Steve Spagnuolo Weighs in on Truth of Chiefs' First Unofficial Depth Chart

How much stock should be put into the Chiefs' first depth chart of the preseason? Steve Spagnuolo gave his take.

Jul 29, 2026; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo walks down the hill to the fields prior to training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There are two things about training camp that can be counted on to fuel chaos on social media. One of them is a nicely framed highlight clip, and the other is a depth chart being released. With a new week of practice in full swing, those in Kansas City Chiefs circles have been exposed to both.

The latter was posted on Monday night, ranking the club's 90-man offseason roster ahead of Saturday's 3:00 p.m. CT outing against the Los Angeles Rams. The preseason opener should feature several depth pieces jockeying for spots on the eventual 53-man group, but many fans are placing considerable stock in the depth chart as a hint at who could be held in higher regard.

Chiefs issue their first unofficial depth chart of the 2026 season. I beseech you all once again, please no wagering. pic.twitter.com/E9nXKu7MDt

— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) August 11, 2026

There's a hangup, though. These preseason depth charts are unofficial in nature and should be viewed more as (somewhat) educated guesses by team public relations staff than a true reflection of coaching assessments. Take the cornerback position for example, where first-round pick Mansoor Delane is listed as a second-stringer but veteran L'Jarius Sneed is a starter.

Is there any validity to the rankings? Speaking to the media on Tuesday, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo weighed in with his thoughts on Sneed, Delane and second-year man Nohl Williams.

"It's really hard," Spagnuolo said. "I mean, it's on there [that] LJ's been in the league for a while. Nohl has, too. That's probably why (vice president of football communications) Brad (Gee) did it that way. You know, neither LJ or Delane has really practiced very much, so we're way down the road on all of that. Health will be a big issue, continuity [and] how many reps they've had going in, and we'll see when we get to the first game."

Spagnuolo's comments serve as a critical reminder that some positional hierarchies have yet to be revealed. It's widely expected that Delane, for instance, will assume a starting role on the boundary once he's cleared from a lingering shoulder injury. When Sneed first reunited with the team, most assumed he was a reserve. Williams' inclusion as a starter ahead of Kristian Fulton might be the only listing worth reading into.

Between his two years with the Tennessee Titans, Sneed managed to play in just 12 of 34 possible regular-season games. Although no one has truly separated from the pack at the nickel spot, that same truth applies to him as well. It remains to be seen whether it'll be him, Kader Kohou, Chris Roland-Wallace or rookie Jadon Canady who claims that spot.

Similarly to the pre-game one depth chart, adjustments entering the following contest don't have to spell doom for one player or another. Preliminary sorting is best taken with a grain of salt on both sides of the ball.

With that said, don't confuse this with dozens of jobs being up for grabs. A majority of the Chiefs' roles and roster spots are fairly defined with Week 1 of the regular season roughly a month out. In competition-heavy rooms like cornerback, however, Spagnuolo is making it clear that there's still a long way to go.

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