Three key takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 53-man roster selections

The initial Chiefs roster stands at the required 53 players after Tuesday’s cuts, and even if today’s 53 might not be tomorrow’s 53 or next week’s 53, they did make some decisions that are less subject to change. Some decisions that reveal a little bit more about what lies ahead.
There were a few mild surprises as they trimmed down the roster — Shane Buechele and Cam Jones among them, though for different reasons. There’s a first for Andy Reid in his Chiefs tenure. And there’s a concern heading into NFL Opening Night against the Lions next week.
The three key takeaways from the roster cuts:
1. The wide receivers
The quality forced the issue. I get it.
But the quantity remains a head-scratcher.
The Chiefs kept seven wide receivers (Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, Richie James, Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross). They’re all NFL-caliber wide receivers. All should be on rosters. But it’s hard to get over the fact that they’re all on the same roster, given that the Chiefs’ own history shows five wideouts has been plenty.
That’s not simply because both Super Bowls came after they departed preseason with just five receivers. Well, not only because of that.
The Chiefs have stretched to six wide receivers on six occasions in the Andy Reid era in Kansas City, and the last man on those depth charts combined for seven catches in those six examples. That’s one catch per season. For the sixth guy. The Chiefs are extending beyond that.
If you’ve come to this space before, you know that’s a sticking point, but we’re here now.
So, what next?
Well, the Chiefs better commit to using them. It doesn’t make sense to keep seven unless you plan to play seven, because a 53-man roster does not allow enough cushion for waste.
If Ross is on the roster, the Chiefs need to implement red zone packages for him. And they need to actually pull the trigger on throwing passes that Andy Reid has long refrained from throwing: jump balls.
Credit the Chiefs for getting something out of their eighth receiver — trading Ihmir Smith-Marsette to Carolina for the exchange of conditional seventh-round picks — but I still have my doubts they’ll generate enough usage out of the seven players they kept.
There are only so many snaps to go around, and it’s fair to wonder how they will keep everyone happy when that’s the case. Receivers tend to like to play, not stand on the sideline and watch.
2. The draft pick cuts
Darian Kinnard, a fifth-round draft pick in 2022, departs Kansas City before even once lining up for a snap along the offensive line.
Joshua Kaindoh, a fourth-rounder in 2021, is gone after just 46 career snaps in two years.
They underscore what we already knew: Some of these picks don’t pan out.
But let’s talk a bit about what it doesn’t mean, in particular to the context surrounding Kinnard’s acquisition.
In the middle of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Chiefs sent the 50th overall pick to New England for picks 54 and 158. In other words, in exchange for moving back four slots in the middle of the second round, they acquired a fifth-round pick, which they used on Kinnard.
At No. 54, they selected wide receiver Skyy Moore, but it cost them a chance to draft George Pickens, who’s catching a few more footballs in Pittsburgh instead. Brace yourself, because there’s a non-zero chance you’ll be reminded about that for years.
Kinnard being a bust is an indictment on that result.
But not on the process.
The Chiefs ought to be collecting more lottery tickets in the draft, even if this particular one didn’t cash. These are the gambles they should embrace.
It’s why I was critical after the Chiefs traded up so frequently in the 2023 draft. They were sacrificing the chance to do what they do best.
Acquire talent in the deeper rounds of drafts.
In one case with Kinnard, the result stunk. The process, however, did not.
Don’t confuse the two.
3. The defensive line is thin
And that’s even if Chris Jones makes an about-face and arrives in Kansas City this week.
It’s harder and harder to believe the Chiefs didn’t do more to address the defensive line last spring after losing reliable veterans in the offseason.
The Chiefs did not make a cut-down day trade with their division rivals (acquiring defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. from Las Vegas) as some sort of protection in case the Jones holdout drags into the season. They made it because they need better talent on the D-line regardless.
The Chiefs were the third-best coverage team in football last season, per PFF, but quarterbacks are going to enjoy the amount of time they’ll have waiting for a slip in the back end. This is the potential starting front-four for the Chiefs on opening night: George Karlaftis, Derrick Nnadi, Tershawn Wharton and Mike Danna. You don’t want to read what’s behind them.
Until Charles Omenihu returns from a six-game suspension or Jones walks through the doors, that four-man combination is the one that produces the most career sacks for the Chiefs. And it’s a whopping 21.5 sacks in 179 career games.
It’s not insurmountable. But we’d be crazy not to call it a concern on the eve of the opening week.