The Kansas City Chiefs will play their first of three preseason games on Saturday against the Jacksonville Jaguars. While the scores of preseason games ultimately don't matter, the player performances often do, especially at positions where the competition is fierce.
For the Chiefs, several players need a strong preseason in order to secure their roster spot for this coming season, but for a select few it goes beyond that. For these players, this preseason could be about saving their NFL careers.
You can make a strong argument that every player at the bottom of the training camp roster is fighting to save their NFL careers, but the five on this list all have received a significant amount of attention and/or expectations at some point in their NFL career. It could be that they were a high draft pick that hasn't panned out yet, or it could be that they've received a lot of camp buzz but haven't been able to turn that into actual NFL success. There are always key players for fans to root for in training camp and the preseason, but these five may have the most on the line.
Let's kick this list off with the player that is the newest to Kansas City, but this might be his last chance to salvage a once promising career.
5. Irv Smith Jr. - Tight End
Irv Smith Jr. was a top-50 pick in the NFL draft when he was taken in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2019. Smith never quite took off in Minnesota. He failed to ever reach 400 yards receiving in a season and was not re-signed at the end of his rookie contract. There was some belief that he might revitalize his career last season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite the Bengals being a high volume passing offense without much competition at tight end, Smith only had 18 receptions and wasn't brought back.
With the Chiefs Smith is now struggling to prove he should even make the roster as a depth piece. Travis Kelce is the proven starter. Noah Gray is the guy who's proven he'll do the dirty work and blocking that comes with the #2 tight end role in KC. Plus, the Chiefs have an exciting rookie in Jared Wiley who looks like he could be a pass catching option even as a rookie. Will the Chiefs consider keeping Smith as a 4th tight end? I don't know, but Smith is running out of chances to earn a spot in KC and to convince other teams that they should sign him if the Chiefs cut him.
Deneric Prince may not have the name recognition of the other players on this list, but he has a golden opportunity to prove he belongs in the NFL and he needs to take advantage of it this preseason. Prince was an undrafted rookie last year out of Tulsa. He had some buzz in camp last year too, but couldn't crack the 53-man roster. He did earn a spot on the practice squad.
Now in his second camp with the Chiefs, Prince has been consistently getting first team reps. Isiah Pacheco is the clear feature back and the Chiefs have Clyde Edwards-Helaire as a veteran option that knows the system well. After that, there is very little competition since the Chiefs have not replaced Jerick McKinnon who was a key rotational player on passing downs the past few seasons.
If Prince is going to carve out an NFL role he has to do it now. He has the opportunity and very little competition. If he can't take advantage of this situation, it's hard to imagine it ever happening for him.
3. Jusyn Ross - Wide Receiver
If you look up training camp hype in the dictionary, there might be a picture of Justyn Ross. At this point, most people know Ross' story. He looked like a future first round pick at the start of his college career, but then serious injuries derailed all of that. He was making quite the buzz in camp last year, but another injury slowed him down again. He did eventually get onto the active roster, but he managed just 6 total receptions last year despite KC's black hole of reliable receiver production.
While the Chiefs have added a lot of talent at wideout this offseason in Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy, those are smaller wideouts. Ross is the only receiver in camp that can offer the Chiefs the kind of size mismatch that teams look for on the outside. There's still buzz around him in camp this year, but it's now time for him to turn that into production and secure both a roster spot and a role in the receiver rotation. The Chiefs need a true outside X-receiver.
Can Ross live up to the hype and claim that role? I hope so because otherwise his NFL future is in serious doubt.
There isn't a bigger name on this list than Kadarius Toney. Toney was a first-round draft pick in 2021 for the New York Giants. Toney flashed some promise his rookie season with 39 receptions for 420 yards. He then had issues with the Giants at the start of his second season and was eventually traded to the Chiefs mid-season. He then flashed some upside again when he arrived in KC. The Chiefs were talking him up as their top receiver going into last season, but that didn't work out.
Despite KC's shortage of wide receiver production last season, the former first-round pick could only muster 27 receptions for just 169 yards. Worse than that, he had multiple costly drops that seemed to torpedo any chance he had of becoming a regular part of the offense. If the Chiefs are keeping their most talented players at wideout this year, Toney will make the cut, but if he can't prove to be more reliable (both with his health and play) he could find himself out of a job.
If Toney can't make the roster for a wide receiver-needy team with an offensive coach like Andy Reid, where exactly is he going to make it?
1. Skyy Moore - Wide Receiver
Skyy Moore is the third straight wide receiver on this list. While Justyn Ross may not have lived up to his preseason hype and Kadarius Toney may have blown his chance at being KC's top wideout, Moore may still have been the most disappointing receiver in KC last season. Moore was a second round draft pick in 2022 who found himself behind guys like Juju Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman during his rookie year, but last year the path was clear for him to become a feature part of the offense. To say that didn't happen would be an understatement.
Despite KC's massive need for wide receiver help last season, Moore somehow caught one less pass for six fewer yards than during his rookie season. He just completely failed to earn the trust of the coaches or Patrick Mahomes. With the Chiefs restocking their wideout room this offseason it's hard to imagine that Moore will be able to improve things this season. In fact, if he doesn't at least show some upside in the preseason the Chiefs may decide to cut ties with their former second-round pick to keep someone like Ross or Toney, or even a potential special teams contributor like Nikko Remigio. Needless to say, there is a major battle brewing for the final wide receiver spots.
So there you have it Chiefs fans. Those are my five Kansas City Chiefs who need a strong preseason to earn their spot on this team and show that they belong in the NFL. If they don't seize this opportunity, there is reason for all five to fear that their NFL dreams may not ever happen. Do you agree with these picks? Is there anyone else that you believe should have made the list? I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments below.
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