KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The unofficial depth chart the Chiefs publish ahead of each game rarely makes waves, but the chart distributed Monday night shows two brand new starters and other minor changes for Sunday's visit to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The depth charts lists Andrew Wylie as the starter at left guard. Cam Erving lined up left guard with the first-team offense for most of training camp and the preseason. The chart lists Erving as the backup at both left and right tackle. The depth chart also lists Jordan Devey and newly acquired Austin Reiter as the backups at center with Kahlil McKenzie the backup at left guard and Ike Boettger as the No. 2 right guard.
Defensive back Ron Parker, who signed with the club on Sunday, is listed as a starter at safety along with Eric Berry. Eric Murray, Armani Watts and Jordan Lucas are listed as backups.
The depth chart distributed by the team's public relations department is labeled as unofficial, but the document is reviewed by head coach Andy Reid. The chart should, as a result, reflect the coaching staff's intended lineup.
Parker listed at safety poses as a small surprise but not entirely unexpected. Although the Chiefs released Parker in March before re-signing him over the weekend, he played 80 games for the club over the past five seasons with 64 starts, including all 16 regular-season games last year.
But Wylie winning the left guard job stands as a more significant development. Erving spent the vast majority of training camp and the preseason at left guard with the No. 1 offense. Wylie briefly played left guard with the first-team when Erving left practice with a knee injury. Wylie also filled in at right guard after starter Laurent Duvernay-Tardif suffered a concussion.
The Chiefs intended to move Erving back to tackle upon acquiring him in trade with Cleveland in August 2017. But injuries prompted the Chiefs to keep Erving as an interior lineman, filling in at center and guard. The club consider Erving their best swing tackle candidate and most likely substitute for both left tackle Eric Fisher and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.
Wylie experienced one of the more meteoric rises during the team's training camp and preseason. He joined the Chiefs last December on the practice squad after stints with Indianapolis, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Chargers. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent from Eastern Michigan in 2017.