Plotting the ideal offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs

Projected Chiefs Final Roster

After the projected moves made earlier in this article, here is what the final roster would look like. This will be incomplete as the team will add dozens of undrafted free agents immediately after the draft to fill out the rest of the roster heading into training camp.

Note: Bold = Veteran Addition and Bold Italicized = Rookie

Projected (Partial) Active Roster Heading into 2023 Training Camp

• QB (4): Patrick Mahomes, Shane Buechele, Max Duggan, Chris Oladokun
• RB (5): Isiah Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mohamed Ibrahim, Jerrion Ealy
• FB (2): Michael Burton, Hunter Luepke
• WR (12): JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Trey Palmer, Justin Watson, John Ross, Justyn Ross, Ty Fryfogle, Marcus Kemp, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Cornell Powell
• TE (5): Travis Kelce, Noah Gray, Jody Fortson, Matt Bushman, Jordan Franks
• OT (5): Orlando Brown Jr., Ja’Wuan James, Cody Mauch, Prince Tega Wanogho, Lucas Niang
• IOL (8): Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, Joe Thuney, Darian Kinnard, Nick Allegretti, Juice Scruggs, Mike Caliendo, Austin Reiter
• DE (7): Frank Clark, George Karlaftis, Marcus Davenport, Mike Danna, Ochaun Mathis, Joshua Kaindoh, Malik Herring
• DT (6): Chris Jones, A’Shawn Robinson, Khalen Saunders, Mazi Smith, Tershawn Wharton, Phil Hoskins
• LB (7): Nick Bolton, Willie Gay, Leo Chenal, Darius Harris, Aubrey Miller Jr., Jack Cochrane, Cole Christiansen
• CB (7): L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Joshua Williams, Starling Thomas V, Chris Lammons, Dicaprio Bootle
• S (7): Justin Reid, Bryan Cook, Keanu Neal, Brandon Joseph, Deon Bush, Nazeeh Johnson, Zayne Anderson
• K (2): Harrison Butker, Jake Moody
• P (1): Tommy Townsend
• LS (1): James Winchester

Again, this roster is incomplete (only 79 players in this projection) as the team will have approximately 90 players on the roster by the time OTAs roll around. The Chiefs will sign a boatload of UDFAs and likely add at least one or two veteran free agents off the street in June and July.

Top 51 Cap Space entering Training Camp: ~$6.74M

The Chiefs are in a weird, but also really good, position this offseason. They absolutely need to add talent but they will also see a lot of gains through the development/improvement of their young players, including Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, George Karlaftis, Trent McDuffie, and many more.

The Chiefs need to solve their offensive tackle conundrum and their defensive line concerns, but Brett Veach is an elite general manager with a fantastic team around him. He’s built two Super Bowl champions over the past four years, and he’s in a great position to build a third. He knocked the 2022 offseason, especially the draft, out of the park.

If the 2023 draft class is another strong one and Veach can invest wisely in free agency, then the Chiefs may very well be the NFL’s next dynasty.