Of all 90 players on the Kansas City Chiefs offseason roster, Ethan Hurkett faced the longest odds to make the team. At least, that was true upon his arrival. With one week to go before roster cuts, however, he's at least making decisions much tougher on the coaching staff and front office than anyone anticipated.
Hurkett came to Kansas City as one of 20 rookie free-agent signings following a disappointing draft weekend in which 32 teams passed over the former Iowa pass rusher over the course of seven rounds. Even after signing with the Chiefs, however, Hurkett came to rookie minicamp along with 103 others—yes, 103—and left with the news of his release. As it turned out, the Chiefs were enamored with three of their 70 players trying out and released Hurkett (and DT Zach Picckens and QB Jake Haener) to help make room for the likes of offensive tackle Kahlil Benson and others.
Hurkett would remain available for any team to sign for the next few months as the calendar flipped to OTAs, then mandatory minicamp, then the start of training camp. In fact, it wasn't until promising second-year defensive end Ethan Downs suffered a season-ending ACL tear that the Chiefs looked Hurkett's way again.
Any player who signs with a team in August shouldn't last beyond that month, and no one here is predicting that Hurkett will leap over multiple competitors to make the team. But Hurkett is also not going to be the first player cut after seizing on the short window in camp and the Chiefs' preseason schedule to turn heads while he can.
Ethan Hurkett arriived in August but he's not the most obvious cut for the Chiefs at this point.
The primary piece of evidence working in Hurkett's literal favor with the franchise can be found in the transaction history. The Chiefs made room for veteran linebacker Cam Jones to reunite with Dave Toub a week ago, but another defensive end, Anthony Dunn, was cut instead of Hurkett. At the very least, the Iowa product learned there and then that he was higher than someone on the depth chart.
But Hurkett should be proud of his efforts because his in-game impact in preseason play has been noticeable. Hurkett played in 30 percent of defensive snaps in his first game, against the L.A. Rams, which was only days after his arrival in St. Joseph for camp. On Saturday, he played in 55 percent of snaps against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, giving him plenty more film, which plays to his advantage even if the Chiefs cut him (which they will). Hurkett had multiple snaps in which he provided a consistent push, and his effort was nonstop.
Hurkett was never a physical marvel (although his 1.84-second time in the 10-yard split shows the kind of burst he brings), nor did he come with an All-American level of production (although he ranked No. 7 in the Big Ten in sacks with 8 last year), but the floor felt higher when he was on the field for the Chiefs defense.
The sample size is small. The Chiefs have a number of players ahead of Hurkett to even make the 53-man roster. But for a player who didn't even arrive until a week after training camp began, Hurkett has turned into an interesting player to consider for a practice squad role. At the very least, if not, he's got some nice tape to convince someone else to take a chance on him.
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