4 Chiefs Still on Thin Ice Despite Surviving Roster Cuts

3. Jared Wiley, TE

The Chiefs finalized their tight end depth chart with the release of Irv Smith Jr., who signed with the team back in free agency, on Tuesday. As a result, Travis Kelce, Noah Grey, and Jared Wiley will open the year as Kansas City's top TEs.

When it comes to the aforementioned trio, I see Wiley — a 2024 fourth-rounder — as having the most to prove.

The Chiefs clearly have a ton of faith in Wiley's potential or else they wouldn't have rostered him over Smith. The 23-year-old was a scoring machine throughout his final year with the TCU Horned Frogs, scoring eight touchdowns on 47 catches while amassing a career-high 520 receiving yards along the way.

Having said that, the rookie TE didn't exactly have the same impact during his first NFL preseason. While he appeared in all three of the Chiefs' exhibition contests, he only hauled in four of five targets 14 receiving yards, and a fumble. Following his lackluster effort, Pro Football Focus gave Wiley a grade of 43.2 as a receiver and 44.3 for overall offense.

Now, he has to compete with fellow TE Peyton Hendershot, who the Chiefs acquired from the Dallas Cowboys just ahead of the roster deadline.

I'm not saying Riley will be a bust because that'd be silly — he hasn't even played a regular-season snap yet. Having said that, the Chiefs are all about winning Super Bowls and the up-and-coming TE can't afford to stick out for the wrong reasons. If he doesn't find immediate chemistry with Mahomes, getting more opportunities won't be easy.

Hopefully, Wiley will figure out how to erase his preseason struggles with a stronger regular-season effort.