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Kansas City Chiefs: Pre-training camp 53-man roster prediction

By Lyle Graversen

ST JOSEPH, MISSOURI - JULY 30: Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes #15, Anthony Gordon #8 and Shane Buechele #6 of the Kansas City Chiefs look on during drills at training camp at Missouri Western State University on July 30, 2021 in St Joseph, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
ST JOSEPH, MISSOURI - JULY 30: Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes #15, Anthony Gordon #8 and Shane Buechele #6 of the Kansas City Chiefs look on during drills at training camp at Missouri Western State University on July 30, 2021 in St Joseph, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /
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Chiefs, Nick Bolton
Nick Bolton, KC Chiefs. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Linebackers (6)

  1. Nick Bolton
  2. Willie Gay Jr.
  3. Leo Chenal
  4. Jermaine Carter
  5. Elijah Lee
  6. Mike Rose

I considered only keeping five linebackers, but last season the Chiefs regularly used four different linebackers in the same game on defense (Anthony Hitchens, Nick Bolton, Willie Gay, and Ben Niemann). If K.C. were to do that again this season and only kept five it just doesn’t leave much depth at all in case of injury. Plus, linebackers are always a major position of importance on special teams.

The Chiefs have a really young starting three with Bolton, Gay, and rookie Leo Chenal so keeping a couple of guys with NFL experience like Jermaine Carter and Elijah Lee makes sense. Undrafted rookie Mike Rose was predicted to be a mid-round pick and has some athletic upside. I think he’ll earn his way onto the team with great special teams play.

I’m really excited about this linebacker group and can’t wait to see how they look in camp and the preseason. Now let’s talk about the very young and very crowded defensive backfield.

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