 66, 6'5.5, 260, um, the, the frame that you'd like to think, OK, maybe they can, maybe they can bulk him up and, and develop the traits there a little bit just to have someone else on that edge that could be an answer, not just this year, but also this time next year.

There's, there's not a, there's not even a Malik Herring type of guy on this roster, to, to your point.

It might have been Ethan Downs, maybe it's VJ Anthony.

But that competition, that competition is one thing, I'm less worried, kind of like with wide receiver 6, to your point there.

I'm, I'm less worried about defensive end 5 than I am defensive end 4, and to some extent, defensive end 3.

However, our Mason Thomas and Ashton Gillati work together, if they're a starter, you still need somebody to let George Karloftis breathe occasionally.

And I, you know what, if I'm gonna build you the optimist case, Carloftus is playing 80% of the snaps, Felix is playing 20-ish, and Glatis playing 60%, and Armason Thomas is playing 40.

OK, that's fine.

Those are, you know what, if, if you've combined those into two players, two starters, I'm OK with that.

If any of those guys get get nipped by an injury bug at all, I think you have a hard time surviving a week or two without George Car Loftus, much less 6 weeks without any of those guys, 6 weeks without Ashton Gillati.

So, I, I still think that, I think we're on the same page here.

That, that rotational 4th edge is a huge issue.

We'll fall in love with the 5th 1 if that needs to happen, but man, it's, it's a lot on the shoulders of FAU and, and a defensive end group that would be different if you had two George Carloftis, but you don't.

You've got a lot of projection throughout that.

Carloftus cannot miss any games.

If he misses any games, this edge room becomes, it's already one of the worst in the NFL.

It, it becomes, I'd imagine, the, the worst in the NFL.

Uh, linebacker, here's where I kept 6.

It's because I didn't, I didn't keep VJ, uh, Anthony.

This is where, this is where Garrett Nussmeyer's spot came from.

Yeah, no, I get that.

And I think 5, I think it will be 5 because I think they'll get another edge rusher and I think that they'll just take a spot away from linebacker.

That, that, that's my opinion, but when I'm doing it currently right now, I'm like, well, Yeah, I have to put someone here and someone is going to be.

We'll find out.

Nick Bolton, Drew Tranquil, Jeffrey Bassa, Cooper McDonald, uh, Cochran.

I went Cam Arnold.

I think most people would put Cole Christensen as their 6th, as their, their 6th linebacker, special teams, all that.

I'm going Cam Arnold.

Uh, I've been intrigued by Cam Arnold.

We'll see what he does, but, I, I think that'd be another one of those guys where they like him, he's athletic.

Can he be an upgrade over Cole Christiansen?

They know what they have in him.

So Cole is the, is the incumbent, you know what you have.

Can you exceed that younger, um, I'm going Kim Arnold.

I've got 5, and it's really 3 tiers of players, it's Bolton and Tranquil, McDonald and Bassa, both of them having a chance for real high percentage usage and also.

Uh, maybe a dismissal to that, that second line, you don't see the field a lot, but Bolt and Tranquil, McDonald and Bassa, and then Jack Cochran plays all the special teams snaps.

He had penalty issues last year, so again, like, I'm not sure he should be automatically shooed into being the, the four-phase special teamer that he was last year, but, um, Cochran's there for special teams snaps, and then ultimately, Cole Christensen was the, it was, it was Christensen and, and Garrett Nusmeyer was essentially the, the battle for the fifty-third spot, and I think it's more.

Interesting to, to keep the long-term backup candidate, and I don't think Cole Christiansen's getting swooped up by someone else's active roster.

He, he had a pretty light workload even on special teams last year.

He barely saw the field, so keep him on the practice squad.

Happy to have him around.

Um, I kind of like that call for Cam Arnold though.

I, I try to get him on the practice squad as well.

Uh, from Chris Super chat, appreciate it.

Gilleborg, Benson, DeJesus, uh, Anthony Junior, my outliers, love that.

Good call.

I agree with a lot of those as far as guys and names to watch off of that kind of fringe here.

I think can I pet that dog, Sam LaPorta will be a chief.

I, I sure hope that would be electric.

If Sam LaPorta becomes a chief, um, Yes, yeah, that.

When's that happening?

Do you have insight.

Can I pet that dog?

How, how do we make that happen, Mr. Dog?

Mr. Dog, I will pet your dog, mm, if you can, if you bring Sam Porto.

Yeah, that's, that's, yeah, sure, yeah, uh, all right.

Demons are back.

I went with 10.

This was hard for me.

Because I don't love the list I compiled.

And yet I also love it entirely with my whole heart.

Like, I don't know how to describe it.

Where like, I look at it and I go , all these guys, I have a hard time seeing missing the team.

So I'm like, OK, I love it.

But then I don't love it because I go, I also feel like there's too many slot slot corners or guys who will play slot only, and then it's gonna somehow open the door for an outside corner that we like, like Melvin Smith or, or like Kyre Elam.

But I broke it down.

Because I don't know who gets left off.

