2. Ihmir Smith-Marsette - Wide Receiver
The Kansas City Chiefs came into this offseason with a sizable portion of their wide receiver snaps up for grabs. The departures of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman meant that the Chiefs had multiple openings in their starting rotation. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is penciled in as one outside starter, but the rest of the wideout snaps were open for Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Rashee Rice, Justyn Ross, Justin Watson, and Richie James to compete for.
The only problem is that nobody apparently told Ihmir Smith-Marsette that he wasn't one of the guys fighting for those snaps. Throughout the preseason Smith-Marsette was constantly making big plays. He ended the preseason with an impressive stat line of 9 receptions for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even against backups, averaging 21.5 yards per catch is enough to turn some heads.
Smith-Marsette also has special teams upside as a potential punt returner and on coverage units. Once again, he is someone who seems like an ideal fifth or sixth wideout on a lot of NFL rosters. The problem for the Chiefs is if Toney is healthy, Smith-Marsette is the 8th wideout for them. While many fans are clamoring for him to make it over Justin Watson, the coaching staff loves Watson and he's been running ahead of Smith-Marsette all offseason. Richie James has looked good too as a possible receiver and as the primary punt/kick return man, so finding a spot for Smith-Marsette feels impossible.
Regardless of what happens with Smith-Marsette when the final roster is set, he has earned this spot on the list for elevating himself far above what Chiefs fans thought of him and making this a very difficult decision for the coaches and front office.
Finally, my top spot goes to the guy that ignored all the hype his primary competition was receiving, kept showing up and making plays, and may have earned himself one of the final roster spots on the team.