With the Chiefs sitting at 5-0 after a 22-6 divisional win over the L.A. Chargers, the Week 6 snap counts are starting to show who this coaching staff trusts and who is still fighting for a role.
Some of the usage patterns are easy to read. Others are a lot more puzzling.
The clearest takeaway might be Andrew Armstrong. After the team lost two of its three best wide receivers to injury before the bye, the Chiefs needed bodies at the position, and Armstrong got the call up from the practice squad for the game.
He wasn’t just along for the ride, either. He logged 42 snaps in his debut, and Andy Reid said he was always a guy who "was right on the border" of earning an active roster spot.
Kansas City gave him a real shot to prove it.
Cyrus Allen, meanwhile, still can’t seem to break through. The rookie fifth-round pick flashed all summer as a preseason standout and looked like a possible answer for a receiver group that needed someone who could create separation.
But the regular season has been a different story. Even with Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton out, Allen played only 15 percent of the snaps, or 9 total, in Week 6.
Still, he made the most of the little work he got, drawing three targets and finishing with two catches plus a defensive pass interference. The talent is there.
The opportunity just hasn’t followed.
Travis Kelce also showed exactly why he remains such a fixture. He left briefly after injuring his right ankle early, had it taped up by trainers, then went back out for more treatment before returning to the field.
From there, he pushed through the rest of the game and played 66 percent of the snaps. Kansas City was controlling the Chargers anyway, so there was no need to force him back.
Instead, Kelce gutted it out and finished with 4 catches for 53 yards.
On defense, Mansoor Delane has become hard to miss. A shoulder injury during offseason training activities limited his summer, and then another shoulder issue in the first few plays of Week 1 kept him off the field again.
Since then, though, he’s settled in as a real presence in the secondary. Against the Chargers, he was out there for 96 percent of the snaps.
That’s the kind of workload that says plenty about how much the Chiefs now rely on him.
Not every usage decision makes quite as much sense. Brashard Smith barely saw the field, and that feels difficult to explain.
Kansas City is clearly leaning on other backs, but there’s still room for him in the return game or even for a scripted touch or two. Instead, the Chiefs kept him on the bench for all but one special teams snap while giving Nikko Remigio the heavier return role.
Kenneth Walker’s workload is headed in the other direction. He was on the field for 45 snaps, good for 74 percent, and even his lowest snap share this season has been 68 percent.
That’s higher than any single game he played in his final year with the Seattle Seahawks, when his peak was 62.5 percent. And with the Chiefs just working through a stretch of weaker opponents, that level of usage stands out even more.
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The timing only makes the Chiefs harder to deal with as they head into Week 7 still unbeaten. Mahomes ability to create on the move has always been a separator, and it is giving Kansas City the sort of margin for error most teams do not get. With Kenneth Walker III also drawing notice for his production, the broader picture is the one the rest of the league has been dreading: the Chiefs are finding answers in more than one place, and Mahomes is once again doing the most damaging work when the pocket disappears. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Bolton Just Passed A Chiefs Standard Fans Know Well
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The milestone carries some real weight because the standard he passed belonged to Derrick Johnson, one of the most respected linebackers in Chiefs history. Boltons consistency has become part of the backbone of this defense, and every time he stacks up another big-tackle performance, it reinforces just how central he has been to Kansas Citys recent success. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Passing Game Faces A Bigger Test Than One Shorthanded Win
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs kept the offense moving Sunday against the Chargers even without Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, turning a thin receiver room into a workable one in a 22-6 win. Mahomes finished 23 of 30 for 272 yards, leaning on Travis Kelce and getting meaningful help from Noah Gray, Xavier Worthy and a handful of other pass catchers who were able to stay involved throughout the game.
The bigger question for Kansas City is what this passing game looks like when the competition stiffens and the missing bodies matter more. The Chiefs were able to spread the ball around and still remain productive, with Cyrus Allen, Jalen Royals and Andrew Armstrong all contributing, but Sunday felt more like a proof of survival than a final answer about how the offense will function if the depth chart stays this way. [Read more 🡒]