Kansas City Chiefs: Realistic look at 2019 Chiefs roster
By Shade Piper
What the Roster Could Look Like
This Roster keeps the @Chiefs under the cap while extending Tyreek, Chris Jones, and franchise tagging Dee Ford. I am assuming the Chiefs will carry 10 rookies on the active roster (they are figured into the cap). This leaves them with 52 players and just over $5mil for the 53rd. pic.twitter.com/7NEr5L263N
— Shade Piper (@shade_piper) February 24, 2019
Depth Chart Made using Operation Sports Depth Chart Generator
If you counted the players, you would notice there are only 42 players on my depth chart. This is because I have figured into the cap that the Chiefs will carry ten rookies on their active roster (there are plenty of players currently with the Chiefs on rookie scale contracts that could take a few of these rookie spots as well).
The Chiefs had ten rookies on the final 53-man active roster last season. They only had six draft picks last year and have eight this year and with a potential Justin Houston trade looming they could end up with more, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they could carry ten rookies on the active roster again this season.
The ten rookies will cost around $7,488,210 and bring the roster total to 52 players. This roster would leave the Chiefs with $5,112,727 in cap space and one spot roster spot to fill. This doesn’t leave them with a ton of room because they would probably want to carry some cap room into the season for emergency purposes, but it is doable. They will likely sign a cheap player for the final roster spot so some of the cap can be carried over into the season.
Mock Draft: Chiefs Shake it Up With First Two Picks. light. Hot
The gaps in the roster will mostly be filled in with the ten rookies, who will presumably be on the active roster. Amongst these ten spots, in order to have a team make up similar to last season, the positions that need to be filled via players drafted or signed as undrafted free agents are:
- 1-2 offensive linemen (KC carried ten offensive linemen last year and currently have eight signed, so one more would suffice, but two would give them the same make up as last season)
- 1-2 running backs (had four active at the end of last season and two currently signed)
- One tight end
- 1-2 (4-3 scheme) outside linebackers
- One defensive end
- One defensive tackle
- At least two cornerbacks.
The roster should be good at the wide receiver, quarterback, fullback, safety (unless we cut Berry), and middle linebacker positions.
Players from the 2018 roster who could financially and positional fill the final roster spot: Allen Bailey, Demetrius Harris, Spencer Ware, Jordan Devey, Terrance Smith, Justin Hamilton, Jeff Allen, Charcandrick West.