Chiefs Depth Chart Entering Training Camp: Who's Starting, Who's Fighting for Their Job

Last year, the pillars of the Kansas City Chiefs' dynasty were unable to sustain the club's success. A lack of quality insulation on the roster was exposed, leaving general manager Brett Veach with plenty of work to do this offseason.

And work, Veach did. There are numerous new faces in town this summer — some from free agency and others by way of the 2026 NFL Draft. The offense added a key playmaker and is banking on coaching making a difference as well, whereas the defense could look significantly different from years past.

With Chiefs training camp on the horizon, the front office and coaching staffs both seem confident in the state of the roster. Of the more than seven dozen players currently on the team, only 53 of them will enter the 2026-27 campaign on the official list.

As the dust on the offseason settles, let's dive into an updated depth chart projection.

Chiefs Pre-Training Camp Depth Chart Projection

Contrary to the post-NFL Draft Chiefs depth chart here at Chiefs On SI, we'll stack up the entire 90-man (91-man for Kansas City) roster.

Players will be broken up into three categories: starter, backup and organizational depth. The latter umbrella mostly consists of players who are on the outside looking in when it comes to securing a spot on the eventual 53-man roster.

Quarterback

Starter: Patrick Mahomes
Backup: Justin Fields
Organizational Depth: Garrett Nussmeier, Chris Oladokun

All signs continue to point towards Mahomes being available for Week 1 of the season despite his late-year ACL/LCL injury. The two-time MVP may have the best backup of his career in Fields, who could potentially turn some heads with a quality preseason showing.

K.C. made a concerted effort to get out ahead of undrafted free agency by swooping Nussmeier up in the seventh round, but it remains to be seen whether it'll be him or Oladokun — or neither — making the team.

Running back

Starter: Kenneth Walker III
Backup: Emari Demercado, Emmett Johnson, Brashard Smith
Organizational Depth: EJ Smith, Jadyn Ott

Walker is facing plenty of pressure to parlay his Seattle Seahawks stardom into production with the Chiefs, and for good reason. The Super Bowl MVP is quick, explosive and gives the team a legitimate receiving threat as well. A battle between Demercado and Johnson for snaps could manifest itself if the latter stars during camp.

Brashard Smith struggled as a rookie but is still an intriguing developmental project as a converted wideout. EJ Smith is making more guaranteed money ($100K) than Ott ($75K), giving him a slight nod while being in the same category.

Wide receiver

Starter: Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, Tyquan Thornton
Backup: Jalen Royals, Cyrus Allen, Nikko Remigio
Organizational Depth: Jason Brownlee, Jimmy Holiday, Jeff Caldwell, Jacob De Jesus, Omari Evans, Andrew Armstrong, Xavier Loyd

There's a world where the trio of Rice, Worthy and Thornton is more than passable, but man, it's counting on a lot to go right. It isn't like Royals did anything as a rookie or Remigio has viable receiving chops, either. Allen is the best route runner of the second tier yet may not see the field much in year one.

In a weird twist last summer, Brownlee wound up making the opening roster as a whopping eighth receiver. It seems highly unlikely he'll pass through this time around. Caldwell's athletic profile may remind some of the Justyn Ross era, which ended with far more sizzle than steak.

Tight end

Starter: Travis Kelce
Backup: Noah Gray, Jared Wiley, Jake Briningstool
Organizational Depth: John Michael Gyllenborg, Mason Pline, Tre Watson

Kelce is back for a 14th and perhaps final season, which wasn't always a certainty. He remains one of the better players at his position, but remaining there as his 37th birthday approaches can't be entirely assumed. Gray took a huge step back last year, completely resetting any thoughts of him being a worthy heir to the starter throne at the tight end spot.

It appears that behind Wiley, a 2024 Day 3 draft pick, it's between Briningstool and Gyllenborg, both UDFAs from different classes, to duke it out if the Chiefs carry a fourth tight end.

Offensive tackle

Starter: Josh Simmons, Jaylon Moore
Backup: Esa Pole, Chukwuebuka Godrick, Ethan Driskell
Organizational Depth: Kahlil Benson, Matt Waletzko

After a shortened debut, Simmons must put together a full season of availability now. If he does so, he could cement himself as a franchise cornerstone. On the opposite side of the line, Moore steps in for the departed Jawaan Taylor and simply needs to be something in the neighborhood of average for his contract to be worth it.

