The Kansas City Chiefs have released their first depth chart for the 90-man offseason roster ahead of Week 1 of the 2026 NFL preseason. They’ll face the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, Aug. 15.

These depth charts are considered “unofficial,” even though they come from the team in its weekly release to media members. Why is that the case? The team’s PR staff assembles them, not the coaching staff. One reason to take them with a grain of salt: In Week 1 of the 2017 NFL preseason, Tyler Bray was listed ahead of Patrick Mahomes. There’s also the fact that these don’t consider positions like nickel cornerback.

That’s not to say these unofficial depth charts are meaningless. Let’s take a look at the Kansas City Chiefs’ first depth chart and see what we can discern.

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Wide receiver

1	2	3	4
Rashee Rice	Jalen Royals	Jimmy Holiday	Xavier Loyd/Jeff Weimer
Xavier Worthy	Cyrus Allen	Nikko Remigio	Jacob De Jesus
Tyquan Thornton	Andrew Armstrong	Jason Brownlee	Omari Evans/Jeff Caldwell

Nothing too surprising here. Rice, Worthy, and Thornton are the clear top 3 at the position. After that, I’d give Allen and Armstrong the edge over Royals. I think the final spot on the 53-man roster will come down to Royals, Remigio, and Holiday.

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Left Tackle

LT1	LT2	LT3
Josh Simmons	Esa Pole	Ethan Driskell

I love that the Chiefs are leaning into Pole and Driskell as the backup left tackles. That’s really strong depth behind Simmons if you ask me.

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Left Guard

LG1	LG2	LG3
Kingsley Suamataia	Mike Caliendo	C.J. Hanson

I stand by the take that it’s one of the biggest failures of this organization if they’re unable to upgrade from Caliendo as the No. 4 OG on this roster this offseason.

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Center

C1	C2	C3
Creed Humphrey	Hunter Nourzad	Josh Thompson

Nothing too shocking here, aside from no Mike Caliendo and Thompson at the third center spot.

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Right Guard

RG1	RG2	RG3
Trey Smith	Pete Nygra	Matt Waletzko

This is one of the more interesting parts of the depth chart for the Kansas City Chiefs. Not Nourzad or Hansen, nor Josh Thompson, but a college center in Pete Nygra? Never mind the fact that Kahlil Benson has been the first man up at right guard with Smith injured. That should tell you all you need to know about the accuracy of these.

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Right Tackle

RT1	RT2	RT3
Jaylon Moore	Kahlil Benson	Chu Godrick

This is probably the biggest surprise. Benson had been leading Moore in the right tackle battle until Trey Smith hurt his hip. Andy Reid doesn’t anticipate a long-term injury for Smith, so I wouldn’t expect Benson to be a long-term solution at right guard. Perhaps Moore has surpassed Benson in his few days at right tackle, but I’d guess the rookie holds the crown when it’s all said and done.

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Tight End

TE1: Travis Kelce

TE2: Noah Gray

TE3: Jared Wiley

TE4: Jake Briningstool

TE5: Tre Watson

TE6: Mason Pline

This was perhaps the most predictable part of the depth chart outside of the quarterback position. It is worth noting that Andy Reid said Briningstool, Wiley, and Watson have created some good competition behind Kelce and Gray.

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Quarterback

QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
Patrick Mahomes	Justin Fields	Garrett Nussmeier	Chris Oladokun

No surprises here. This tracks with what everyone saw during training camp practices. The big thing here is that Patrick Mahomes has already been deemed unlikely to play in preseason Week 1 by HC Andy Reid. Get ready to see a lot of snaps from Justin Fields and Garrett Nussmeier.

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Running Back

RB1	RB2	RB3	RB4	RB5
Kenneth Walker	Emari Demercado	Emmett Johnson	Brashard Smith	Jaydn Ott/EJ Smith

This group is pretty straightforward. The one player that I think lands a bit higher on the depth chart right now is Brashard Smith. We’ve seen him take reps directly behind Walker at times in training camp.

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Defensive End

DE1	DE2	DE3	DE4
George Karlaftis	Felix Anudike-Uzomah	VJ Anthony	Ethan Hurkett
Ashton Gillotte	R Mason Thomas	Tyreke Smith	Anthony Dunn

Karlaftis and Gillotte as starters tracks with what Steve Spagnuolo likes. Let’s just hope Anudike-Uzomah and Thomas can provide enough firepower off the bench.

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Defensive Tackle

DT1	DT2	DT3	DT4
Khyiris Tonga	Marcus Harris	Cole Brevard	Damon Payne
Chris Jones	Peter Woods	Amari McNeill

Omarr Norman-Lott isn’t listed here because he remains on the Active/PUP list. Interesting to see Harris, a reserve/future signing, on the two-deep. I’d wager that will change when Norman-Lott returns.

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Linebacker

Position	LB1	LB2	LB3
WILL (Weakside)	Drue Tranquill	Jeffrey Bassa	Wesley Bissainthe
MIKE (Middle)	Nick Bolton	Jack Cochrane	Kam Arnold
SAM (Strongside)	Cooper McDonald	Cole Christiansen

The clear top 5 here are Tranquill, Bolton, McDonald, Cochrane, and Bassa. I don’t anticipate they keep any other linebackers on the 53-man roster initially unless Tranquill’s back is deemed a problem.

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Cornerback

CB1	CB2	CB3	CB4	CB5
L’Jarius Sneed	Kristian Fulton	Kader Kohou	D’arco Perkins-McAllister	Melvin Smith/Bryce Phillips
Nohl Williams	Mansoor Delane	Jadon Canady	Kevin Knowles	Kaiir Elam/Zelmar Vedder

This group is a bit tough to read since the Chiefs don’t list a slot cornerback. I’d also say that Melvin Smith is higher on the depth chart than actually presented here. He’d been working in with the first-team defense when Delane, Sneed, and Fulton weren’t practicing.

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Safety

S1	S2	S3	S4
Alohi Gilman	Chris Roland-Wallace	Tanner McCalister	DeShon Singleton
Chamarri Conner	Jaden Hicks	Xavier Nwankpa

Nothing too surprising here. Roland-Wallace has been playing some slot cornerback in addition to safety. He might wind up as the team’s best slot corner. That could open an opportunity for a player like Nwankpa to make the roster.

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Specialists

Kicker: Harrison Butker / Punter: Matt Araiza / Holder: Matt Araiza / Long Snapper: James Winchester

RS1	RS2
Nikko Remigio	Brashard Smith

Based on what Dave Toub has told us thus far, this still checks out. Obviously, there’s no competition among specialists. Remigio and Smith seem to have a stranglehold on the punt and kick returner roles. That could obviously change during the preseason, but it’s these two players’ jobs to lose.