With Sunday's 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Kansas City Chiefs are officially eliminated from playoff contention. The final three weeks of the regular season, which many believed would determine home-field advantage or playoff positioning, will now be relatively meaningless, and the Chiefs would be wise to dive into some of the mysterious players on their roster.
The Chiefs almost took a step toward that process when they elevated defensive tackle Zacch Pickens to the active roster on Saturday. A pickup from the Chicago Bears after training camp, it seemed like Pickens would make his Kansas City debut against the Chargers, but he was instead declared inactive before kickoff.
As a result, Pickens remains a mystery but could be revealed in the several weeks as Kansas City examines its 2025 plans.
Jury Is Still Out on Chiefs' Zacch Pickens After Week 15
The interior of the defensive line has been an issue for the Chiefs this season. Chris Jones hasn’t played at the elite level he’s been at for most of his career, and Omarr Norman-Lott’s torn ACL was a big blow to the Kansas City defense. The Chiefs tried to patch over it by bringing back Mike Pennell, but they haven’t found a player that can deliver effective snaps.
Although it’s a long shot, Pickens could be that player. A third-round pick by the Bears in the 2023 draft, Pickens was a solid flier after appearing in 17 games during his rookie season, but never graduated to being a rotational player. If anything, Pickens began to regress, being a healthy scratch toward the end of the year and falling behind Chris Williams and Gervon Dexter before head coach Ben Johnson’s staff entered the picture.
After his release, Pickens found himself in a solid situation in Kansas City, but hadn’t made it up to the active roster until this weekend. Even then, the Chiefs had cold feet about getting him into a game, scratching him from the Week 15 lineup. His career production, which includes 39 tackles, two tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks over 26 career games (three starts), could be part of the reason.
At the same time, Pickens must've showed something to make the Chiefs elevate him to the active roster.
With the season virtually over, perhaps Pickens can come in, revive his career and give the Chiefs a reason to keep him around. But after Sunday’s false start, it’s curious to wonder what exactly the plan is moving forward.