Way-too-early Chiefs 53-man roster projection: Here are KC’s top position battles

Although we’re in the middle of summer — and still a few weeks away from the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp in St. Joseph — it’s never too early to think about how KC’s roster might turn out.

With that in mind, here’s an attempt in July at a 53-man roster projection ... along with a breakdown of the top position battles ahead of the Chiefs’ 2025 season.

Offense (25)

Quarterbacks (2): Patrick Mahomes, Gardner Minshew

Also on the bubble: None

No need to waste much time on this one. Barring injuries, the Chiefs should keep two quarterbacks as they have in past seasons, with both Bailey Zappe and Chris Oladokun as practice-squad candidates.

Running backs (4): Isiah Pacheco, Elijah Mitchell, Kareem Hunt, Brashard Smith

Also on the bubble: Carson Steele

Perhaps no position is as unpredictable as this one. Pacheco was not healthy a season ago, though coach Andy Reid has twice this offseason stated his optimism that Pacheco will return to his previous form. Mitchell seems like he’ll make the team given good health, though that’s been his biggest issue as a pro.

The Chiefs appear to love Smith’s potential in the return game, but he’s still a seventh-round pick, so his spot isn’t guaranteed. Hunt, meanwhile, should benefit from having a full training camp with the team after joining “off the couch” a season ago.

He’s still only signed for the veteran minimum, however, meaning he’ll need to show something after turning 30 in August to ensure he makes it.

Wide receivers (6): Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, Jalen Royals, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton

Also on the bubble: Nikko Remigio, Skyy Moore, Jason Brownlee, Justyn Ross

The competition for the final roster spots here shapes up to be one of the biggest storylines in training camp.

Royals is a fourth-round pick, so he’s almost sure to make the team, while Smith-Schuster’s unselfishness to free up teammates with blocks and legal receiver picks makes him a valuable piece, too. Skyy Moore has looked good again this summer ... but will Mahomes trust him after his previous history of drops and inconsistency?

Brownlee made a positive impression in workouts, while Justyn Ross remains a potential jump-ball, red-zone specialist. Remigio also is an option if the Chiefs decide to put extra emphasis on the return game.

I’ll go bold here a bit, though, and predict that Thornton continues his recent ascent and makes the roster. The former Patriots second-round pick was a practice-squad add for KC a year ago, and he fits the Chiefs’ “type” at receiver: good in short bursts with excellent speed overall.

Reid had some praise for Thornton a couple weeks ago, and the receiver has also worked as a gunner on special teams in recent practices, which could help his roster versatility.

It’s way too early to call the race at this position, but Thornton certainly has earned himself a long look.

Tight ends (4): Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jared Wiley, Robert Tonyan

Also on the bubble: Jake Briningstool, Tre Watson

The biggest question here is the health of 2024 fourth-round pick Jared Wiley, who tore his ACL in November. Although it previously seemed likely that Wiley would start the year on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, he participated in some mandatory minicamp, with Reid saying Wiley should be ready to go for training camp as well.

KC is likely to go with four tight ends, given Reid’s propensity to use them, so if Wiley is back, the competition narrows. The veteran Tonyan has been reliable during summer reps. And while undrafted free agents Jake Briningstool and Tre Watson both had good moments early in offseason practices, both were held out with undisclosed injuries toward the end.

Offensive linemen (9): Jawaan Taylor, Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey, Kingsley Suamataia, Josh Simmons, Jaylon Moore, Mike Caliendo, Wanya Morris, Hunter Nourzad

Also on the bubble: C.J. Hanson, Ethan Driskell

Although there will be starting position battles at both left tackle and left guard, the majority of the Chiefs’ roster candidates seem set heading into the summer.

Morris and Nourzad profile as backups, though KC could elect to keep a 10th offensive lineman to get another big body on the roster. The most likely candidates for an add would be the 2024 seventh-round pick Hanson or Driskell, but neither had an offensive snap last season outside of the team’s meaningless week 18 game against Denver.

