Chiefs Roster Reset: A successful draft leads to something more complete

The Kansas City Chiefs are done prepping their roster for the upcoming 2023 season. They pretty much addressed every issue they had with their roster, and made it better than what it was before, in my opinion, at least.The Chiefs are coming off of a Super Bowl win and their team was already pretty balanced. […]

Justin Churchill College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Chiefs, Rice
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The Kansas City Chiefs are done prepping their roster for the upcoming 2023 season. They pretty much addressed every issue they had with their roster, and made it better than what it was before, in my opinion, at least.

The Chiefs are coming off of a Super Bowl win and their team was already pretty balanced. They are super young and there wasn't much more they needed to do. But, what they did need to do got done.

So, without further ado, let's check out the Chiefs' post-draft roster. Note: Single asterisks (*) represent 2023 draft picks and double asterisks (**) represent undrafted free agents.

Quarterback

  • Shane Buechele
  • Blaine Gabbert
  • Patrick Mahomes

The skinny: The quarterback position is pretty set and will always be set. There are people out there *cough cough Chris Collinsworth* that thought the Chiefs would draft a backup quarterback in the first round. So far they haven't even talked to one, let alone an undrafted free agent.


Running back

  • Clyde Edwards-Helaire
  • Isiah Pacheco
  • La'Mical Perine

The skinny: There is a rumor out there that Clyde Edwards-Helaire could be traded, and that wouldn't be a terrible idea. It is clear that Pacheco will be the day one starter and Perine isn't a bad backup either.


Wide receiver

  • Jerrion Ealy
  • Ty Fryfogle
  • Skyy Moore
  • Cornell Powell
  • Rashee Rice *
  • John Ross
  • Justyn Ross
  • Ihmir Smith-Marsette
  • Kadarius Toney
  • Marquez Valdes-Scantling
  • Justin Watson

The skinny: Grabbing Rashee Rice with the 55th pick was huge. He has wide receiver one potential, and doesn't have many flaws. Plus, he is the perfect guy to fit in with an already very good group.


Tight end

  • Kendall Blanton
  • Matt Bushman
  • Jody Fortson
  • Noah Gray
  • Travis Kelce

The skinny: We know how this room is going to be. Many people thought the Chiefs would start looking for the Kelce replacement, but they didn't, and it was the right decision. The backup group is solid as well.


Offensive line

  • Nick Allegretti
  • Mike Caliendo
  • Creed Humphrey
  • Darrian Kinnard
  • Lucas Niang
  • Wanya Morris *
  • Austin Reiter
  • Trey Smith
  • Jawaan Taylor
  • Prince Tega-Wanogho
  • Joe Thuney

The skinny: The Chiefs were in desperate need of a right tackle after Andrew Wylie left for the commanders, and they ended up getting Morris and guy who is great at outside zone run blocking

Defensive line

  • Keondre Coburn *
  • Chris Jones
  • Derrick Nnadi
  • Charles Omenihu
  • Tershawn Wharton

The skinny: The Chiefs needed more depth up front and that's what they got in Coburn, a guy who may be able to pass up Nnadi later in the season or next year. It's definitely going to be something to watch for.


Defensive End

  • Mike Danna
  • Felix Anudike-Uzomah *
  • Malik Herring
  • Joshua Kaindoh
  • George Karlaftis
  • BJ Thompson *

The skinny: This group could be very good this upcoming season, especially when it comes to getting to the quarterback. FAU is a guy who has great pass rush moves and will be able to move around on the edge.


Inside linebacker

  • Nick Bolton
  • Leo Chenal
  • Cole Christiansen
  • Jack Cochrane
  • Willie Gay Jr.
  • Drue Tranquill

The skinny: The new addition of Tranquill makes this unit hard to guess what it will look like in terms of who will play the majority of the games. If I had to guess, Willie Gay Jr. may end up being the odd man out in a contract year.


Cornerback

  • DiCaprio Bootle
  • Chamarri Conner *
  • Nazeeh Johnson
  • Nic Jones *
  • Trent McDuffie
  • L'Jarius Sneed
  • Jaylen Watson
  • Joshua Williams

The skinny: This unit is just loaded with young talent across the board. last year surprised us, and this upcoming season has big things in store. This could end up being an elite group.

Chiefs, McDuffie
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Safety

  • Bryan Cook
  • Mike Edwards
  • Justin Reid

The skinny: The safety position will likely be mostly Cook and Reid but feature some Edwards in those three safety sets. It will be interesting to see how well Cook plays in a full time role.


Special teams

  • Harrison Butker (K)
  • Tommy Townsend (P)
  • James Winchester (LS)

The skinny: There isn't really anything to say about this unit other than the fact there are two All-Pro's.