I broke it down to Noah Williams, Eloi Gilman, Monso Delaine, Christian Fulton, Jan Kennedy, Jayden Hicks, Jamari Connor, CRW, Leerus Snead, Kater Cohu, because I have a hard time feeling that Snead, CRW, Kater Cohu, Kennedy all make the team.

That just feels like overkill.

I get that that's what Viet likes to do.

When there's an issue at a position, he throws a lot of resources at it, right?

We know that about him.

This year it was defensive tackle, and this year it was, uh, slot corner.

That's basically, he's like, you know what?

No, we're going to figure this out.

I like it because Jamari Connor is a good safety.

He moves back to his normal position.

But those are the 10 I have, and I find myself thinking one of those guys who plays slot will get cut and either Kyre Elam or like Melvin Smith Jr. will make the team.

I also think Kevin Knowles is intriguing, but he's also probably more of another slot guy.

And so I don't think he has a great chance, although I do like what he brought, but he'd be a special team or two, so.

That's, man, I got the, I got the same 10 and the same logic.

We get in the show right now if you wanted to.

There are only 3 special teams on the roster, end of show.

See you next week, everybody.

Um, I, I agree across the board, those 6 corners, those 4 safeties, and, and putting Chris Roland Wallace as a safety who might be your slot guy as well there.

I, I absolutely agree, and here's, here's the thing that, here's my big cop out of the roster projection thing, you know, you've, you've left some space at tight end and defensive end, and maybe some adjustment there.

The unfortunate truth of this is that between Christian F Fulton, La Jerrius Snead and Kater Cohu, you assume that at least one of those guys just doesn't make it out of camp healthy enough to be on the field in week one.

Now, is that a, a short-term IR stint?

Is that a, uh, a loss for the season IR stint?

You obviously hope that's as unserious as possible .

Um, and then also, I just, this is not a bet against Kater Cohu in any way.

I, I love that signing, and I actually kind of hope he's the starter.

I feel like his ceiling might be the highest outside of perhaps a total return to form for Lagerius Snead in a way that would be like, crazy in a good way.

But Kater Cohu might be Elijah Mitchell, this, of, of this season.

A guy coming off of an ACL injury, who, you know, you get a one-year deal that is newsworthy, but it's not an enormous chunk of change, and then he just doesn't have his explosion anymore, basically a year removed from an ACL.

That kind of thing happens.

So, again, that's, that's not me soothsaying on Kater Cohu.

I, I really hope that that works out.

But it's why the redundancy makes sense on the ninety-man roster, even though it might not make sense on the 53-man roster.

So, I, I have the exact same guys right now.

I think those are the ones leading the battles.

I have a little bit of a hard time putting Snead in the slot, because I, I wonder if you've got knee issues in this last, not necessarily the last act of your career, but a later act of your career.

Is that playing to your strengths ?

I don't, physically, I would question that.

Mentally, it is, and it's a, it's a spot where Spags would love to be able to throw the Jarius Snead into the slot and just sort of terrorize offenses that way.

So, I, I do think that's the correct list as things stand right now.

I, I think it will look different, probably by necessity as the year, as the, the training camp goes on.

I'd love to get excited about Kyre Elam.

I, I think that makes a lot of sense.

I, I do think that Kevin Knowles is a special teamer in a, in a very helpful way, but so is Jaden Kennedy.

And if Jaden Kennedy isn't winning that job, which I think is a steep ask for a, a day 3 pick as a rookie.

If, if he's not winning that job, he's one of your core psychos on special teams, really takes pride in that work.

So, um, yeah, same, same 10, very similar logic, and, and right now, the guy that I think is probably my top seeded player to win the slot job is Chris Roland Wallace, who we've got written down as a safety.

So, um, that, you know, those, those lines get really blurry in those, those 10 defensive backs.

Yeah, it, it is intriguing.

I, I think, I. I like the secondary depth a ton, even if the top end is not quite.

Where it probably should be.

Like, we expect Monster to lane, we expect Noel Williams to take a step forward, and I think Christian Fulton, you kind of know who he is, but I, I, I like a lot of the guys who probably won't make the team and I don't want to get into a conversation that we have as if we were talking about the wide receivers a few years ago when they were like, how can you not keep 8 guys and how can you trade Amir Smith-Morris, right?

I don't want to fall into that trap, but I find myself really liking the smattering of snaps we saw from Kevin Knowles last year.

Um, I, I do believe a little bit in Kyre Elam as far as the fund reclamation project that we saw with Mike Hughes, who got a massive contract in Atlanta now, the Chiefs turned him around.

Uh, Rashad Breland, right?

Remember that?

That was a former first-rounder that got turned around, revitalized his career.

Can Kyre Elam be the next former first-rounder, next in line in the secondary to do that?

I think there's a chance.

The hard part is he did play for two organizations with the Bills and then obviously the Cowboys.

It's not the Chiefs are like, oh, yeah, it's the, it's the, it's the Panthers where he's not in the limelight.

No, you went from, you know, the Bills, limelight and also the Trent McDuffie competition in, in , in, in comparisons to the Cowboys, which we know that the star and now to Kansas City.

