Helter Skelter » The 90-man roster released Monday can help us get a g

limpse of what we might see in September" />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteArrowhead PrideArrowhead Pride | Kansas City Chiefs Schedule Terrance Smith Jersey , News, Roster and StatsLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpSeriesLatest NewsFanpostsFanshotsCommunityAboutStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteSeries Stagner ThingsLottery Tickets ’19Summer of SpagsDixon’s MailbagLatest News Fanposts Most recentMost activeFanshots Community Community GuidelinesContactAbout StubHub ✕How the Chiefs might build their 53-man rosterNew,134commentsThe 90-man roster released Monday can help us get a glimpse of what we might see in SeptemberCDTShareTweetShareShareHow the Chiefs might build their 53-man rosterPhoto by Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesWith the release of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 90-man roster on Monday, we finally have a rough picture of the players the Chiefs will use to construct their final 53-man roster this fall.There’s every reason to expect there will be more changes as we continue through the offseason — one new player has already been signed since the roster was released — but we thought it would be illuminating to use the 53-man roster from the beginning of September as a guide to break down the 90-man roster by position, and help us see where the team might be headed in 2019.Offensive lineSeptember: Mitch Morse, Bryan Witzmann, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Kahlil McKenzie, Eric Fisher, Mitch Schwartz, Andrew Wylie, Jordan Devey and Cam Erving.The Chiefs started the season with nine offensive linemen: a center, three guards, three tackles and two swing linemen.Almost immediately, Witzmann was released, swing lineman Cam Erving took over at left guard, and Austin Reiter was brought up.Erving, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Kahlil McKenzie, Eric Fisher, Mitchell Schwartz, Andrew Wylie, Dino Boyd, Ryan Hunter, Pace Murphy and Justin SeniorThe Chiefs currently have 13 offensive linemen on the roster.All five of last year’s starters are likely to return.Reiter will face competition from seventh-round pick Allegretti, but Allegretti could just as easily make the team as a swing lineman; think of him as taking Devey’s spot. McKenzie — who was on the active roster, but inactive for every game in 2018 — seems to be a player the Chiefs want to keep developing.Wylie is likely to make the team as a backup tackle.That makes eight.Five players — all but Murray listed as tackles — will likely be competing for the last spot on the offensive line.Tight endSeptember: Travis Kelce and Alex EllisDemetrius Harris wasn’t on the opening roster because he was set to serve a suspension in Week 1.He replaced Ellis in Week 2.Now: Travis Kelce, Blake Bell, John Lovett, Deon Yelder and David WellsFive tight ends are now on the roster.Kelce is obviously a lock.Many expected — perhaps hoped — the Chiefs would get a tight end in the draft, but that didn’t happen.So now it looks like four players will compete to back up Kelce.Bell — with NFL playing experience — would seem to have the inside track, but Lovett is a wild card.The Chiefs seem to think this former college quarterback — like both Kelce and Bell — has potential as an NFL tight end or H-back.Andy Reid is always thinking.Running backSeptember: Kareem Hunt, Spencer Ware, Damien Williams, Darrel Williams, Anthony ShermanThe Chiefs started the season with five running backs — including fullback Sherman.With the release of Hunt and another injury to Ware, Damien Williams was the starter by season’s end, backed up by Darrel Williams and the returning Charcandrick West.Now: Damien Williams, Carlos Hyde, Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson, James Williams, J.D. Moore, Marcus Marshall and Anthony ShermanThe Chiefs have eight running backs on the roster.It’s easy to guess Damien Williams will return as the starter with Hyde as his main backup — although it’s not very hard to imagine those roles could be reversed.With Aaron Ripkowski’s release after his early offseason signing, it seems clear that Sherman will again be the team’s fullback.The Chiefs have seemed high on Darrel Williams, but they seem high on sixth-round pick Thompson and UDFA James Williams Khalen Saunders Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , too.It comes down to this: five players will be competing for two backup positions, and it looks like it will be an interesting battle.Note: Marcus Marshall was signed after the release of the first 90-man roster.At this writing, the