The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2018 roster is looking good as the season quickly approaches. Which players need to step it up in 2018?
The Kansas City Chiefs‘ offense looks to have a big year with lots of talent at skill positions while the defense has added some pieces in hopes of returning to a more revered presence in the league. With a younger and more talented group it makes it more difficult to really lock down a roster spot.
Whether a player is a rookie or a veteran, earning and keeping a roster spot is a tough task. These five players will need to have a breakout season to either keep their roster spot or to prove their worth by season’s end.
CHIEFS WHO NEED BREAKOUT YEAR – NUMBER 5: DE’ANTHONY THOMAS
Kansas City Chiefs
This former Oregon speedster enters his fifth season in Kansas City. Chiefs fans were elated to watch De’Anthony Thomas run back an 80 yard punt return for a touchdown in the first game of the 2014 preseason.
In the four years since that moment, however, his career has seemed to have its collection of rollercoaster moments. The rest of that 2014 season left a lot to be desired. It was hard to tell if he would turn out to be a good replacement for Dexter McCluster after DMC was released that previous offseason. He flashed moments of talent, but altogether didn’t seem to play to the level that he was capable of.
After leaving behind his running back duties for the 2015 season, his production as a receiver was only 17 catches for 140 yards. This could have been a combination of the coaching staff not knowing where to place him or having a quarterback who wasn’t known for throwing for a lot of yards, but unfortunately the numbers just weren’t there. He ended that season on the NFI list dealing with some kind of personal issue.
After a 7 catch 35 yard receiving season in 2016, the writing seemed to be on the wall as to weather Kansas City would even keep him around, especially with the arrival of the talented Tyreek Hill. After three seasons without much production, it wouldn’t have been unfair for the Chiefs to move on from their former fourth round pick.
Thankfully his 2017 season did pick back up, but it still didn’t return to the numbers even from his rookie season. Unfortunately he suffered a broken leg in the season finale against Denver, halting any further production from Thomas.
It seems like De’Anthony Thomas has somewhat flown under the radar for a few seasons now. Many fans might wonder if he’s able to have a breakout season or if that window has closed after four seasons and playing on a more talented team. The more staggering question might be whether he will even make the roster when the season begins.