Chiefs Rookie Review, Week 4: Wharton, Townsend shine vs. Patriots

Tershawn Wharton

In what has been the single greatest surprise of the season thus far as it relates to Kansas City rookies, defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton not only continues to be active but a tremendous contributor along the defensive front.

It was going to be interesting to see how the Chiefs used Wharton after Mike Pennel returned from suspension in Week 3. Then we learned that Kansas City had a lot of faith in their undrafted rookie free agent, as he still saw significant snaps against Baltimore.

When it was made clear that Chris Jones would be inactive against New England, you had to know that Wharton would see significant action as a result—and he certainly did! Wharton was in on 41 defensive snaps, or 55% of all snaps, for the unit on Monday. Wharton only recorded one tackle in Week 4, but he was effective stuffing the middle. Perhaps his best play of the night was running down Patriots’ running back James White from behind, showing tremendous hustle for such a big man.

Does Wharton remain active with the return of cornerback Bashaud Breeland next week? One would think yes, considering his production and Jones’ injury, but he’s definitely on a short list of folks who could be moved to make room despite his production.