Brett Veach and the scouting department have taken pride in creating the best roster in the NFL. With only 53 players breaking camp, there is a good chance some veteran names could not make the cut. We delve into some possible players who might not break camp with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Austin Blythe
Blythe may find himself as the odd man out in the middle. Though a veteran may be a good luxury to keep at the center position, the Chiefs coaching staff has always have a strong liking of Nick Allegretti. The versatility that both offer should be a good battle to watch throughout training camp and the preseason. Also making Blythe an easy choice to put on the chopping block is his very inexpensive contract hit.
I have a feeling the Chiefs are going to keep a large number of lineman for depth purposes, especially with the additional 17th game this season. Both Andy Reid and Andy Heck are big on linemen who have the versatility to play all along the line, inside out. I feel that will give Andrew Wylie and Kyle Long a longer leash than that of Blythe. The competition that is being held across the entirety of the offensive line speaks highly of the priority it became this offseason.
Nick Keizer
There are just some players that are hard to watch. Nick Keizer is one of those for me. Of the options, the Chiefs have tried to use at TE2 opposite of Travis Kelce the last five years I feel that Keizer is by far the worst. There are no positive plays in my memory that he was a vital part in, I’m sure I’m missing something that he made a key block on that sprung another player, but I can not recall. His six catches tallied a whopping 63 yards, I feel that his three drops are more memorable than any of his catches.
I think the Chiefs had a small priority of upgrading this position group in the offseason. They resigned former Chief and Kansas native Blake Bell, which should push Keizer down the depth chart because he’s just a better version of Keizer. Secondly, the Chiefs traded up in the fifth round to draft Noah Gray. All indications from minicamp have Gray above Keizer because of his versatility in both pass and run game.
Keizer doesn’t add anything in the red zone, a place where the Chiefs need to improve if they want to win their second Super Bowl in three years. I think this may be the season only carry three tight ends on the roster but if they do go with four I suspect Evan Bayliss or Jody Fortson to be the fourth option.
Demarcus Robinson
Like Blythe above, this is all about the depth surrounding him more than anything. D-Rob is as consistent as they come. He hasn’t missed a game because of injury anytime in his five-year career. Over the last three seasons, you know you are able to get 30-45 catches from 400 yards and 4 touchdowns out of him. Those are good numbers for your 4th wide receiver all day long. He’s also been a decent special teams contributor, as long as he’s not returning kicks.
The problem with Robinson is the Chiefs are carrying a bunch of receivers that are capable of putting up the exact same numbers. I’m fairly certain the first four receiver slots are sewn up by Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, and Cornell Powell. That means D-Rob will be battling out the likes of Daurice Fountain, Darrius Shepherd, Antonio Callaway, and Marcus Kemp for that final roster spot. Like all fans, I tend to want to see the unknown because it could be better than stick with what we know we get with a player like Demarcus Robinson. I see higher ceilings with Fountain and Callaway and my hopes are that bodes well deeper in the season.
We are in an unprecedented time of success here in Chiefs Kingdom. There will be positional battles all across the board during training camp and I’m sure there will be a name that was not mentioned that will surprise us all. As always these are just my observations and opinions and I’d love to hear yours in the comments. Thank you for reading and Go Chiefs.