Pole's development as a tackle likely fares better on the right side, but it doesn't feel like the Chiefs have shut the door on work at left. Godrick is the 91st man thanks to being from the International Player Pathway program, and Driskell is a wild card of sorts.

Interior offensive line

Starter: Kingsley Suamataia, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith
Backup: Mike Caliendo, Hunter Nourzad, C.J. Hanson
Organizational Depth: Pete Nygra, Josh Thompson

This is easily one of the strongest position groups on the team. It's hard to find a much better left guard, center and right guard trio than Suamataia-Humphrey-Smith. If one goes down, though, Caliendo is only playable in spurts and neither Nourzad nor Hanson has emerged as a building block.

Interior defensive line

Starter: Chris Jones, Khyiris Tonga
Backup: Peter Woods, Omarr Norman-Lott
Organizational Depth: Cole Brevard, Damon Payne, Amari Mitchell

The Chiefs got Jones legitimate help this offseason, as Tonga raises the floor of the defensive line in a huge way and Woods is oozing with upside. Some have even pegged Woods as a potential Jones replacement if things go well, which is wishcasting but not out of the realm of possibility.

Norman-Lott is a mystery box coming off a torn ACL early in his rookie season. If he didn't lose any juice as a pass rusher, the former Tennessee standout could be a fun off-speed pitch as he works his way back into the fold.

Defensive end

Starter: George Karlaftis, Ashton Gillotte
Backup: R Mason Thomas, Felix Anudike-Uzomah
Organizational Depth: Ethan Downs, Vincent "VJ" Anthony, Tyreke Smith, Anthony Dunn

Take everything written about the starting interior offensive line and flip it, then apply it to this position. Karlaftis, for as rock-solid as he is, is more of a complementary piece than a leading defensive end. The jury remains out on Gillotte, whose run defense is adequate but without a high-end pass rush arsenal.

The group needs serious help — relying on Thomas to be just that is asking a ton. Anudike-Uzomah isn't playing the hero role, either. If there was one position to add a rotational body at, it'd be this one.

Downs was listed as a linebacker in our full offseason roster story, and the Chiefs have him classified as one, but he's a defensive end for all intents and purposes.

Linebacker

Starter: Nick Bolton, Drue Tranquill, Cooper McDonald
Backup: Jeffrey Bassa, Jack Cochrane, Cole Christiansen
Organizational Depth: Wesley Bissainthe, Kam Arnold

The Bolton-Tranquill duo is back for another season, this time without Leo Chenal at the SAM spot. McDonald projects more favorably for the role than Bassa, which is a bummer considering the upside Bassa may have.

Cochrane and Christiansen are familiar coordinator favorites who figure to stick around for some time, even if one somehow finds himself on the practice squad.

Cornerback

Starter: Mansoor Delane, Nohl Williams, Kader Kohou
Backup: Kristian Fulton, L'Jarius Sneed, Jadon Canady
Organizational Depth: Kevin Knowles, Kaiir Elam, Melvin Smith, Bryce Phillips, D'Arco Perkins-McAllister, Zelmar Vedder

Kansas City felt comfortable enough trading away star man Trent McDuffie and opting against paying Jaylen Watson. It's a new regime at cornerback, led by first-rounder Delane and potentially 2025 sleeper rookie Williams. Don't completely rule out Fulton winning the second starting job, even if it seems like Williams' to lose.

The acquisitions of Canady and Sneed could give Kohou some healthy competition. If he doesn't look the same now that he's coming off injury, it'd be easy to swap him out for one of the other nickel options.

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is fond of Knowles, but this is a numbers game. Elam, a former first-round pick, could fall victim to the roster crunch as well.

Safety

Starter: Alohi Gilman, Chamarri Conner
Backup: Jaden Hicks, Chris Roland-Wallace
Organizational Depth: Xavier Nwankpa, DeShon Singleton, Tanner McCalister

Out is Bryan Cook and in is Gilman. It's unclear whether this will turn out to be an upgrade, lateral move or downgrade, but the playmaking defensive back has a real nose for the football and should turn in some highlight plays in his first year with the team.

Conner moving back to his more natural position of safety can't be viewed as anything other than a win. Roland-Wallace is as steady as they come as a reserve. Hicks' stock has fluctuated in his two NFL seasons; can he reveal his true colors either way in 2026?

Specialist

Starter: Harrison Butker, Matt Araiza, James Winchester

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