KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cornerback remains one of the few possible starting spots in flux for the two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Trent McDuffie is locked into one spot, but Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson and Nazeeh Johnson are in the mix to fill the void left by the L’Jarius Sneed trade.
There’s been plenty of chatter about who will win the job, but Johnson suggested after Saturday’s preseason game against Detroit that it doesn’t really matter.
“We’re all brothers at the end of the day,” he said. “I don’t think we’re competing with each other. I think we’re competing with ourselves. Staying consistent, day in and day out, that’s what they’re looking for. So, we’re just competing with ourselves and whoever wins the spot wins the spot. We’re all rooting for each other because when we win, we all win.”
With that in mind, here are five things to watch as the Chiefs wrap up the preseason Thursday against the Chicago Bears at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium:
1. CB depth
The four corners already mentioned — McDuffie, Williams, Watson and Johnson — are locks to make the roster and Chamarri Conner will see plenty of time at corner in a hybrid nickel/safety role.
But who else fills out the back end of the roster?
Former Kansas State Ekow Boye-Doe and veteran Kelvin Joseph are in that mix — likely to be separated by their special-teams value.
The Chiefs also invested a draft pick in Nic Jones last season and Kamal Hadden this season, while veteran Keith Taylor’s had a productive preseason.
Any or all could be in the mix for a spot on the 53-man or the practice squad, assuming they clear waivers.
Each of those five on the fringe of the roster discussion also have one last chance to impress under the lights.
With Hollywood Brown’s injury, I think the Chiefs are likely to start the season with seven wide receivers.
2. Filling out the WR room
Brown has to make the initial 53-man and won’t need to go on injured reserve, but he may not be available for the home opener Sept. 5 against Baltimore or a Week 2 matchup Sept. 15 against Cincinnati.
That means roster flexibility will be required.
Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy are no-brainers along with Justin Watson, whose special-teams value makes him a virtual lock as well.
Personally, I think Mecole Hardman Jr. has shown enough in his career and in the preseason to merit a roster spot and Dave Toub seems to love Nikko Remigio, who bounced back from an uneven preseason performance at Jacksonville to show flashes against the Lions.
If the Chiefs keep seven receivers to start the season, it would seem to come down to a battle among Skyy Moore, Justyn Ross and Kadarius Toney for the final spot.
Fans would probably lean toward Ross in that case, but Andy Reid and Brett Veach will have the final say.
3. Extra RB or TE?
Assuming Brown’s injury forces Kansas City’s hand in keeping seven receivers, does that take away a running back, tight end or offensive lineman?
It’s possible the Chiefs will expose seventh-round pick C.J. Hanson to waivers, but they happen regardless of the numbers needed to navigate depth at the receiver spot.
The numbers dictate that Kansas City can’t keep four running backs and four tight ends if they go with seven receivers initially, so that means Irv Smith Jr. or Deneric Prince may wind up being waived with they hopes they can return to the practice squad to start September.
4. Waiver-wire help?
With DE Charles Omenihu likely to miss the first half of the season as he continues to recover from a torn ACL, the Chiefs are thin in the defensive trenches.
As other teams make cuts before the 3 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 27, could there be help coming from the waiver wire?
Perhaps Veach has another training-camp trade in mind — that’s how Kansas City landed Neil Farrell Jr. last season — given the Chiefs’ dead-last status on the waiver wire?
If there’s a position where reinforcements are added, the defensive line seems like the best bet.
5. Secret specialists
When discussing specialists, fans focus on the kicker, punter and long snapper — and understandably, since that’s how they are listed on a depth chart.
But the Chiefs treat specialists a little differently with Reid’s deferral to Toub on a couple back-end roster spots.
Players like Justin Watson, who starts at gunner, and Remigio, who Toub intends to “pound the table” for in roster conversations, are trending toward the right side of the cut line.
But who else are the secret specialists Toub may lock into a roster spot — DE Truman Jones, LB Cam Jones, S Deon Bush? At least two, perhaps all three of those players, seem certain to be on the initial 53-man roster.
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