How the Chiefs made their toughest roster decisions: Speaks, Wharton, WR, RB and more
In four days, the Chiefs will drop a banner inside Arrowhead Stadium, one final celebration for their first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. Then they’ll embark on a new season and try to do it all over again.
But the days preceding the 2020 NFL opener aren’t exclusively exciting. They’re also full of angst and difficult moments — particularly this season.
The Chiefs trimmed their initial roster to 53 players Saturday, work that required completion despite no preseason games to help guide the wisdom.
A day later, as part of what he termed a “bittersweet” weekend, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach explained how he and his staff arrived at some of the bubble decisions.
The initial roster is short on outright surprises, but if there’s one move that would classify as mildly startling, it’s cutting defensive end Breeland Speaks. In 2018, the Chiefs used their top draft pick, a second-rounder, on Speaks. But after a quiet rookie season as he adjusted to a new scheme, he then missed all of 2019 with a knee injury. He was a full participant in training camp this year, but he didn’t do enough to make the roster in a deep position group.
“I thought, and our staff thought, his rookie year he did some things that he could really lay a foundation on,” Veach said. “We all know he came in a little out of shape the next year. And then he had the injury. I think when you get behind the 8-ball in professional football, it’s tough. And then when you get behind the 8-ball on a roster with a deep defensive line, it’s even tougher.
“I will say this: Credit to the kid, he did come in shape and work hard to get the weight off. Again, he was just up against a very tough and deep defensive line class. Our staff — both coach and personnel staff — is committed to doing what we feel is best for the team and playing the best players. And the guys that are on our active roster, we felt that day by day, the way they graded out, they just performed better, and they deserved to be on the team.”
• The Chiefs kept three undrafted rookies — punter Tommy Townsend was an expected one, but former Mizzou offensive tackle Yasir Durant and Missouri S&T defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton had ground to make up in order to earn their spots.
The Chiefs initially scouted Wharton at the East-West Shrine Game, then delved into his Division II tape at Missouri S&T before signing him as an undrafted free agent.
“Really the first day that we had players in the building, just going out there and watching group work, he just kind of stood out,” Veach said. “I mean he was really twitchy, athletic, worked his tail off. So the question is, alright, wait until we put the pads on. And he carried that over and was able to make plays. Then it was like, alright, let’s see how he does against better competition. ... The kid just found a way to make plays and continue to get better and just answer the bell at each step.
“The next question will be OK, can you do it in a real a game against a team that is schematically doing things to put these guys in unfavorable positions? That will be the next challenge.”
• Marcus Kemp was on his way to making the 2019 roster before a season-ending knee injury at the end of camp.
He’s back. While the Chiefs debated whether to keep just five receivers, they ultimately settled on six, with Kemp’s work on special teams solidifying the final spot. That left out Jody Fortson, who returned to the team Sunday on a practice squad deal, a source told The Star.
“As far as receivers, it’s a tough room. Everybody knows that Tyreek (Hill), Sammy (Watkins), Mecole (Hardman), D-Rob (Demarcus Robinson) are just legit players. And then (Byron) Pringle, with the job he did last year, I think he stood out on that fifth spot. He’s a guy that continues to grow and get better,” Veach said. “But it always comes down to special teams. And I know that you guys know that (special teams coordinator) Dave (Toub) talked about Marcus Kemp and the job that he did. He was one of our better special teams performers before he got hurt.
“He came back. Credit to the kid — he came back; the kid worked his tail off. We signed the kid a week into the start of camp not knowing what condition he was in and how he responded after all that rehab process. But he came back, got acclimated very quickly, showed that he did all the work on his own. And he was able to quickly get up to speed.”
• The Chiefs kept only three running backs — presumed starter Clyde Edwards-Helaire, top backup Darrel Williams and second-year pro Darwin Thompson. That left DeAndre Washington without a spot on the initial 53, though the Chiefs are working to bring him back to the practice squad.
The final decision came between Thompson and Washington.
“Darwin was a guy who had the upper hand, and held onto it. Having been here a year, having gone through a Super Bowl run with us, being a contributor on special teams,” Veach said. “He got some stiff competition from DeAndre, but he was able to answer the call and hold onto that position. That was a close battle, but give Darwin a lot of credit for coming into work every day and staying focused on the task at hand.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 1:31 PM.