Defense (25)

Defensive tackles (4): Chris Jones, Mike Pennel, Omarr Norman-Lott, Jerry Tillery

Also on the bubble: Fabien Lovett, Marlon Tuipulotu

The Chiefs love to rotate their defensive ends to the interior, which helps because KC’s defensive tackle spot doesn’t appear to have a lot of numbers. Second-round pick Norman-Lott will likely be asked to fill Tershawn Wharton’s role — while also upping his workload from college, when he averaged just 17 snaps per game a season ago for Tennessee.

The Chiefs should know what they’re getting from the veteran Pennel by now, while Tillery comes in as a free agent with the type of size and position versatility that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes.

Lovett and Tuipulotu spent all last year on the practice squad, so they should at least be familiar with the playbook as they battle for the active roster.

Defensive ends (5): George Karlaftis, Charles Omenihu, Mike Danna, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Ashton Gillotte

Also on the bubble: Janarius Robinson, Malik Herring

It would be a real surprise if the five players above didn’t make the team.

Anudike-Uzomah hasn’t performed up to expectations, but he’s still a former first-round pick and only 23 years old. Gillotte, meanwhile, is a 2025 third-round pick that at least two other NFL teams wanted to select.

If KC squeezes a sixth defensive end in here, Robinson and Herring should be battling for the spot. Robinson, a former fourth-round pick, was a role player for Las Vegas in 2024, while Herring played in just one of the Chiefs’ final 10 games a season ago — the team’s backup-filled blowout loss to Denver in Week 18.

Linebackers (6): Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, Leo Chenal, Jeffrey Bassa, Cam Jones, Jack Cochrane

Also on the bubble: Cole Christiansen, Brandon George

Although the Chiefs could go leaner at this spot, this typically tends to be a position group where special teams coordinator Dave Toub keeps a few of his preferred players. Jones and Cochrane were heavy special-teamers for KC a season ago, so they’d have to be considered favorites to retain their roles even with the rookie Bassa joining the mix.

George will be one to watch in training camp, as well. The undrafted rookie has freaky athleticism and will have a chance to play his way into a special-teams role.

Cornerbacks (6): Trent McDuffie, Kristian Fulton, Jaylen Watson, Nohl Williams, Nazeeh Johnson, Joshua Williams

Also on the bubble: Chris Roland-Wallace

KC has dramatically improved its depth at this spot from a year ago, and because of that, the greatest intrigue should come when looking at the bottom of the depth chart.

Spagnuolo has always been a huge fan of Nazeeh Johnson, so his spot seems secure.

Joshua Williams is a former fourth-round pick, but he’s in the last year of his deal, and the Chiefs went away from him on defense late last year when he had no defensive snaps in the playoffs. Could he be battling for a roster spot in 2025?

Roland-Wallace is another interesting case, as he’s a slot corner on a team that doesn’t have many of them. Roland-Wallace played all 17 games for the Chiefs last season while also earning consistent special-teams duty.

Safeties (4): Jaden Hicks, Chamarri Conner, Bryan Cook, Mike Edwards

Also on the bubble: Deon Bush

Conner struggled in coverage as a slot corner last season, so giving him more safety snaps with Justin Reid’s free-agency departure would seem to make sense.

Edwards signed a modest one-year deal with the Chiefs this offseason, but they loved having him in 2023 and consider him a great fit in Spagnuolo’s scheme. Bush is great insurance to have in case of injury, though he’s also a guy the Chiefs typically have been able to get back on their practice squad after their initial round of roster cuts.

Specialists (3): Harrison Butker, Matt Araiza, James Winchester

Also on the bubble: Punter Eddie Czaplicki

There’s only one competition here, and it’s at punter. The Chiefs were disappointed in Araiza’s pooch-punt game last season, and they figured it’d be best to bring in real competition for him this offseason.

Czaplicki, a rookie, is certainly that after earning the Ray Guy Award last season as college football’s best punter.

This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

Jesse Newell

The Kansas City Star

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Jesse Newell covered the Chiefs for The Star until August 2025. He won an EPPY for best sports blog and previously was named top beat writer in his circulation by AP’s Sports Editors. His interest in sports analytics comes from his math teacher father, who handed out rulers to Trick-or-Treaters each year.