Kansas City Chiefs: Undrafted free agents and their roster chances
By Grant Tuttle
The Kansas City Chiefs have a promising group of undrafted free agents joining training camp this year. Who stands the best chance of making the team?
Every year, several players who don’t get drafted end up proving to everyone how wrong we were about their abilities to play in the NFL. Every once in awhile, a player will not only exceed expectations, but also take the league by storm. Players such as A.J. Bouye, Chris Harris, Jason Peters, James Harrison, Antonio Gates, and Kurt Warner were all undrafted free agents at one point or another.
The Kansas City Chiefs have had numerous contributors from the undrafted free agent pool over the past several years, most notably running back Charcandrick West and tight end Demetrius Harris. One of the top offensive linemen in franchise history was also undrafted in Brian Waters. The question for today is, if the Chiefs decide to keep one or more undrafted free agents, who will they be? Who has the best chance to make this team?
After a brief write-up on each, my goal is to rate every Chiefs undrafted free agent with three tiers of chance to make the roster: good, fair, or poor.
Chase Litton, QB, Marshall
Chase Litton is one of the most intriguing players of this undrafted free agent class. Standing 6’5 and weighing 233 pounds, Litton has a strong frame. For reference, Ben Roethlisberger is 6’5 and 241 pounds. Also, Litton is more mobile than Big Ben has ever been.
In the film that I have watched, he looks like he could be good. He has some ability to make plays on the run and definitely has the ability to throw down field. Litton also possesses the ability to fit the ball in to tight windows with a relatively quick release. Unfortunately, Litton’s ability to throw accurately downfield is inconsistent. He also has trouble with “happy feet” after he gets hit.
From what I could see, Marshall had trouble with pass blocking in the first place. It appeared to me that Litton’s reads were limited on pass plays as well. The combination of these weaknesses as well as playing collegiate football at Marshall are what made him slip out of the draft. When I made my draft board, I had him as a 5th or 6th rounder, so I am thrilled that he managed to get to Kansas City.
Chance of making the roster: Good
The question is, can Litton take the third spot behind Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne? The Chiefs also brought in Matt McGloin earlier this offseason to potentially take that spot. If we look at how the Chiefs pick their quarterbacks, it appears to me that Andy Reid enjoys having a project player. In my opinion, Litton has a higher ceiling than McGloin and, for that reason, I expect him to make the roster.