With Week 6 in the books, some interesting trends are emerging among the Kansas City Chiefs' snap counts in 2026. After the team's most recent win over the L.A. Chargers, a 22-6 divisional victory that brought them to 5-0 so far on the year, it's becoming easier to interpret how coaches view specific players and positions.
This week's snap counts shed some light on lower-tier receivers and highlighted the grit of an icon. Let's take a look at what we learned or found reinforced this week by the Chiefs.
The Chiefs trust Andrew Armstrong
With the loss of two of the Chiefs' three best wide receivers to injury before the bye, it was clear more reps were falling to someone else. Few would have pegged Andrew Armstrong for 42 snaps on Sunday, especially because he was just promoted from the practice squad for the game. However, Andy Reid said he was always a guy who "was right on the border" of earning an active roster spot. The Chiefs gave him plenty of opportunity in his debut.
Cyrus Allen still struggles to find PT
Cyrus Allen was a preseason sensation as a rookie. The fifth-round pick looked like a real playmaker for a WR room that needed someone with some separation ability to get open looks. So far this season, however, Allen's been squeezed out of playing time. Even with Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton out, Allen only played on 15 percent of snaps (9) in Week 6. But Allen was targeted 3 times in that limited sample size and came away with two catches and a defensive pass interference. The talent is real if the Chiefs would only unleash it.
Travis Kelce is tough as nails
The Chiefs' legendary tight end had every reason to sit out much of Week 6. After injuring his right ankle early, he came out of the game while trainers taped him up. He came back out to have it retaped, but insisted on playing 66 percent of snaps anyway through game's end. The Chiefs were steamrolling the Chargers' efforts even on a bad day, so Kelce could have enjoyed quite a bit more rest. Instead, he pushed through for four quarters and ended up with 4 catches for 53 yards.
Mansoor Delane has turned into a fixture
A shoulder injury suffered during offseason training activities kept Mansoor Delane from most of the Chiefs' summer activities. Another shoulder concern suffered within the first few plays of Week 1 kept the Chiefs' top rookie on the sidelines once again. But as he's healed up, Delane has blossomed into a playmaking fixture in the secondary. He played 96 percent of snaps on Sunday against the Chargers. It's nice to see him healthy and turning into such a trusted presence in the secondary.
Brashard Smith has no purpose
It's weird to see Brashard Smith buried on this roster. While it's understandable that the Chiefs are leaning on others in the backfield so heavily, the return situation ((or even some a scripted look or two during a game) would make a lot of sense for Smith's involvement. Instead, the Chiefs trot out a very mediocre Nikko Remigio while keeping Smith on the bench for all but a single special teams snap on Sunday. Make it make sense.
Kenneth Walker's usage rate is going to be hard to slow
In a perfect world, the Chiefs would find ways to ease up on Kenneth Walker's snap counts. He played 45 snaps on Sunday (74 percent). Even Walker's lowest game in terms of snap share (68 percent) is higher than any single game he played in his final season with the Seattle Seahawks, where the highest was 62.5 percent. The Chiefs just played a few of their weaker opponents, too.
Add us as a preferred source on Google