corresponding roster move is unknown.Wide receiverSeptember: Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Chris Conley, Demarcus Robinson, De’Anthony Thomas, Marcus KempThe Chiefs began 2018 with six wide receivers.Thomas was injured early in the season, and Watkins’ availability was inconsistent throughout the year, which allowed Gehrig Dieter to see playing time.Now: Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, Marcus Kemp, Gehrig Dieter, Mecole Hardman, last year’s linebacker corps.Jones, Nnadi, Clark and Okafor (or Ogbah) look like the starters, with returning veteran Williams and third-round pick Saunders backing up the starting tackles. Either Okafor or Ogbah — along with Speaks and Kpassagnon — will compete for the two backup defensive end positions.Right now it looks like Speaks or Kpassagnon will be mutually exclusive; if one of them makes the team, the other probably won’t.LinebackerSeptember: Justin Houston, Dee Ford, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Breeland Speaks, Anthony Hitchens, Reggie Ragland, Ben Niemann, Dorian O’ Daniel and Terrance SmithLast season, the Chiefs started with nine linebackers to run the 3-4.We’re guessing they’ll carry seven to run the 4-3 Under.Now: Damien Wilson, Jeremiah Attaochu, Reggie Ragland, Ben Niemann, Anthony Hitchens, Dorian O’Daniel, Rob McCray, Martrell Spaight, Raymond Davison, Darius Harris and Gary JohnsonExactly how Spagnuolo will arrange his Sam, Mike and Will linebackers in his 4-3 Under scheme is shrouded in mystery.For guidance, I reached out to our Craig Stout, who thinks the Chiefs will go with Wilson and Attaochu as the starter and backup at Sam, Ragland and Niemann at Mike, and Hitchens and O’Daniel at Will.But Craig also thinks the Chiefs would be better off with Hitchens and Ragland as the Mike linebackers, with O’Daniel and Johnson as the Will players.So while we don’t yet know how they’ll be lined up, it looks like Wilson, Attaouchu, Ragland Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys 2019 , Hitchens and O’Daniel have the best chance at the first five roster spots, with Niemann and Johnson leading the other six linebackers competing for the last two.Defensive backSeptember: Kendall Fuller, Steve Nelson, Orlando Scandrick, Tremon Smith, Charvarius Ward, Eric Berry, Armani Watts, Eric Murray, Jordan Lucas, Daniel SorensenThe team started 2018 with 10 defensive backs — five cornerbacks and five safeties.Berry was “day-to-day” until the final games of the year, Watts was lost to injury early on, and the secondary was basically a mess — although both Ward and Lucas showed flashes late in the year.Now:Kendall Fuller, Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, Keith Reaser, Tremon Smith, Rashad Fenton, Tyrann Mathieu, Armani Watts, Juan Thornhill, Jordan Lucas, Daniel Sorensen, Leon McQuay, Jalin Burrell, Mark Fields, Dontae Johnson, Harold Jones-Quartey, Dakari Monroe and D’Montre WadeThe Chiefs have acquired a lot of players to try and upgrade this position group for 2019 — 18 defensive backs are now on the roster.Fuller and Breeland look like the likely starters at cornerback, followed by Ward, Reaser, Smith and/or possibly Fenton.Smith has so far seen little NFL experience at his position, so it will be interesting to see if he continues to get a lot of work as a kick returner, or if Fenton (or possibly Hardman) gets more of that work in 2019.Mathieu is clearly a lock at starting safety, but there are a lot of players lined up who could conceivably be starters alongside him.Watts now seems like the safest bet as the other starter, but cases could also be made for the just-drafted Thornhill, Lucas and Sorensen.SpecialistsSeptember: Harrison Butker, Dustin Colquitt and James WinchesterNow: Harrison Butker, Dustin Colquitt, Jack Fox and James WinchesterNot much to see here.The Chiefs clearly feel comfortable with Butker and Winchester; no players are on the roster to challenge them.The team is doing its due diligence with Fox, but Colquitt is likely to remain as the old man of the team.That’s how the 53-man roster looks to us right now.How does it look to you? KANSAS CITY, Mo. 鈥?The Patrick Mahomes Reunion Tour rolls on Sunday when the young, record-setting quarterback leads the high-flying Kansas City Chiefs against the Arizona Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium.Last week, Mahomes shredded the Cleveland Browns while outplaying their rookie quarterback, Baker Mayfield. The two met when Mahomes was being recruited to Texas Tech and Mayfield helped to serve as his host, and their relationship continued even when Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma.This week Khalen Saunders Jersey Cheap , Mahomes gets to reminiscence about his time working at Peyton Manning’s football camp with his old roommate, Josh Rosen 鈥?now the quarterback on whom the Cardinals are pinning their future.