Bold Roster/Depth Chart Predictions

Every offseason, there are unexpected moves and impressive practice performances that shake up a team's roster and depth chart. It's tough for anyone outside of the organization to know who's playing well and who's not with these closed OTA practices, so predictions are kind of pointless...

But screw it! Bold Roster/Depth Chart Predictions!

Carlos Hyde will not make the 53 man roster

The former 1st round pick was signed earlier this offseason to a one year contract and was initially looked at as a nice complement to Damien Williams. He could have a career renaissance in KC after being through 3 teams in a short period of time. I was on board then, but after Veach drafted Darwin Thompson and signed James Williams as a UDFA, I no longer see Hyde earning playing time. I believe Darwin Thompson will play well enough to earn secondary snaps to Damien, and James Williams can absolutely be a pass down back and give you good ability to catch out of the backfield. Also,  it was reported that Darrel Williams got the 1st team reps at OTAs when Damien missed a practice for personal reasons. All that leads me to not seeing where Hyde fits in this RB room, and he may be cut earlier than the final roster cutdown in late August.

Byron Pringle will give Demarcus Robinson a run for WR2/3

We still don't have any information on Tyreek's elgibility for this season, so I will analyze as if he is not on the roster. Demarcus Robinson has been the presumed 2nd outside WR besides Sammy with Mecole Hardman playing more of a slot/gadget role initially. Demarcus made impressive plays last year, and has been catching passes from Mahomes since they were both backups looking to make plays in preseason games. He also has a reputation for freelancing routes or not running to the right spot, which can work with Mahomes' backyard ball style but can also be frustrating for an offensive playcaller. Pringle was a UDFA last year out of K-State and Butler CC. He performed well at training camp last year, and showed out in the 4th preseason game before suffering a hernia injury that would keep him off the field for the rest of 2018. There is a lot of buzz about him so far this offseason. Chiefs WR Coach Greg Lewis pointed out Pringle's performance last week at his media session by complimenting his speed, physicaility, and ability to go get the ball in the air. Special Teams Coach Dave Toub had good things to say as well, "We were really high on him last year, he's really looking good right now. He's like took it to another level. We're really excited the way he looks right now." I believe Pringle will not only make the roster, but will make the Chiefs think hard about resigning Robinson after this upcoming season.

John Lovett will become a fan favorite and earn a roster spot

Lovett played QB at Princeton, where he had 62 total TDs his last two seasons and played all over the offensive formation, throwing, catching, and running in scores. At 6'2" 234, he ran an impressive 4.56 second 40 yard dash and maybe an even more impressive number in his 3 cone drill, 6.94 seconds. The Chiefs have brought him in as a TE and he has been able to take plenty of reps in OTAs with both Travis Kelce and Deon Yelder missing practices. He has been compared to Trey Burton by Chiefs executives, and TE Coach Tom Melvin said his versatility gives him a good perspective of the Chiefs offensive system. A few media members have pointed out some tough catches he's made in OTAs too. I think the Chiefs have found a potential TE2 down the road, and maybe they try to stash him on the practice squad, but I believe he'll be at least the TE3 and a specials team contributor this season. Plus, check out his hair:

Xavier Williams and Daniel Sorensen will not make the 53 man roster

The Chiefs have completely overhauled their defense this offseason, but I don't think they're done getting rid of some of the last defensive regime's players. Xavier Williams is officially lost in the shuffle now that Derrick Nnadi has shown good play on the interior, and the move to a 4-3 won't help either. I think Speaks will be used more on the inside this year, which makes Xavier an easy cut candidate, especially with a dead cap hit of $875,000. Daniel Sorensen is overdue at this point. He gets credit for being a "good blitzer", which is an important skill for a 3rd/4th safety, but players like Jordan Lucas and Armani Watts should be able to give enough in that department while also being superior in coverage and as a deep safety. The $3.75 million we'd save against the cap this year should make this decision a no-brainer.

Training Camp is a little under 2 months away! A lot can change between now and then, but I'll check back up on these predictions and see how wrong I was in September!