Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks, rookies and injured players report to St. Joseph, Missouri for training camp on Friday with the veteran players not far behind.

Training camp will serve as a proving ground for most players on the 90-man offseason roster. The NFL has ratified gradual roster cuts this season, with cuts down to 85 and 80 players taking place the Tuesday after Week 1 and Week 2 of the preseason. This makes it even more important that players make an impression early on in training camp.

This team is highly competitive at a number of different positions, but they’re also lacking competition and depth in others. A few spots on the 53-man roster are still up for grabs. Those who perform during training camp will have the best chance to make the team and carry that momentum into the regular season.

With all of that in mind, here’s our latest projected 53-man roster for the Chiefs:

Carrying three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster is a tough pill to swallow, but last season the team elevated Buechele from the practice all because the Arizona Cardinals tried to sign him. I’m not sure that he makes it through waivers during 53-man roster cuts this time around. If the Chiefs value him as their backup quarterback of the future, I think they’d rather not take that risk. Why not cut Henne and just carry Mahomes and Buechele? It’d essentially be as if the team dumped $3.2 million in a trash can, poured gasoline over it and set it ablaze. I don’t expect them to do that.

Shocked to not see Ronald Jones’ name here? McKinnon’s return endangers him more than some are willing to admit. I’m left wondering about the things Jones does well enough to make this roster. He’s not strong in pass protection and he hasn’t been a very good receiver in the NFL (both things that McKinnon does well).

If the roster crunch comes down a certain way, I think the Chiefs will value special teams ability from their running backs. Both McKinnon and Pacheco can play special teams with experience and success doing so. Jones has just under 200 career special teams snaps and was not a particularly good player in those roles with Tampa Bay.

Pacheco makes it over Derrick Gore here, but only because he’s made it to and spent time on the practice squad before. Also, I’d bet on a lot of things happening before I’d bet on Andy Reid and Brett Veach cutting Mike Burton and going into the season without a fullback.

This is unchanged from our way-too-early 53-man roster projection following the 2022 NFL draft. I’m a bit more confident that Fortson (Achilles) will be healthy to start the season now than I was back then. With the Chiefs having success with their “T-Rex” four-TE sets during the early portion of the 2021 NFL season, I suspect that they’ll look to carry four tight ends on the roster again.

I view the top-4 players here as locks to make the 53-man roster. It leaves a ton of competition for one or two spots as the Chiefs typically keep 5 or 6 receivers on the 53-man roster. For those two spots, I chose Justin Watson and Josh Gordon (perhaps against my better judgment). With Watson, there is simply too much smoke about his skillset and performance to ignore. As for Gordon, call me sappy, but I love a good comeback story. I don’t know that we’ll ever see the 2013 version of him again, but I think he’s capable of putting together a better performance than he did last year in Kansas City.

Justyn Ross, while flashing in rookie minicamp and early on in OTAs, seems to have suffered an injury that could land him on the PUP or NFI list. Daurice Fountain has dealt with some sort of injury during the offseason program and has some ground to gain with all of the competition at receiver.

I’m also curious how much opportunity players like Cornell Powell, Omar Bayless, Corey Coleman, Gary Jennings and Aaron Parker will have to showcase their abilities during training camp and the preseason. Could one of those players surprise and make a push for the roster? I’m not ready to count any of them out yet.

I think the Chiefs can get away with having just nine offensive linemen on the 53-man roster this year. Last year they went with 10 players, but they weren’t quite as certain about how things would shake out with a lot of new starters. Right now, you know exactly what you’re getting at the three interior offensive line spots. Johnson is capable of playing at least three spots. Allegretti can play either guard spot and center. Christian can play either tackle spot and we know that Kinnard is comfortable at right tackle.

One move that might be curious to Chiefs fans is my decision to release Austin Reiter. If you’ll recall Reiter’s 2021 NFL season, he spent time on the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams practice squads. He also started five games for the Miami Dolphins in place of injured center Michael Dieter, but he was released as soon as Dieter was healthy enough to return from injured reserve. I think that Kansas City can risk putting him on waivers and signing him to the practice squad using one of the veteran spots they have.

I expect former third-round draft pick, Lucas Niang, to start the season on the PUP list as he returns from a patellar tendon injury.

This was a tough one for me because I am a believer that Khalen Saunders could thrive if given the opportunity. To this point in his career, Saunders hasn’t had much in the way of on-field success or opportunity, which makes me think the Chiefs could stash him on the practice squad.

Brett Veach preached making improvements on the defensive line this offseason after the end of the 2021 NFL season. I feel like it’d be a pretty big slap in the face if the one interior defensive lineman he signed this offseason (Stallworth) didn’t make the 53-man roster. Obviously, he’ll have to earn that opportunity, but I have to think he’ll be given every chance to do so.

I’m not certain that the team won’t bring in a veteran or some competition here early on in camp or ahead of the season. I view the first three players as locks to make the 53-man roster this year (Clark’s contract makes him a lock), but everything after that is going to be up to player performance during training camp and the preseason.

Kaindoh has a lot to prove after making very little impact as a rookie in 2021. Herring is in a similar situation to Kaindoh after sitting out his rookie season with an injury. They both seem to have a lot of potential in their game, but they need to flash that upside during training camp or the preseason.

The Chiefs have a versatile enough group that I think they’ll be able to get away with rostering just five linebackers this year. It’s worth noting that they have carried six linebackers under Spags before, though. Bolton, Gay and Chenal are all locks to make the 53-man roster in my eyes. Carter Jr. feels close to a lock also as he has the versatility to play multiple linebacker positions (SAM, WILL and MIKE) and has just under 900 career special teams snaps.

I think the last spot (if they keep five) is going to come down to special teams play. I considered Elijah Lee for this spot, but he has 10 career special teams penalties over 1,414 special teams snaps and five NFL seasons. The opportunity for Rose (who I chose) or Jack Cochrane to take a spot is there. It’s just up to them to go and claim it during camp and the preseason.

The Chiefs brought in a ton of young competition for their cornerback depth this offseason. The decision to cut former New York Giants’ first-round draft pick DeAndre Baker isn’t an easy one, but I feel like he’s most at risk of losing his spot with all the new competition. The team drafted two outside cornerbacks and traded for another (Williams, Watson and Johnson). Sneed and Fenton are both locks to make the roster, but I think Baker would really need to have an exceptional offseason to make it.

In our way-too-early projections after the draft, I opted for Dicaprio Bootle because of his ability to play nickel. With McDuffie confirming that he’s been learning both nickel and outside, it could allow a player like Watson the inside track to a 53-man roster spot.

The top-3 safeties are locks to make the 53-man roster. Thornhill is the veteran in the room alongside top free-agent signing Justin Reid. Cook is a second-round draft pick, who finished mandatory minicamp strong.

The big question for Kansas City is about that fourth and final safety spot. I went with Nazeeh Johnson over Deon Bush because I think the upside there is a bit greater. He has the speed to be an ace special teamer, plus he can play safety and nickel corner. Could we see a surprise player emerge in that fourth spot too? It’s worth noting that the team did roster Zayne Anderson for several games last season.

This one is pretty self-explanatory being that there isn’t any competition at a single one of these positions.

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