Chiefs players who need strong performances vs. Washington Commanders

In Week 2 of the preseason against Washington, there are many players that need to play well in order to make the Chiefs. Which players need a strong game?

With the Kansas City Chiefs finishing up their 2022 training camp in St. Joseph, they will turn their attention to their second preseason game against the Washington Commanders. The NFL is also under two weeks away from the August 30th deadline to trim its roster down to no more than 53 players. That means Kansas City must waive over thirty players between now and then and there are a lot of tough decisions to make. With that being said, which players on the roster need to have a strong performance to greatly improve their chances of making the active roster for Week 1?

I cannot include every single bubble player but so there will likely be some notable omissions. I will also limit the scope of this list to players who both have a realistic chance to make the team but are also not completely safe from being cut.

Ronald Jones/Derrick Gore, Running Backs

I decided to combine Derrick Gore and Ronald Jones into one section since they are in pretty much the exact same situation. They’re both behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Isiah Pacheco, and Jerick McKinnon on the Chiefs’ running back depth chart and both had very weak outings against Chicago last week.

Jones is very weak when it comes to pass protection and that mixed with Pacheco’s strong camp may be catastrophic for his chances of making the team. The only reason asset he has going for him is his power running but that may not be enough to survive the preseason. Gore has shown flashes in the past but it’s tough to say that he’s better than CEH, Pacheco, or McKinnon. He’s likely destined for another season on the practice squad unless he can have strong games against Washington and Green Bay.

It seems like the Chiefs are inevitably going to roll with CEH, Pacheco, McKinnon, and Burton as the guys in the backfield but if either one of Derrick Gore or Ronald Jones wants to convince Kansas City to ride with a fifth guy, then they need to have strong games against both Washington and Green Bay in the final two preseason games.