Chiefs’ Week 11 snap counts vs. Broncos: Kristian Fulton plays over Nohl Williams, Elijah Mitchell debuts with no touches
The Kansas City Chiefs made some key personnel changes in Week 11 vs. the Denver Broncos.
The Kansas City Chiefs fell to a 5-5 record on the season, losing 22-19 to the Denver Broncos in Week 11.
The Chiefs made a few personnel-related changes on both sides of the ball following the bye week, with varying degrees of success. We saw a season debut for a free agent running back, a return to action for a high-priced free agent cornerback, and a change in snap distributions at slot cornerback.
Below, you’ll find analysis and a look at how the snaps played out in Week 11. Snap data via the NFL Game Stats & Information System.
| Player | Offense | Defense | Special Teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| C – C. Humphrey | 70 (100%) | 4 (14%) | |
| T – J. Simmons | 70 (100%) | 4 (14%) | |
| G – T. Smith | 70 (100%) | 4 (14%) | |
| T – J. Taylor | 70 (100%) | 2 (7%) | |
| QB – P. Mahomes | 70 (100%) | ||
| RB – K. Hunt | 56 (80%) | ||
| TE – T. Kelce | 55 (79%) | ||
| WR – R. Rice | 53 (76%) | ||
| WR – X. Worthy | 53 (76%) | ||
| T – K. Suamataia | 50 (71%) | 2 (7%) | |
| TE – N. Gray | 36 (51%) | 7 (24%) | |
| WR – M. Brown | 30 (43%) | ||
| WR – J. Smith-Schuster | 24 (34%) | ||
| OL – M. Caliendo | 20 (29%) | 4 (14%) | |
| WR – T. Thornton | 16 (23%) | 13 (45%) | |
| RB – B. Smith | 12 (17%) | 2 (7%) | |
| TE – R. Tonyan | 8 (11%) | 6 (21%) | |
| RB – E. Mitchell | 7 (10%) | ||
| LB – N. Bolton | 62 (100%) | 7 (24%) | |
| DB – C. Conner | 62 (100%) | 5 (17%) | |
| S – B. Cook | 62 (100%) | 5 (17%) | |
| CB – J. Watson | 62 (100%) | ||
| CB – T. McDuffie | 62 (100%) | ||
| LB – D. Tranquill | 53 (85%) | 7 (24%) | |
| DT – C. Jones | 52 (84%) | ||
| DE – G. Karlaftis | 45 (73%) | 7 (24%) | |
| CB – C. Roland-Wallace | 35 (56%) | 19 (66%) | |
| DE – C. Omenihu | 34 (55%) | ||
| DE – M. Danna | 32 (52%) | 7 (24%) | |
| LB – L. Chenal | 30 (48%) | 20 (69%) | |
| DL – J. Tillery | 19 (31%) | 7 (24%) | |
| NT – M. Pennel | 19 (31%) | ||
| DE – A. Gillotte | 17 (27%) | 5 (17%) | |
| DT – D. Nnadi | 14 (23%) | 7 (24%) | |
| DB – J. Hicks | 13 (21%) | 24 (83%) | |
| CB – K. Fulton | 9 (15%) | 4 (14%) | |
| DB – K. Knowles | 24 (83%) | ||
| LB – J. Cochrane | 24 (83%) | ||
| DB – N. Williams | 22 (76%) | ||
| LB – J. Bassa | 18 (62%) | ||
| LB – C. McDonald | 18 (62%) | ||
| K – H. Butker | 9 (31%) | ||
| LS – J. Winchester | 8 (28%) | ||
| P – M. Araiza | 8 (28%) | ||
| WR – N. Remigio | 8 (28%) | ||
| OL – W. Morris | 4 (14%) | ||
| OL – J. Moore | 4 (14%) |
Kristian Fulton took Nohl Williams’ job, but it shouldn’t last
The Chiefs’ $20 million free agent signing, Kristian Fulton, appeared in just his third game so far this season. In situations where Trent McDuffie shifted inside to play the slot, Kristian Fulton was on the outside, opposite Jaylen Watson. In past weeks, rookie CB Nohl Williams had been the player they relied upon in those situations, and for good reason. Over 10 weeks, PFF ranked Williams third in its “Lockdown Percentage” metric, which focuses on how well a defender prevents a receiver from getting open. On 34 lockdown opportunities, 22 of them were graded as lockdown snaps, which trailed only Colts CB Sauce Gardner and Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen.
In Week 11 vs. the Broncos, Fulton allowed a 35-yard reception on third-and-8 to Troy Franklin on a Denver touchdown drive in the third quarter. He was also the closest defender in coverage on the 8-yard reception by Pat Bryant on third-and-8, the 21-yard reception by Courtland Sutton on third-and-11 on the opening drive in the first quarter.
Given that Fulton hasn’t played much this season, the performance is understandable. Also, knowing he’s on a two-year deal, it’s reasonable to want to get him involved to see what you might have there for the future. However, it feels like this was the wrong time to pivot from something that was predominantly working.
Elijah Mitchell’s Chiefs debut falls flat
The much-awaited 2025 NFL season debut for Chiefs RB Elijah Mitchell fell utterly flat. After being a healthy scratch all season long, Mitchell played seven offensive snaps. Mitchell didn’t receive a single carry in those seven snaps. He was targeted once, on the interception Mahomes threw to Ja’Quan McMillian in the red zone. Mitchell also didn’t play a single special teams snap on the day. All in all, the performance and lack of usage really show why Mitchell hadn’t been active in any other games this season.
Chris Roland-Wallace reaches a new season-high in defensive snaps for a particular reason
There was a pretty substantial defensive pivot from Kansas City in Week 11 vs. the Denver Broncos. Roland-Wallace played 35 snaps on defense, his most in a single game this season. It was also the most in a single game on defense for Roland-Wallace since he played 50 defensive snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 last season. He also played a season-high 24 snaps in the slot on the day. By comparison, Roland-Wallace played 153 snaps in the slot a season ago. He’d only played 22 slot snaps all season long ahead of the Week 11 game.
Meanwhile, Chamarri Conner played just 10 total snaps in the slot this week, his second-lowest mark of the season. After this game, we should see a new hierarchy in the slot, with McDuffie as the clear No. 1 option, followed closely by Roland-Wallace, and Conner as a matchup-specific or blitz-specific piece.
Quick-hitting Chiefs snap count observations
- Kingsley Suamataia played less than 75% of the offensive snaps due to suffering a concussion on the interception.
- Tyquan Thornton played just 16 offensive snaps, but had the second-most receiving yards for the Chiefs after a 61-yard reception.
- Kevin Knowles, Nohl Williams, Jeff Bassa, Cooper McDonald, Jack Cochrane, Nikko Remigio, Jaylon Moore, and Wanya Morris each only played special teams snaps.
- Jaden Hicks tied Knowles and Cochrane for a team-leading 24 special teams snaps, but the fewest snaps among the team’s safeties on defense.
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