Chiefs Rookie and Sophomore Power Rankings: Assessing the Landscape at Bye Week

Somehow, we're simultaneously about a month through the 2026 NFL season already but still have several months to go before we truly find out who some teams are. Don't get it twisted — multiple pretenders have already managed to stand out, but the cream of the crop won't be made obvious for quite some time.

Sitting at 4-0 on the year, the Kansas City Chiefs' hope is for them to be categorized as the latter once the postseason rolls around. That'll take continued impact from general manager Brett Veach's rookie and sophomore classes, which have presented both positive and negative value to this point.

At the bye week, let's break down the Chiefs' rookies and sophomores by ranking each 53-man roster member in tiers. Be sure to return to this series each week to see who's moving and shaking.

Defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott isn't included due to him currently being on the physically unable to perform list.

The young standout tier

CB Nohl Williams
RB Emmett Johnson
CB Mansoor Delane
DE R Mason Thomas
DT Peter Woods

There's no derailing the Nohl Williams hype train, even after an afternoon and evening in which the second-year cornerback got flagged for a pair of costly penalties. He remains a promising young building block in the secondary, forming a two-man show with rookie Mansoor Delane that could terrorize opposing offenses for years to come.

Second-round pick R Mason Thomas has bounced back from some rough moments in the last couple of weeks, flashing rare bend and quickness as a pass rusher on the outside. According to Pro Football Focus, he set a new career high with five Week 4 pressures. Late first-rounder Peter Woods may have just turned in his worst performance to date, although the interior lineman was also reportedly banged up at some point in the contest.

The real X-factor here might be Day 3 running back Emmett Johnson. While he earned a respectable 16 offensive snaps on Sunday, he only got one touch. Perhaps if Kenneth Walker III's workload dwindles a bit coming out of the bye, the Nebraska product will get his time to shine.

The to-be-determined tier

OT Kahlil Benson
DE Ashton Gillotte
WR Jalen Royals
DT Bryson Eason

With left tackle Josh Simmons still working his way through a back injury, the Kahlil Benson roller coaster keeps on running in Kansas City. His level of play has undoubtedly slipped, but he was surprisingly fine in Week 4 considering he had a fill-in next to him at left guard and, per TruMedia, the Chiefs trailed only the Houston Texans in throws relative to the sticks on average.

An ankle dislocation for wideout Tyquan Thornton might just earn sophomore Jalen Royals some more snaps, but only if an external acquisition isn't made and the coaching staff deems the former Utah State standout worthy of the reps. Another member of the 2025 NFL Draft class, defensive end Ashton Gillotte has received more than a 40% workload share in three consecutive weeks and had a season-high three quarterback hurries in his last performance.

Bryson Eason, as promised, finds himself getting bumped up after being activated for the second week in a row. He could just as easily come back down given the restrictions capping him at three practice squad elevations per season. For now, he's worth keeping an eye on.

The Josh Simmons tier

LT Josh Simmons

The only people who truly know when Simmons is coming back seem to be Simmons himself and those within the building at 1 Arrowhead Drive. Heck, there may not even be a solidified plan. Kansas City certainly hasn't done itself many favors with how it's handled the injury situation to one of its more polarizing youngsters, but all it'd take is a post-bye return for just about everyone to probably sweep that under the rug.

The primary special teams tier

X Xavier Nwankpa
TE Jake Briningstool
RB Brashard Smith
LB Jeffrey Bassa
WR Cyrus Allen
CB Jadon Canady

Late-round draft selection Cyrus Allen was the flavor of the summer in Chiefs circles; the Thornton injury will bring that buzz back around for the fall. Elsewhere on offense, tight end Jake Briningstool is still an occasional sighting on the field. Running back Brashard Smith is a special-teamer through and through. Barring injury, cornerback Jadon Canady is stuck in the same boat.

This is where things get a little interesting. Linebacker Jeffrey Bassa isn't in the huddle much on defense, but could forcing a fumble on special teams be the launching pad he needs for an increased overall role? Undrafted free agent Xavier Nwankpa helped seal the deal against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4 by picking off a pass on his only defensive snap. It doesn't get much more efficient than that.

The game day inactive tier

QB Garrett Nussmeier
OT Diego Pounds
DE Jack Pyburn

Nothing much to see here, truthfully. Both tackle Diego Pounds and defensive end Jack Pyburn have made routine appearances on the game-day inactives list in recent weeks. Seventh-round quarterback Garrett Nussmeier always carries an outside shot to get on the field, although it'd take a catastrophic stretch of injuries to both Patrick Mahomes and Justin Fields for that to happen as the emergency third signal-caller.

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