Here’s who made the Kansas City Chiefs’ initial 53-player roster for the 2021 season
The Chiefs on Tuesday officially established their initial 53-player roster for the 2021 regular season.
Changes can and will happen in the days leading up to the season opener against the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium, and even well into the regular season. Multiple players the Chiefs waived in the past day are likely to return when the team’s 16-player practice squad is established, starting Wednesday.
But Chiefs coach Andy Reid likes his team’s initial 53.
“I think time will tell on that as we work through it and what it will look like once we get into games,” Reid said after Tuesday’s practice. “We’ve still got a ways to go. We’ve still got another week here that we’ve got to get ourselves ready to play against a good Browns team. We’ll see. I like the group, though.”
Here is the Chiefs’ initial 53-player roster, which breaks down as 25 on offense, 25 on defense and three specialists:
QUARTERBACKS (2): Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne
The easiest of the position groups to settle. Look for the Chiefs to bring back rookie Shane Buechele to their practice squad.
RUNNING BACKS (3): Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams, Jerick McKinnon
Darwin Thompson’s release shouldn’t be a surprise, as the 2019 sixth-round draft pick’s role had been sure to diminish with the arrival of McKinnon. The Chiefs could bring back either Thompson and Derrick Gore on their practice squad for depth purposes.
FULLBACK (1): Michael Burton
The Chiefs didn’t have competition at the fullback position during the summer months, making Burton a sure thing. He takes over this season for Anthony Sherman, who retired after the Super Bowl.
WIDE RECEIVERS (5): Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, Daurice Fountain
The glaring omissions here are Marcus Kemp and rookie Cornell Powell, the team’s fifth-round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Kemp is a surprise because of his value on special teams and how much special teams coordinator Dave Toub coveted Kemp’s versatility. Powell’s release, however, isn’t as much of a surprise because he worked mostly with the third-team offense late in camp and wasn’t going to overtake Fountain. Powell is another candidate to return to the practice squad.
Fountain proved consistent when the pads came on in training camp and carried over that momentum to the Chiefs’ preseason games.
TIGHT ENDS (4): Travis Kelce, Blake Bell, Noah Gray, Jody Fortson
The Chiefs now possesses one of the NFL’s most versatile tight end groups.
Kelce is an All-Pro, and Bell’s blocking abilities can’t be overlooked. Gray and Fortston, two athletic pass catchers, provide the Chiefs tremendous flexibility to incorporate 13- and 14-personnel formations, which we saw in their preseason finale. The Chiefs’ second touchdown near the goal line in that game against Minnesota came in a 14-personnel look, with Bell catching the touchdown pass.
OFFENSIVE LINE (10): Orlando Brown Jr., Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Lucas Niang, Andrew Wylie, Mike Remmers, Nick Allegretti, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Austin Blythe
After a dismal showing from the Chiefs’ front five against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV, Reid and general manager Brett Veach spent considerable time upgrading the team’s offensive line. And now, come Week 1 at home against the Cleveland Browns, they will roll out an entirely new first-team group.
The new-look starters project as Brown, Thuney, Humphrey, Smith and Niang, meaning the Chiefs will have three rookies protecting superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Remmers and Wylie provide flexibility as swing tackles, while Wylie and Allegretti can each play both guard spots.
DEFENSIVE ENDS (5): Frank Clark, Chris Jones, Alex Okafor, Mike Danna, Joshua Kaindoh
Clark and Jones are the starters, and Jones should thrive in his move from inside to outside with more freedom to get after opposing quarterbacks.
Danna, who enjoyed a strong showing throughout training camp, Okafor and Kaindoh are more than adequate depth pieces as part of the Chiefs’ pass-rush rotation.
DEFENSIVE TACKLES (4): Jarran Reed, Derrick Nnadi, Khalen Saunders, Tershawn Wharton
The addition of Reed gave the Chiefs flexibility to move Jones outside, and Reed will team up with Nnadi to man the interior of the defensive front.
Saunders had a good camp and looks healthy again after dealing with an elbow injury last season. He and Wharton are solid depth pieces behind Reed and Nnadi.
LINEBACKERS (6): Anthony Hitchens, Ben Niemann, Willie Gay Jr., Dorian O’Daniel, Nick Bolton, Darius Harris
With Hitchens manning the middle, this group was set in stone in training camp.
All eyes will be on Gay and Bolton, two athletic players and arguably the future of the Chiefs’ linebacker corps. Niemann and O’Daniel are good fill-in pieces when needed and both will contribute on special teams.
Harris provides depth while Gay deals with a toe injury.
CORNERBACKS (6): Charvarius Ward, L’Jarius Sneed, Mike Hughes, Rashad Fenton, Chris Lammons, Deandre Baker
Ward and Sneed are the starters when the Chiefs are in their 4-3 base scheme, and Hughes will move to the right cornerback spot with Sneed sliding inside in the nickel look.
Hughes, in particular, enjoyed a great training camp and can contribute as a returner on special teams if needed. The Chiefs kept Lammons over BoPete Keyes, who was a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
SAFETIES (4): Tyrann Mathieu, Juan Thornhill, Daniel Sorensen, Armani Watts
The Chiefs boast a quality safety group, anchored by three-time All-Pro Mathieu. If Thornhill stays healthy, the Chiefs’ safeties could emerge as one of the better groups in the league.
SPECIALISTS (3): Harrison Butker, Tommy Townsend, James Winchester
The Chiefs’ trio of specialists didn’t face competition during training camp.
RESERVE/PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM LIST: OL Kyle Long
Long (knee) opened training camp on the PUP list and will officially start the season there. He will not count against the active 53-player roster and won’t practice for the first six weeks of the season.
Once he returns to on-field work, a 21-day window opens for the Chiefs to decide whether to activate him or shut him down for the rest of the season.
RESERVE/NON-FOOTBALL INJURY LIST: rookie DL Malik Herring
Herring continues to recover from a torn ACL, which he suffered in the Senior Bowl.
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 4:05 PM.
