How did the rookies on the Kansas City Chiefs play in the 27-24 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals?
The Kansas City Chiefs have fallen to 9-3 after losing their third consecutive game to the Bengals 27-24. Which rookies saw playing time against Cincinnati and how did those players perform?
The Chiefs selected ten players in this 2022 NFL Draft, with nine of them making the final roster after training camp, and eight have seen playing time on offense or defense so far this season. Despite making the final roster, Darian Kinnard has only dressed for one game this season, in which he only saw six snaps on special teams, and Nazeeh Johnson is on the practice squad but has dressed in several games this season, playing only special teams snaps.
Here are the snap counts for every rookie in Week 14:
- Joshua Williams, CB: 76 total snaps (66 defensive and 10 special teams)
- Trent McDuffie, CB: 73 total snaps (72 defensive and 1 special team)
- George Karlaftis, EDGE: 39 total snaps (33 defensive and 6 special teams)
- Isiah Pacheco, RB: 31 total snaps (25 offensive and 6 special teams)
- Skyy Moore, WR: 23 offensive snaps
- Leo Chenal, LB: 23 total snaps (6 defensive and 17 special teams)
- Bryan Cook, S: 20 total snaps (8 defensive and 12 special teams)
- Jaylen Watson, CB: zero
Jaylen Watson, Cornerback (Round 7, Pick 243)
Despite suiting up for the game on Sunday, cornerback Jaylen Watson did not play a single snap, on defense or special teams. It’s unknown (at the time of writing) whether he is injured or not, but it could be a sign that he’s benched as he’s played only 47 defensive snaps in the five games since the bye week.