After sitting on a couple of open roster spots for the first few days in training camp, the Kansas City Chiefs finally decided to invite a new face to training camp in St. Joseph. Former Iowa defensive end Ethan Hurkett will join the Chiefs with the full preseason slate of games still to play as the team looks to fill out the depth chart on the edges.
Hurkett joins K.C. at a position of need, having watched defensive end Ethan Downs tear his ACL early in camp. The Chiefs placed Downs on injured reserve, which not only shelved a useful player for the year but it also lessened the competition for the final roster spot at a position with questionable depth as it was.
Hurkett was passed over in the 2026 NFL Draft, but found himself with an opportunity to impress the Chiefs with a rookie minicamp invitation. While he didn't earn a permanent spot at the time, he was clearly the team's first call on any emergency list, which shows the importance for a prospect like Hurkett to stay in close orbit of interested teams.
It took Hurkett some time to blossom at Iowa over his five-year career—with only one sack in his first three seasons in Iowa City—but his production in 2024-25 was very impressive. Hurkett registered 22 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, and 14.5 sacks for the Hawkeyes in the last two seasons. He was No. 7 in the Big Ten a year ago in sacks.
The Chiefs have finally added some depth at defensive end in training camp after dealing with multiple injuries.
Hurkett, who measured at 6-3, 244 lbs. before the draft, comes in smaller than expected with a Relative Athletic Score of 6.72. However, his excellent scores in the 10-yard split (1.87 seconds) and vertical leap were encouraging (38.5 inches). Hurkett wasn't invited to the NFL Combine back in February, and The Athletic's Dane Brugler ranked him at No. 84 overall among draft-eligible edge prospects.
Given that defensive end Ashton Gillotte was also nursing a hamstring injury early in camp, in addition to Downs' placement on IR, the Chiefs needed another body in camp up front. George Karlaftis, R Mason Thomas, and Felix Anudike-Uzomah are going to eat the lion's share of reps, but there was room for another competitor alongside Tyreke Smith, Anthony Dunn, and VJ Anthony.
Hurkett has approximately two weeks to ingratiate himself with his new teammates and Steve Spagnuolo's playbook before the team's first preseason game against the L.A. Rams on August 15. But what's most important for his long shot opportunity is that he's arriving just in time for the pads to come on in practice.
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