Roster battles the Chiefs will be one step closer to figuring out after Saints matchup
The preseason is for teams to figure some things out just before they get into the regular season. Even the best of the best, the elite of the elite, like the Kansas City Chiefs, need to do some figuring out prior to Week 1.Playing the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the preseason will […]
The preseason is for teams to figure some things out just before they get into the regular season. Even the best of the best, the elite of the elite, like the Kansas City Chiefs, need to do some figuring out prior to Week 1.
Playing the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the preseason will help that. Here is where the Chiefs figure out everything, then make the adjustments that they need to make before the season kicks off. Here is where, most importantly, we will get a little more clarity on the position battles at hand.
Position battles Chiefs will get clarity on
Wide receiver position
The Chiefs wide receiver room is deep. It's one of the deep receiver rooms they have had in some time when everyone is healthy. They have 13 receivers on the roster and usually only keep between 6-8 every year.
We know who the main guys will be, like Kadarius Toney, who is hurt, Skyy Moore, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but we don't really know where the rest of the guys fit in. We don't know if Justyn Ross has worked his way up into a starter with Toney out. Or if he is still behind Justin Watson. We will figure that out a bit more.
Defensive end
The Charles Omenihu suspension definitely hurts, but the Chiefs knew that would happen when they signed him. They are prepared to have players fill in the production where it's needed. However, who will it be is the biggest question. We can assume Goerge Karlaftis will be a starter, but who will be across from him the most?
The obvious answer could be Mike Danna, but the Chiefs may want to keep a rotation fresh. Will it be the rookie defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, or Malik Herring, who has had a great camp from everything we hear? This preseason game won't give us all the answers, but it will help us discover what we may see in the season.
Backup offensive tackles
It's time to see just how good some of the backups are on the team. The Chiefs have two guys who almost made starters in Lucas Niang (had they not signed Donovan Smith) and Wanya Morris (had he beat out Niang in camp). It's about seeing what they have and where they fall in line on the depth chart.
Do the Chiefs put Morris at left tackle in his first-ever preseason game when he has yet to play the position? Morris was drafted as a right tackle, but there are rumors the Chiefs want to develop him at left tackle. Then we need to be watching how Niang is, who has dealt with injuries a ton but showed a lot of promise at being solid.
The Chiefs have a few positions that have some unknown. Hopefully, this first preseason game will unveil some of the things we want to find out.
5 Chiefs players ruled out for Saints preseason game
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid ruled out five players on the 90-man offseason roster for the Week 1 preseason game against the New Orleans Saints.
Featured Image Via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
