Chiefs rookie review: Draft class comes up big against Texans

Tershawn Wharton

Perhaps the biggest surprise out of the 53-man roster assembled by Veach, Reid and company was the inclusion of defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton. Wharton joined the team with little-to-no fanfare out of Missouri S&T and was, quite frankly, and afterthought for his first couple of months on the team. However, around the end of July, the tune started to change out of camp as Wharton started to turn the heads of the coaching staff.

At that point, the Chiefs also learned of the pending suspension of veteran run-stuffer Mike Pennel. Suddenly there was a hole in the interior defensive line rotation that would need to be filled, if only for the first two games of the season. Enter Wharton.

Wharton was active as the fourth defensive tackle on Thursday and saw significant snaps in the game after the team lost, Khalen Saunders with a dislocated elbow. And he was good! Wharton was solid at taking up space, though beat occasionally, and managed to get into the backfield a couple of times as well. He registered two tackles on the game.

He’ll be very important for the Chiefs in Week 2. Even in an ideal world where Saunders has no ligament damage in his elbow, he is highly unlikely to see the field next weekend and Pennel will still be suspended. That make Wharton—a small-school, DII prospect with long odds to make the team, let alone see the field—the first-off-the-bench defensive tackle for one of the best lines in the league.

It’s remarkable and looks like Veach may have found yet another diamond in the rough.