“I’ve met him a couple times, been out to California and met him,” Mahomes said. “He throws a beautiful ball. It’s always a really tight spiral. I know he’ll have a lot of success.”It’s going to be tough to top the success Mahomes is having.The Chiefs’ first-year starter is setting benchmarks just about every time he steps on the field, and the next one might be consecutive 300-yard passing games. Mahomes has eight straight to match Andrew Luck from the 2014 season, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down.“I thought he was pretty good,” Rosen said, reflecting on those days working camp together. “We weren’t really throwing, we were mostly just coaching the kids. So we didn’t get to really throw too much, but I liked him as a dude. We got along really well.”Rosen hasn’t seen a whole lot of Mahomes with the Chiefs (8-1) this week, either, because he’s spent all his time focusing on the defense. But Cardinals coach Steve Wilks has seen enough to know that stopping him may be impossible, and slowing him down is nearly as difficult.That goes for the entirety of the Kansas City offense.“One thing we talked about all week is really trying to limit those big plays, understanding exactly who they’re trying to target,” Wilks said. “This is a very explosive offense. Going against Andy Reid for several years in different places, going all the way back to the Eagles, this is part of his M.O. So, we’ve got to try to limit the big plays as much as possible.”The Cardinals (2-6) have struggled much of the season, particularly on offense. But they’re coming off an uplifting, fourth-quarter comeback victory over San Francisco that was capped by Rosen’s touchdown strike to Christian Kirk in the final minute.“You can let point spreads and all these things 鈥?‘trap game’ 鈥?and all these terms that pop up and things that happen come into it,” Reid said of perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Chiefs this week. “But if you can honestly focus on the process and discipline yourself to do that, that normally takes care of things. … You’re not going to let distractions get in the way.”As the Chiefs and Cardinals prepare to meet Sunday, here are some interesting notes:GETTING HEALTHIERChiefs safety Daniel Sorensen is expected to play after returning from injured reserve, where he’d been since breaking his leg in training camp. The Chiefs also could have top pass rusher Justin Houston back from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him the past four games.ROSEN AND REIDRosen’s father, noted physician Dr. Charles Rosen, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and the youngster was an avid fan of Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles growing up.“I used to have an Eagles shirt when I was a kid that said, ‘Our coach will eat yours.’ I was a huge Andy Reid fan,” Rosen said. “Him and Mike Vick and the DeSean Jackson days were very fun to watch.FITZGERALD’S NUMBERSCardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has been climbing into the upper reaches of the NFL’s career receiving marks, and he is closing in on a couple very high rungs.Fitzgerald has 15,902 yards receiving, and he needs 33 more to pass Terrell Owens for second place behind Jerry Rice on the career list. Fitzgerald also needs 58 catches to pass former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez for second behind Rice in career receptions.Fitzgerald had eight catches for 102 yards and a TD in last week’s 18-15 win over San Francisco.PERFECTION, ALMOSTReid was asked this week how often his creative plays are executed properly 鈥?when all 11 guys do exactly what they are supposed to do. And his answer was quite candid.“I’d probably give you 85 percent of the time,” Reid said. “Now, they can get beat and that would bring it down a little bit, but mostly guys will attempt to do the right thing. It amazes me how they can digest all this and in a split-second know 鈥?there’s 200 plays on that sheet, and you have to figure it out like that, and these guys do it.”MAKE WAY, LENMahomes already has thrown 29 touchdown passes, which means he needs just two more to pass Len Dawson’s franchise record. The Hall of Famer set one of the Chiefs’ longest-standing records in 1964, an era in which passing generally took a back seat to running the ball.“It would be awesome,” Mahomes said, “because Len had a lot of success in the NFL and was kind of ahead of his time, throwing all those touchdowns. It would be awesome to pass that.”