The Kansas City Chiefs have established both their 53-man roster as well as their 10-man practice squad for the start of the 2018 NFL season, and while every personnel guy across the league would tell you that the process is never really finished, the bulk of the transactions for the Chiefs are over for the time being.
Here are 10 things you might not know about how it all came together over the last few days—starting with the Chiefs' 53-man roster:
1. Breakdown of the positions
The Chiefs have 25 defensive players on the roster.
Defensive Line – 6
- Allen Bailey, Chris Jones, Xavier Williams, Justin Hamilton, Jarvis Jenkins, Derrick Nnadi
Linebackers – 9
- Five ILBs (Reggie Ragland, Anthony Hitchens, Terrance Smith, Dorian O'Daniel, Ben Niemann)
- Four OLBs (Justin Houston, Dee Ford, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Breeland Speaks)
Defensive Backs – 10
- Five safeties (Eric Berry, Ron Parker, Eric Murray, Armani Watts, Jordan Lucas)
- Five cornerbacks (Kendall Fuller, Steve Nelson, Orlando Scandrick, Tremon Smith, Charvarius Ward)
The Chiefs have 25 offensive players on the roster.
Quarterbacks – 2
- Patrick Mahomes, Chad Henne
Running Backs – 5
- Anthony Sherman, Kareem Hunt, Spencer Ware, Damien Williams, Darrel Williams
Tight ends – 2 (Demetrius Harris is on the suspended list)
- Travis Kelce, Alex Ellis
Receivers – 6
- Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Chris Conley, Demarcus Robinson, Marcus Kemp, De'Anthony Thomas
Offensive Linemen – 10
- Eric Fisher, Cam Erving, Mitch Morse, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Mitch Schwartz, Andrew Wylie, Bryan Witzmann, Jordan Devey, Ike Boettger, Kahlil McKenzie
The Chiefs also have three specialists
- Punter – Dustin Colquitt, Kicker – Harrison Butker, Longsnapper – James Winchester
Photos from Chiefs vs. Packers Game preseason Week 4 game
2. The average age of players
The average age of the Chiefs' 25 offensive players is 25.64 years old.
The youngest player on offense is rookie sixth-round pick Kahil McKenzie, who is 21 years old, and the oldest player is backup quarterback Chad Henne, who is 33. The only two players who are 30 years or older are Henne and offensive lineman Jordan Devey, who is 30.
The average age of the Chiefs' defensive players is 25.36 years old.
The youngest players on defense are cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and Tremon Smith, safety Armani Watts, defensive lineman Derrick Nnadi, and outside linebacker Breeland Speaks, who are all 22 years old.
The oldest players on defense are safety Ron Parker and cornerback Orlando Scandrick, who are both 31 years old. Defensive lineman Jarvis Jenkins (30) is the only other player who is at least 30 years old on the defense.
3. The Chiefs are carrying just two quarterbacks, which is rare
For the first time since Andy Reid has been the head coach of the Chiefs, which spans five years, the team will begin the season with only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster—Patrick Mahomes and Chad Henne.
Matt McGloin, who wasn't a part of the initial 37 cuts on Saturday, was released on Sunday after the team was awarded former Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Ike Boettger.
Undrafted rookie quarterback Chase Litton cleared waivers and was signed to the practice squad, which general manager Brett Veach hoped was the case when he spoke to the media via conference call on Saturday.
4. Two rookie undrafted free agents made the team
The Chiefs have two undrafted rookies from this past year who made the 53-man roster in running back Darrel Williams (LSU) and linebacker Ben Niemann (Iowa).
"He came in with the right attitude," Veach said of Williams, who capped off a nice preseason with a touchdown reception last Thursday night over the Packers. "He came in and ready to work. That really intrigued us about him. With all these decisions, a lot of this goes into the background of these guys. He was a blue-collar guy. The kid is smart. He works hard and he does a great job in pass protection."
In regards to Niemann, who flashed from the very first preseason game, the body of work was just too good to pass up.
"You couldn't ignore the tape," Veach said of Niemann. "That was it. We actually had two teams that called us about trading for [Niemann], so we knew he wouldn't make it through the waiver wire claim. We knew he wouldn't make it to the practice squad."
Of players who were on the field for at least 20 percent of their team's snaps in the preseason, Niemann was the third-best linebacker in the league, per Pro Football Focus.
5. Four players on the roster weren't with them at training camp
There are four players on the Chiefs' current 53-man roster who weren't with the team at training camp. They are cornerback Charvarius Ward, safeties Jordan Lucas and Ron Parker, and offensive lineman Ike Boettger.
Ward and Lucas came over in trades before the initial cut down deadline, Parker signed on Sunday, and Boettger was picked up on waivers from the Bills.
6. Which college has the most players represented?
The Chiefs currently have four players who played at the University of Tennessee, which is the most of any school on their roster. The players are safety Eric Berry, punter Dustin Colquitt, tight end Alex Ellis, and offensive lineman Kahlil McKenzie.
The Chiefs do have three players each from Clemson (Sammy Watkins, Dorian O' Daniel, Jarvis Jenkins), Florida State (Terrance Smith, Cam Erving, Derrick Nnadi), and Iowa (Ben Niemann, Anthony Hitchens, Ike Boettger).
7. There's a lot of offensive linemen on the team
The fact that the Chiefs currently have 10 offensive linemen on the 53-man roster is a higher number than normal.
Here are three things to know about the Chiefs' 10-man practice squad, which was announced on Sunday:
8. Two players were here last year
The Chiefs have two guys on the practice squad who were on it last year in receiver Gehrig Dieter and safety Leon McQuay.
Dieter originally signed as an undrafted free agent last year out of Alabama, and McQuay was drafted in the sixth round in 2017 out of USC.
9. Six players were signed as undrafted rookie free agents
Of the 10 players who were signed to the practice squad, six of them were a part of the original 14 free agents who were signed after going undrafted this year.
Those players are defensive lineman Dee Liner, quarterback Chase Litton, cornerbacks D'Montre Wade and Arrion Springs, as well as offensive linemen Jimmy Murray and Ryan Hunter.
10. Two players earned spots after "trying out" during minicamps
The other two practice squad spots went to players who signed with the Chiefs following a couple of the minicamps this past spring, which they attended on a "tryout" basis.
Outside linebacker Rob McCray (Indiana) was signed after rookie minicamp the weekend following the draft, while receiver Josh Crockett (Nebraska) was signed after attending the veteran minicamp in June.
Crockett had one standout day in which he made two phenomenal catches during practice, and that's now led him all the way to the Chiefs' practice squad.