June 3, 2014; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs coach Andy Reid and players leave the practice field at the conclusion of OTAs at the team’s training facility. Credit: Teope
The Chiefs kick off Phase Three of the offseason workout program with the first set of organized team activities (OTAs) on May 26-28.
Teams are allowed 10 total days of OTA activities, and the Chiefs will conduct the second set on June 2-4 before closing out on June 9-12.
The Chiefs will hold a mandatory three-day minicamp on June 16-18 before reporting to training camp sometime in late July.
Outside of clear starters, the roster at this point of the offseason should be considered fluid, as there is a virtual certainty for additions and subtractions at various positions before training camp in St. Joseph, Mo.
The Chiefs are currently at the 90 maximum allowed on an offseason roster, and it breaks down with 45 players on offense, 41 on defense and four specialists.
Below is how the offense (rookies are italicized) shapes out by position before OTAs begin Tuesday, barring weekend transactions.
Click here to view the defense.
OFFENSE
| Quarterback (4) | Alex Smith, Chase Daniel, Aaron Murray, Tyler Bray |
Smith is the clear starter, and Daniel could get pushed by second-year pro Murray. They are without a doubt the top three quarterbacks on the roster.
Bray tore his ACL in early January and had surgery, which led to the signing of Terrelle Pryor, who was then released after the NFL Draft.
The Chiefs invited undrafted quarterbacks Bo Wallace, Michael Strauss, Cody Sokol and Chris Bonner to rookie minicamp, but opted not to sign either.
That the Chiefs chose not to bring aboard a quarterback after rookie minicamp to bolster depth before OTAs could be a sign Bray is ahead of rehabilitation.
For his part, Bray took to Twitter on the evening of the last day of rookie minicamp to provide an update on his recovery from ACL surgery:
Started running with 75% body weight and finished the last two minutes on 80%. Knee feels great another step closer.
— Tyler Bray (@tbrayvol8) May 18, 2015
| Running back (6) | Jamaal Charles, Knile Davis, De’Anthony Thomas, Cyrus Gray, Charcandrick West, Keshawn Hill |
The pecking order is Charles followed by Davis, and then it’s an all-out battle for the third running back spot.
The Chiefs carried five running backs (Charles, Davis, Thomas, Gray and Joe McKnight) into the 2014 regular season, but the versatile Thomas will see time at various positions on the field.
Gray, a standout on special teams, returns from a torn ACL and could see a challenge from West and Hill, who signed as an undrafted free agent following a rookie minicamp tryout.
West replaced Gray on special teams in 2014 after Gray landed on injured reserve.
| Fullback (2) | Anthony Sherman, Spencer Ware |
Sherman is the clear starter, while Ware signed a reserve/future deal in January.
| Wide receiver (12) | Jeremy Maclin, Jason Avant, Albert Wilson, Junior Hemingway, Frankie Hammond Jr., Armon Binns, Fred Williams, Da’Rick Rogers, Chris Conley, Da’Ron Brown, Donatella Luckett, Kenny Cook |
Maclin and Avant anchor a young and crowded wide receiver corps, and the latter becomes more crowded when considering the Chiefs also list De’Anthony Thomas as a running back/wide receiver.
The Chiefs carried six wide receivers (A.J. Jenkins, Donnie Avery, Hammond, Hemingway, Wilson and Thomas) into the 2014 regular season, and then it grew to seven after Dwayne Bowe served a one-game suspension. Bowe, Jenkins and Avery are no longer with the team.
Wilson offers promise after he enjoyed a strong finish to his rookie season, and Hemingway and Hammond bring experience.
Still, the Chiefs used the draft to add competition with the selections of Conley in the third round and Brown in the seventh round. The team then signed Cook and Luckett as undrafted free agents.
Binns and Williams spent time on the practice squad in 2014, while Rogers signed a reserve/future contract during the offseason.
Rogers, however, could be facing league action for recently pleading guilty to a DUI charge.
| Tight end (6) | Travis Kelce, Demetrius Harris, Richard Gordon, Adam Schiltz, Ryan Taylor, James O’Shaughnessy |
Kelce is the clear No. 1 with the departure of Anthony Fasano, who signed a free-agent contract with the Tennessee Titans.
Look for the Chiefs to return to three-tight end sets in the same fashion the team did last season before Harris suffered a season-ending fractured foot against the Buffalo Bills. And the current group offers options to accomplish that task.
Gordon brings experience and a veteran presence, Harris enters his third season in the scheme, while Shiltz spent time on the practice squad in 2014.
The Chiefs drafted the 6-4, 245-pound O’Shaughnessy in the fifth round, and he will need time to develop in the offensive system in the coming months.
The Chiefs added NFL playing experience with the signing of Taylor, a former seventh-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 2011 NFL Draft, to a free-agent contract.
| Offensive Tackle (5) | Eric Fisher, Donald Stephenson, Derek Sherrod, Jeff Allen, Kelvin Palmer |
Fisher is locked in at left tackle, so the battle comes at right tackle where the Chiefs also need to identify a swing tackle.
While Stephenson and Allen, both of whom know the offense, headline the competition, the 6-6, 321-pound Sherrod intrigues as a former first-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 2011 NFL Draft.
The Packers released Sherrod on Nov. 3, 2014 before he signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs on Dec. 30.
The Chiefs signed Palmer after he participated in the rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, and he offers depth. Palmer originally entered the league in 2014 as an undrafted free agent out of Baylor with the Arizona Cardinals.
Of note, Stephenson and Allen enter the final year of their respective contracts.
| Guard (5) | Ben Grubbs, Paul Fanaika, Zach Fulton, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Jarrod Pughsley |
Grubbs, a two-time Pro Bowl selection (2011, 2013), projects as the starting left guard after being acquired in an offseason trade with the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
Mike McGlynn, whom Grubbs replaced, recently signed a free-agent contract with the Saints, so the Chiefs in effect swapped guards.
The starting right guard position features a showdown between Fanaika, who signed as a free agent in March, and Fulton, last season’s starter.
Duvernay-Tardif enters his second season after being selected in the sixth-round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and Pughsley spent time on the practice squad last season.
| Center (5) | Eric Kush, Mitch Morse, Garrett Frye, Daniel Munyer, Melvin Meggs |
Kush, who enters his third season, was the lone center on the roster before the NFL Draft after Rodney Hudson left via free agency, but Kush now has plenty of company.
The Chiefs bolstered depth with the drafting of Morse in the second round and signing of Frye as an undrafted free agent.
The Chiefs also signed Munyer and Meggs as rookie minicamp tryout players. Munyer and Meggs also offer versatility and can play guard and tackle.
