Chiefs Snap Counts vs. Commanders: Plenty Left to Fight For

The Kansas City Chiefs squared off against the Washington Commanders on Saturday afternoon, and the club was able to come away with its first win of the 2022 preseason. Emerging with a 24-14 victory, Kansas City won on the backs of impressive performances by both first-team units and some standout outings from depth pieces. Now 1-1 this preseason, the Chiefs will look to close things out with a win on Thursday evening against the Green Bay Packers.

Now that some time has passed between the final whistle and the beginning of a new work week for the Chiefs, the NFL Game Statistics & Information System has released unofficial snap count totals for the team's second preseason game. Who made the most of their reps against the Commanders, and who squandered their opportunities? Who got an extended look, and who barely saw the field? Let's take a look at five of the key trends that go hand-in-hand with this week's smap count totals.

Snap counts for the #Chiefs' preseason game against the Commanders.

What stands out to you, #ChiefsKingdom? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BEMdpNIMT7
— Jordan Foote (@footenoted) August 21, 2022

1. Chris Lammons strengthens roster case

It's been a long offseason for one Chris Lammons, who was viewed by many as an outside-looking-in candidate in regards to Kansas City's cornerback situation as recently as a few weeks ago. He's made more and more of an impact in the preseason, however, culminating with a sound performance against Washington that included an interception and 46% of possible defensive snaps played. Lammons also participated in 40% of the Chiefs' special teams snaps, which very well could be what gets him on the final 53-man roster. The 26-year-old's outlook is on the uptick in a major way.

2. Battle for Chiefs' sixth receiver spot heats up

Heading into Saturday's game, there were four players who appeared to be fighting for the Chiefs' No. 6 spot at the wide receiver position: Josh Gordon, Corey Coleman, Cornell Powell and Daurice Fountain. The trio of Gordon, Powell and Coleman consisted of 27, 26 and 25 offensive snaps against the Commanders, and it was Powell who made the most of his targets. Fountain played just 14 offensive snaps, although that may not mean that Kansas City is counting him out here. On the contrary, Fountain still projects to hold the likely edge for the last receiver spot. Kansas City's WR6 battle is heating up.

3. Khalen Saunders, Taylor Stallworth get big snaps

Caught up in another highly contested position battle, both Khalen Saunders and Taylor Stallworth were in need of big days in order to help justify them making the team alongside Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi, Tershawn Wharton and Danny Shelton. Stallworth logged 42 snaps on defense to Saunders's 25, but it was Saunders who stood out with a sack of Sam Howell in the second half. Stallworth played better in week one of the preseason, so it's safe to say that Steve Spagnuolo and company will have a tough call to make along the interior of their defensive line. Both of these players are competing hard for a spot that's already a non-guarantee to exist in the first place.

4. Ronald Jones stock hits rock bottom

The usage (or lack thereof) of Ronald Jones has been puzzling throughout the 2022 preseason, and now his combination of rep splits, production and training camp concerns are beginning to align. Jones didn't log a single snap in the first half of Kansas City's win on Saturday, and he ended up recording just nine of them in half No. 2. The 25-year-old hauled in one pass for three yards, failing to tote the ball out of the backfield even a single time. Jones is on paper-thin ice at this point and is a serious candidate to be waived by the time the Chiefs cut down their roster to 53 players. This summer has been one to forget for him, and Saturday's outing didn't help matters one bit.

5. Roderick Johnson, Darian Kinnard hype trains slow significantly

Remember when Roderick Johnson was running with the Chiefs' first unit during the very early stages of training camp? What about when rookie Darian Kinnard was getting some premier reps at left tackle and right tackle? Good times. With the return of Orlando Brown Jr. and the emergence of players such as Geron Christian, the Chiefs' need for Johnson at tackle has lessened. Kinnard seemingly isn't nearly as far along as some expected him to be, and he's playing accordingly. Both players logged just 11 offensive snaps (17%) against Washington and while both could somehow find their way onto the 53-man roster, Kinnard's case for doing so is stronger due to the club's recent draft investment in him. The hype trains for either player playing meaningful regular-season snaps in 2022 have come to a hault, though.