Chiefs Snap Counts vs. Cardinals: Preseason Progress

Kansas City's snap shares from their preseason outing against the Cardinals provided context to the roster as it solidifies.

The Kansas City Chiefs' win over the Arizona Cardinals in the second week of the preseason was a lopsided one, and tons of different players contributed to the big victory.

On both sides of the ball, Andy Reid's team had stellar moments on Saturday. Offensively, the starters got some quality work in and each quarterback helped a multitude of receivers have big nights. Steve Spagnuolo's defense held Arizona's offense to just 10 points (with just three of them coming in the second half) and forced five punts. From top to bottom, Kansas City's roster carried a relatively equal load en route to the win.

Now that snap counts have been released, what jumped off the page? Let's take a look at three notable takeaways from another week of Chiefs football.

Good morning.

Here are #Chiefs snap counts from Saturday’s blowout win over the Cardinals: pic.twitter.com/bT4cxVviYZ

— Jordan Foote (@footenoted) August 20, 2023

1. A decreased workload for Wanya Morris

In his first career preseason game, Chiefs third-round pick Wanya Morris played a staggering 46 snaps on offense. That was good for 72% of those available, although the Oklahoma product saw his workload slip significantly in game No. 2. Being on the field for just 19 snaps, the versatile offensive tackle's percentage share dropped to 31. Part of that can be attributed to starters Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor getting more reps, but the Chiefs' second-team offensive line was also worth noting.

Rather than putting Morris in with the immediate backups, the Chiefs opted for Lucas Niang at left tackle and Prince Tega Wanogho on the right side — flipped from their primary orientation from last week. Niang's 22 snaps and Wanogho's 16 both ate into Morris's final total, as did reps for practice squad candidates Sebastian Gutierrez and Chukwuebuka Jason Godrick. Morris having a reduced role in his second game doesn't appear to be an immediate cause for concern at all, though, as it's entirely possible that Kansas City wanted to get a longer look at its battle between Niang and Wanogho. 

2. Featured roles for both Kansas State rookies

Last week, the pair of defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah and cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe combined for 77 snaps and both players were on the field just under half the time in their very first NFL games. On Saturday, their workloads only increased. Anudike-Uzomah, the Chiefs' first-round pick in April's NFL Draft, logged 43 snaps and finished second on the team. Taking home the top spot was Boye-Doe, an undrafted free agent pickup that had multiple standout moments in preseason Week 1.

This weekend, Anudike-Uzomah did a decent job getting pressure on the quarterback despite some inconsistencies in his success rate. Boye-Doe didn't make as many plays as he did down in New Orleans, but he did record three tackles and continues to get a serious look from the Chiefs' defensive coaching staff. Anudike-Uzomah is a guarantee to make the 53-man roster and play some sort of role in year one, but his high snap share is partially due to a slow-developing offseason for him. Boye-Doe is a top practice squad candidate the team has praised during training camp, and every rep he gets is a valuable one for him and the front office as it evaluates his play. 

3. A loaded (preseason) wide receiver room

Seemingly countless Chiefs wide receivers stood out on Saturday night, and for good reasons. Performances consisted of rookies (Rashee Rice's eight catches for 96 yards), second-year hopefuls (Justyn Ross's two grabs on four targets for 18 yards) and veterans (Ihmir Smith-Marsette's 92 yards and Cornell Powell's touchdown catch) alike making plays. Eleven Kansas City wideouts entered at some point in the game, which was a testament to the franchise's organizational depth at the position.

As far as snaps were concerned, usual suspects such as Rice (24), Skyy Moore (19), Ross (18), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (16), Justin Watson (13) and Richie James (10) saw their respective workloads divvied up. Outside of them, Powell led the entire offense with 29 snaps played. Smith-Marsette logged 17, Ty Fryfogle and Izaiah Gathings each had 11 and Ty Scott got in six reps. Reserves are likely to be highlighted in the Chiefs' final preseason game of the year, so expect some of the latter names to be fielded once again.

Read More: Four Takeaways From the Chiefs' 38-10 Win Over the Cardinals