So he's been to three premier franchises, uh, we will see.

But I think Kyrie is the name I would watch the most for because I think as an outside corner, that makes the most sense.

I don't really see.

It's gonna be an uphill climb for Kevin Knowles if he is only a slot corner, right?

Um, I think Kidder Khu is the intriguing one as far as, I don't see him being a backup.

I think Kader Kohu either starts or is cut.

I don't see him as a backup.

Yeah, I think that's, I think there's something to that, uh, and then obviously special teamers, the three, Harrison Butler, uh, Winchester, and Ariza.

Um, I'll say this, it's, it is like a sneaky big season for Harrison Butler and James Winchester every offseason, like just signs a 1-year deal and they go, oh, OK, one more ride with James Winchester.

I think we've done that for 345 seasons now, perhaps.

So this, this could be the last year that the special team situation is a no-brainer for a while, um, but no real.

Competition for Butler because if he lost a competition in training camp, you'd still have to pay him, uh, all the money that he's getting anyway for the most part.

So he's, yeah, not, not a roster battle there, but, uh, an important season for Butler in particular.

I would agree with that.

Uh, I am shocked at our 53 so far and as we go farther and farther into training camp, obviously I'm sure some things shall change, but I'm shocked we were as agreeable as we were because normally you and I like to have a little back and forth and arguing, but, uh, this was a pretty good one.

And we didn't compare notes.

We, we've published, Jordan and I published ours that went up this morning and I can't read, so our differences were, I, I didn't, I did not think it, to be clear, I did not.

I think you were checking notes on, on our, our 53.

I was not.

So our difference was you kept, you kept the 6th linebacker and Jordan and I kept the 5th defensive end, right?

It was a VJ Anthony Cam Arnold swap.

That was our only difference in 53 positions, uh, and I had tight end, maybe we had a tight end, tight end difference, but not numbers.

Yeah, so we had different guys at tight end 4.

No, I, I only had 3 because I had , uh, wait, how did you get to 53?

I think you have 54.

No, Jordan did the math.

I trust Jordan.

Did you have, so 3, do you have 4 running backs or only 3?

4 running backs wide receivers.

6 receivers, 4 tight ends.

9 linemen, 9 D linemen, 5 linebackers.

That's what it was.

That's what it was.

You went 26 and 24.

I went 25 and 25 because I went 9 defensive linemen and 6 linebackers.

That's what it was because I added Cole B Vard and you, and you had a different, um, edge rusher.

So it's still 9 and 9.

Oh, you're right.

So we still had the, so you had 26.

We had defensive line swaps and then tight end and linebacker.

So you had 26 on offense, 24 defense, and I was 25 and 25.

So, so we agreed on 51 players.

Pretty much, pretty much proud of us.

I do not think that all 51 of those guys will make the team, but I do think that we could probably sharpie down about 48 of them right now.

It's pretty good as we got out of here, I think my main takeaway.

had was the bottom end of the roster has more positions up for grabs than in previous years, and I'm not quite as comfortable with the depth as I have been in previous years.

I think that in 22, 23, specifically 23, I thought the depth is what won it for Casey.

Obviously, in Mahomes and, and Chris and, and, and, and the star guys, but I, I thought it was the depth that really shined and made the Chiefs who they were.

Um, you can't fix it all in one offseason.

This is not like, uh, Brett Veach hit piece by any means, but I, I do feel like some of the bottom ends of the roster in certain positions are a little light in the cakes.

Yep, yep, I, well, I couldn't have said that more artfully, if you gave me 100 tries, really caught me off guard with a little light in the cakes.

Yeah, yeah, thanks to Shaq for that.

Gotta just cake up up there in Saint Joe , that's what we need.

We need to see a little, a little more cake on this roster, and that is , that's the upside thing is to, to give you, to give you a little frosting on that cake.

The best case scenario is that there are young players who by the end of camp, you go, oh, OK , well, this was a battle, and now it's not.

This, this was a concern, but DJ Anthony looks great, but Cam Arnold is flying around, but Jeffrey Bassa or Cooper McDonald even, or Jared Wiley, or to a lesser extent, Garrett Nussmeyer.

have had a professional camp.

Like they, the coaching staff can trust these guys in real big roles.

And if that happens, we'll, you know, we'll be, we'll still be doing this show with football to talk about in, in mid to late January.

Appreciate everyone hanging out with us today on this Tuesday edition of the Arrowhead Addict podcast.

Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter as well.

You can check it out right there.

QR code on screen.

Always a lot of fun.

Thank you to everyone in the comments section as well.

Uh, it's fun seeing everyone come back now that we have actual Chiefs things to talk about.

Training camp getting underway, going to be a lot of fun.

We'll be with you all offseason long and regular season and postseason long because for us, the.

does not stop.

Appreciate it again.

5-star reviews.

If you'd like wherever you get your podcast, that does mean a lot.

Leave us a review, leave us a comment, and it matters to us.

Give us a like on YouTube as well.

Until next time, we are out.

Close