KC Chiefs rookie review, Week 5: Draft class struggles against Raiders

Tershawn Wharton

We predicted a few weeks ago, when Mike Pennel‘s return was on the horizon, that undrafted rookie free agent Tershawn Wharton would see a substantial decline in his snap count as a result. What we got was only a marginal reduction instead, primarily as a result of a hobbled and then absent Chris Jones in weeks three and four.

On Sunday with Pennel ready for his regular minutes and Chris Jones back on the field, our (rather obvious) hunch was proven true: Wharton’s snaps gave way to the more experienced and theoretically more talented veterans.

Now, whether or not Kansas City was any better off for it is anyone’s guess. The team showed little ability to get after Derek Carr, even with Jones back.

At any rate, what the team got from their first year lineman was a paltry two tackles. That was it, just two. Wharton was largely ineffective against Vegas’ offensive line and proved incapable of slowing Josh Jacobs.