The Chiefs’ Week 2 snap counts offered a clearer look at where this defense and offense are headed - and, in a few spots, where the coaching staff still isn’t ready to commit. In an overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts, some young players barely got on the field at all while a couple of veterans and role players carried heavier loads than expected.
The biggest eyebrow-raiser came at linebacker, where Jeffrey Bassa barely registered. After Leo Chenal’s offseason departure and with Cooper McDonald now on injured reserve for at least four weeks because of a knee injury, Bassa seemed positioned for a much bigger role.
Instead, he played just one rep against the Colts despite being healthy. Jack Cochrane, the super-sub in the group, ended up handling 40 percent of the snaps next to or behind Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill.
Bassa’s speed and athleticism would seem to fit the rest of the defense’s youth movement, but Kansas City clearly isn’t there yet with him.
A similar story played out with Mansoor Delane. Even with a healthy body and a game in which Daniel Jones had plenty of success against Chiefs defensive backs on key downs, Delane didn’t take a single snap. That leaves the situation murky for anyone trying to figure out why an available upgrade stayed on the sideline.
The slot corner picture is just as crowded - or, more accurately, not crowded at all in the way the Chiefs expected. Jadon Canady was brought in to work inside, Chris Roland-Wallace was already in that mix, and Kader Kohou was signed with the same idea in mind.
But after the Chiefs’ late-winter blockbuster trade that sent Trent McDuffie to the L.A. Rams, the team tried to replace him with numbers and options.
Instead, a reunion with L’Jarius Sneed seems to have pushed everyone else out of the job. Roland-Wallace logged only six snaps, Canady was limited to special teams, and Kohou is on the practice squad.
On offense, Kenneth Walker was treated like the centerpiece. He played 82 percent of the snaps, while Emmett Johnson got 18 percent.
Johnson has flashed in limited stretches, but Kansas City clearly wanted Walker on the field as much as possible, leaning on him as an offensive pillar. The split will be worth tracking as the season goes on, because it’s not the kind of backfield usage that suggests a true committee.
One other trend is starting to stand out on defense: the safeties are being pushed hard. For the second straight game, Steve Spagnuolo kept both Alohi Gilman and Jaden Hicks on the field for every snap.
Gilman, who signed a three-year deal in free agency this offseason, and Hicks, now in his third year, each played 100 percent of the defensive snaps. That workload is one thing in a blowout against the Denver Broncos, where only 51 defensive snaps were available, but it’s a different ask in an overtime game against Indy, where the defense had 65 snaps to absorb.
Chamarri Conner’s knee injury adds another layer to watch as the Chiefs continue sorting out how much they can demand from that safety group.
In Other News...
Chiefs Fans Turned Collinsworths Mahomes Commentary Into Another National Debate
A late-moment call from Sunday nights broadcast quickly became part of the Week 2 conversation around the Chiefs, and not because of anything that happened between the lines. During Kansas Citys overtime win over the Colts, Cris Collinsworth drew attention when he credited Patrick Mahomes for putting enough on a throw that Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner could not come away with the interception, a remark that landed awkwardly with plenty of viewers.
For Chiefs fans, it was another reminder that Mahomes every move can become a national talking point, even when the bigger story is the team leaving Indianapolis with a 2-0 start. The play itself never changed the result, but the reaction around it showed how quickly a routine broadcast comment can turn into a fresh debate whenever Kansas City is on a big stage. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Escape Fuels One Roster Debate Fans Wont Drop
The Chiefs 33-30 overtime escape against the Colts gave Kansas City plenty to sort through beyond the final score, because the game turned into one of those early-season reminders that not every win feels equally comforting. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were again central to the attack, while Kenneth Walker, Nohl Williams and Tyquan Thornton each drew attention for the kind of impact that can shape how a roster looks as the year goes on.
Xavier Worthys quiet outing stood out in a different way, especially in a game where every offensive snap seemed to carry extra weight. When a team survives a tense finish like this, the next conversation usually isnt just about the win itself - it is about which performances are sustainable, which ones are temporary, and which roster debates are only going to get louder from here. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Have A Growing Problem Behind Kelce In The Passing Game
The Chiefs got the kind of uneven but ultimately winning performance they can live with in an overtime victory over the Colts, with Kenneth Walker and Travis Kelce doing much of the heavy lifting through the air. It was enough to get them across the finish line, but it also reinforced how much of the passing game is running through a very narrow set of trusted targets.
Behind Kelce, though, the picture has been far less stable. Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy have each flashed, but the receiver group has also been plagued by inconsistency, with separation issues and drops showing up early in the season. For a team that usually wants answers beyond its tight end, the lack of dependable production from the wideouts is becoming a real concern. [Read more 🡒]