The Kansas City Chiefs started off very quiet this offseason, not making any big moves in free agency. They opened the 2020 league year with just 60 players on the 90-man offseason roster. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has since added six players in the 2020 NFL draft. He’s also signed 19 undrafted free agents, rounding out the 90-man offseason roster.
Since we haven’t had an opportunity to see these players on the field together yet, holdovers from the 2019 season will have a big advantage in our depth chart projections. Some draft picks will also have an advantage based on draft status and what we’ve learned about them thus far from the players, coaches and staff.
Here are our latest updated projections for the offseason depth chart:
Offense (45)
| Pos. | First | Second | Third | Fourth |
| QB | Patrick Mahomes | Chad Henne | Jordan Ta’amu | Shea Patterson |
| RB | Damien Williams | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson, DeAndre Washington | Eljiah McGuire |
| FB | Anthony Sherman | John Lovett | ||
| WR | Tyreek Hill | Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle | Kalija Lipscomb, Maurice Ffrench | Aleva Hifo, Andre Bacellia |
| WR | Sammy Watkins | Mecole Hardman, Gehrig Dieter | Jody Fortson, Justice Shelton-Mosley | Felton Davis, Cody White |
| TE | Travis Kelce | Deon Yelder | Ricky Seals-Jones | Nick Keizer |
| LT | Eric Fisher | Greg Senat | Yasir Durant | |
| LG | Andrew Wylie | Martinas Rankin | Jovahn Fair | |
| C | Austin Reiter | Nick Allegretti | Darryl Williams | |
| RG | Laurent Duvernay-Tardif | Lucas Niang | Ryan Hunter | |
| RT | Mitchell Schwartz | Mike Remmers | Jackson Barton |
Observations:
- Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy referred to Clyde Edwards-Helaire as “a piece of the puzzle.” The same coach named Damien Williams the starter in Kansas City a year ago. I think that Williams starts the season off as the No. 1 RB on the depth chart. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen, but things are shaping up to be a committee in the running back room.
- The Chiefs have a ton of receiver depth to work through this offseason. What we know they’re looking for is a player to replace Hardman on the kick return unit. Right now, it’s really a toss-up between undrafted free agents until we see them hit the field and find out more about their roles, specifically on special teams.
- The tight end position feels like it’s going to come down to who can operate as an inline blocker best when the team is in 12 personnel. Yelder has the advantage now because he was on the active roster in 2019. I suspect that both Seals-Jones and Keizer give him a run for his money.
- I’m going with Wylie over Rankin at left guard only because he had more starts in 2019. I think that spot will have a lot of competition this offseason. I could even see a player like Allegretti or Remmers sneaking in there.
- For the time being, I am listing Niang at second-string right guard. I still believe his best spot is tackle, but Veach claims he’ll come in and compete at guard right away.
- I’m curious to see where guys like Senat and Barton fit in. Both are intriguing from a developmental standpoint, but the Chiefs seem to have brought in stout competition at the tackle spot. The guys they brought in (Niang, Remmers, Durant) are touted as having more versatility too.