Soaked by a heat index that topped 100 degrees, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid walked off the practice field at Missouri Western State earlier this month and perched himself into the back seat of a golf cart. After a practice that spanned more than two hours on a sun-drenched field, Reid headed to a college dormitory for a meeting.
The day had just begun.
For the past month — initially in St. Joseph and now back in Kansas City — Chiefs coaches and front office personnel have spent hours poring over practice and game film, the foundation that produces their initial 53-man roster, to be set Tuesday.
Together as a coaching and front office staff, they grade every player on every play — that’s 22 grades per play — and return their work to the players.
“They should never leave here — and this is what they’re told — they should never leave here without knowing where they stand and why,” Reid said. “And they can come in and ask any day. They’ve got the grades right there and the explanation of why.”
The Chiefs concluded their preseason Friday, their 28-25 victory completing an unbeaten three-game schedule. The players will receive a couple of days off.
The staff will not. They will finalize the toughest decisions of their roster, a process general manager Brett Veach called a collaborate effort with assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi, as well as top lieutenants Ryan Poles, Brandt Tilis, Tim Terry, Mike Bradway, Chris Shea and others.
Here’s a look at the work in front of them.
Which position groups receive the extra attention?
Even if the depth chart has become relatively known during the combination of training camp practices open to the media and the three preseason games, the Chiefs still have some determinations to make with how many they keep at each position.
It’s not as simple as plucking from the chart’s order.
Stick with us here. Yes, the Chiefs have a few decisions to make within specific groups — is it Tim Ward or Demone Harris at defensive end? — but if you pull back for a moment, you’ll see the bigger picture is where they really have some options.
Will they keep a fourth running back or a sixth wide receiver? How about a fifth safety or a sixth cornerback? Can they justify holding onto four tight ends after so sparingly needing that number last season? Do you need to keep 10 offensive linemen to account for two (Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Austin Blythe) already being injured, or do you let one go in favor of an extra body elsewhere?
The options
Let’s start by considering it a surprise if any of the following 48 players are cut:
• quarterbacks (2) Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne
• running backs (3) Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon
• fullback (1) Michael Burton
• wide receivers (5) Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle and Marcus Kemp
• tight ends (3) Travis Kelce, Blake Bell and Noah Gray
• offensive linemen (9) Orlando Brown, Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Lucas Niang, Mike Remmers, Andrew Wylie, Nick Allegretti and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
• defensive linemen (9) Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Jarran Reed, Derrick Nnadi, Mike Danna, Tershawn Wharton, Khalen Saunders, Alex Okafor and Josh Kaindoh
• linebackers (5) Anthony Hitchens, Ben Niemann, Willie Gay, Nick Bolton and Dorian O’Daniel
• cornerbacks (4) L’Jarius Sneed, Charvarius Ward, Mike Hughes and Rashad Fenton
• safeties (4) Tyrann Mathieu, Dan Sorensen, Juan Thornhill and Armani Watts
• specialists (3) Harrison Butker, Tommy Townsend and James Winchester.
Those are 48 players who should be considered pretty safe for cutdown day. Add to that, guard Kyle Long can begin the season on the physically unable to perform list wouldn’t count against the roster until activated.
That leaves five open spots.
At least one must be a cornerback, and Deandre Baker and BoPete Keyes have received a pretty equal number of reps in practice in recent weeks. If you’re only keeping four safeties, it’s possible this isn’t either/or but rather both.
The Chiefs didn’t initially plan on having four tight ends on their initial 53-man roster, but Jody Fortson has forced their hand. He’s playing too well, and he’s mixing in with the first-stringers. That’s a good sign.
Only nine offensive linemen are listed, but free agent signing Austin Blythe seemed to be on an inside track before his injury, rotating as a primary interior backup. Did his injury cost him a spot, or will they prefer the long-term plan, which says Blythe will return in the first month of the season?
Has wide receiver Daurice Fountain turned a minicamp tryout into a roster spot? If the Chiefs keep six receivers, they prefer the fifth and sixth be factors on special teams. Kemp, fifth on the depth chart, certainly is that. Fountain hasn’t seen much time on the special teams unit.
While we’re talking receivers, you’ll notice we’re yet to mention fifth-round pick Cornell Powell. Well, he’s worked almost exclusively with the third-stringers in training camp and preseason games. Consider that ominous.
Do the Chiefs still envision a future with 2019 sixth-round choice Darwin Thompson? Do they think he would clear waivers and they can return him to the practice squad? Would they be willing to risk that?
Are the Chiefs comfortable with nine defensive linemen, or can they afford to stretch to 10? They’re deeper here than most position groups, with Tim Ward and Demone Harris jockeying for a spot. Ward had three sacks in the preseason.
The final predictions
Sticking with the 48 listed above, that’s five open spots with which to work.
Let’s go with interior lineman Austin Blythe, tight end Jody Fortson, defensive end Tim Ward and two cornerbacks — Deandre Baker and BoPete Keyes.
Thus, here are the 25 whom I anticipate the Chiefs will cut: quarterback Shane Buechele, running backs Darwin Thompson and Derrick Gore, receivers Daurice Fountain, Cornell Powell, Darrius Shepherd, Gehrig Dieter, Maurice Ffrench and Dalton Schoen; offensive linemen Yasir Durant, Prince Tega Wanogho, Darryl Williams and Wyatt Miller; defensive linemen Demone Harris, Austin Edwards and Tyler Clark; linebackers Darius Harris, Omari Cobb and Emmanuel Smith; cornerbacks Chris Lammons, Dicaprio Bootle and Marlon Character; and safeties Devon Key, Zayne Anderson and Rodney Clemons.
They’ll certainly want a handful of those players back on the practice squad, but in order to make those moves, they will have to clear waivers.