If there's one NFL team whose top unit doesn't really need the preseason reps, it's probably the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. But just like every other NFL team, the Chiefs have roster battles going on, and jockeying for depth chart positioning happening all over the place.
The preseason will be crucial for several players looking to help the Chiefs win their third straight Super Bowl in 2024, and we got our first chance to evaluate this roster in a game situation against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Which Chiefs players didn't exactly stake their claim on a roster spot against the Jaguars? Who could end up being gone before the preseason? There could be many players the Chiefs lose simply because you can't keep everyone. Let's take a look at a handful of notable names.
1. Ian Book, Quarterback
The Kansas City Chiefs will be rolling with Carson Wentz as their QB2 behind Patrick Mahomes this season. That is the way Andy Reid has liked to operate under Mahomes -- get someone who has some experience behind Mahomes who can add value to the room and give you some actual quality play if called upon.
Wentz didn't do anything spectacular in the Chiefs' preseason opener against the Jaguars, but Ian Book may have had the roughest go of it out there for the Chiefs.
Among the four quarterbacks on the roster, Book had the lowest yards per completion (5.1) and took three total sacks against the Jaguars. He also had a fumble in this game, and you get the impression that Chris Oladokun will be the one the Chiefs continue to roll with when it comes to potentially keeping a third quarterback on the practice squad.
Book was a fourth-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints out of Notre Dame once upon a time, and his best bet might be someone else's practice squad or perhaps get some reps as a starter in the UFL at some point.
2. Cornell Powell, Wide Receiver
Even with question marks at wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, and even with everyone potentially getting a boost up the depth chart after the injury in the preseason opener to Hollywood Brown, we may not see Cornell Powell make it out of the preseason with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Powell was a fifth-round pick out of Clemson once upon a time, and despite being in the league since 2021, he has shockingly never caught a pass at the NFL level. Not in the regular season, at least. It has been a grind for Powell, who has appeared in three games (all in 2022) and a total of 31 snaps between offense (3) and special teams (28).
The issue facing Powell right now is that he has a lot of competition on the bottom end of the Chiefs' roster at receiver.
Even if Brown is unavailable at the start of the season, he will be making the roster. Nobody knows at this point what kind of suspension -- if any -- Rashee Rice is facing. The Chiefs have first-round rookie Xavier Worthy, former second-round pick Skyy Moore, Kadarius Toney, Justin Watson, Justyn Ross, and another camp standout in Nikko Remigio making up their wide receiver room. And who could forget Mecole Hardman?
It will take a herculean preseason from Powell to make this roster, even as a potential replacement for someone like Brown or Rice. There are just so many other guys in the pecking order. Powell had three catches for 24 yards in the preseason opener against the Jaguars and a fumble (which he recovered).
3. Louis Rees-Zammit, Running Back/Return Specialist
When the NFL modified its kickoff return format for the 2024 season, you had to know there was no doubt that Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub would be in his bag looking for ways to take advantage.
One of the most underrated aspects of this Chiefs team in recent years has been the overall play of the special teams, which have been elite in every facet.
The return game was in focus this offseason because teams are expected to get no fewer than 100 opportunities to return kicks this coming season and the Chiefs want to make sure they have as many quality options as possible.
That's why they went out and won the bidding war for former rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit, who absolutely crushed an audition workout for NFL teams with a blazing 4.43 40-yard dash.
Given he's played rugby and not football, it seemed the clearest fit at the NFL level for Rees-Zammit would be as a ball carrier, and the new kickoff format was seemingly perfect for acclimating him quickly.
Unfortunately for Rees-Zammit (and all of us), we didn't see him take any kickoffs against the Jaguars. Montrell Washington, Nikko Remigio, Deneric Prince, and Mecole Hardman all took reps in that phase, while Washington and Remigio had impressive 30-plus yard returns.
It may not look good for Rees-Zammit, who had one catch for three yards and two carries for one yard. He's going to have to make more of an impression than that to make the roster, and that type of debut should have been expected for his first NFL action, even if it is just the preseason.
Hopefully, Toub and the Chiefs will get him some reps in the return game, although the guys they have back there are already pretty good.
4. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Running Back
The Kansas City Chiefs don't have the deepest stable of running backs, but they do have an every-down player they can rely on in former seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco. Because they can rely on Pacheco, it makes keeping former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire a little tougher to justify.
Especially after what we saw from Edwards-Helaire against the Jaguars in the preseason opener.
Arrowhead Pride's Matt Stagner put Edwards-Helaire at the top of his "loser" list after the loss to Jacksonville:
"While the former first-round pick has recently missed some practice time, his role as the team’s No. 2 running back seemed secure. But lately, Deneric Prince has been coming on, giving the team another option. Prince was one of three Chiefs running backs to break off a carry of 10 yards or more in this game — while Edwards-Helaire had two carries for no yards. With Steele’s breakout performance, other players might be crowding Edwards-Healire out of the running back room.Matt Stagner, Arrowhead Pride
"
With Prince showing some nice things both as a running back and in the return game, the Chiefs might finally be able to move on from Edwards-Helaire, who hasn't lived up to his billing as a former first-round pick out of LSU. And make no mistake -- the expectations will be high for Edwards-Helaire. He's not getting graded on a curve.
If anything, he's being graded more harshly because he is a former first-rounder playing with backups. At this stage, it wouldn't be shocking if the Chiefs finally moved on and went a different direction at running back.
5. Skyy Moore/Nikko Remigio, Wide Receiver/Punt Returner
There are a couple of players at the wide receiver position; who feel on the cusp of potentially not making this roster for the Kansas City Chiefs. Skyy Moore and Nikko Remigio have a chance to make an impact as big-play threats for the offense and on special teams in the return game, but the preseason could be the end for at least one of these two.
There is a level of intrigue right now for Remigio that doesn't seem to exist for Moore. Fans are understandably impatient with Moore because of his second-round NFL Draft status.
How does a second-round pick not come in and have immediate success with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid? It doesn't make sense that guys like Watson and Remigio would steal roster spots from former high draft picks.
Fair or not, someone like Remigio is getting graded on a different curve in the preseason. People want to see him running with the first-team offense and getting opportunities. Fans feel like Moore has had his chance. Remigio is the flavor of the day; which happens for every fan base in every preseason.
But the hype might be justified there. You have to live with some of the hiccups along the way. Remigio had a 31-yard kick return but then fumbled a punt return opportunity. And he had a chance to come down with a big play in the passing game but couldn't reel it in.
Still, he had a big 29-yard play which keeps hope alive that he could ultimately be something. And where was Moore in this game?
Patience is running thin from the fan base for Moore, but he might still have favor with the coaching staff and front office because of his draft status.
6. Kadarius Toney, Wide Receiver
We took maybe a bit of an unfair emphasis on offensive players throughout this entire article. But we've got to talk about the guys who might legitimately not make it out of camp for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Kadarius Toney is one of the most notable names on that potential list.
Toney was a first-round pick of the New York Giants once upon a time and has had his moments as a member of the Chiefs, including in the playoffs. But his moments with the Chiefs haven't been unanimously good, either.
Toney has struggled to live up to his first-round billing, even in an offense that should highlight his skills consistently, and the Chiefs might be willing to move on depending on what other guys become available elsewhere in the league.
Toney was not available for the preseason matchup against the Jaguars and there must be questions about his future with this organization.
The New England Patriots pulled the plug on their investment in JuJu Smith-Schuster, and perhaps the Chiefs could be emboldened by what the Patriots did, moving on from a sunk cost.
And who knows? Maybe Toney being let go could pave the way for someone like Smith-Schuster to eventually come back to the Chiefs...
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