The Kansas City Chiefs’ perfect run continued in Week 8 with Sunday’s 27-20 win over the rival Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. The defending Super Bowl Champions are now 10 victories away from a flawless regular season, leaving time to tell if they can continue racking up wins down the stretch.
Players have stepped up throughout head coach Andy Reid’s lineup, likely securing their future in Kansas City in the process. At the same time, despite all of the team’s early success, certain Chiefs are playing below expectations, which might be putting their future with the franchise in jeopardy.
Here’s a look at six Chiefs who are playing their way out of Kansas City’s 2025 plans.
1. Carson Steele, RB
After Isiah Pacheco fractured his fibula in Week 2, undrafted rookie rusher Carson Steele had the perfect opportunity to cement himself as the Chiefs’ No. 1 running back. After all, the ex-UCLA product showed some potential during the preseason with 87 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries.
Instead of stepping up, Steele struggled to look like an NFL player. The 22-year-old RB has only registered 140 rushing yards on 41 carries, resulting in an unimpressive 3.4 yards per carry. He’s also failed to leave a mark in the passing game, hauling in only three of his six targets for an additional 10 yards.
That’s without mentioning how Steele has struggled with ball security, tallying three fumbles in his first seven games. His lackluster performances have led to a 54.6 offense grade on Pro Football Focus, which is the third-worst showing of 62 eligible running backs.
With Kareem Hunt now excelling as the lead back despite not joining the team until late September, the writing is on the wall for Steele. It’s more likely that the Chiefs would rather run with Hunt as the RB2 upon Pacheco’s return rather than watch the undrafted rookie fail to make the most of any opportunity he sees.
2. Justin Watson, WR
The 2023 season was a career performance for Justin Watson as he played his second straight year with the Chiefs. The former 2018 fifth-rounder tallied new personal bests in receptions (27), receiving yards (460), and touchdowns (3) en route to winning the third Super Bowl ring of his career.
With Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown both missing significant time this season, optimistic Chiefs fans hoped to see an encore from Watson. Instead, he’s left the fanbase with much to be desired more often than not.
Through his first seven games, Watson has only hauled in 10 catches for 128 yards without a touchdown. He’s averaging fewer receiving yards per game (18.3) and yards per reception (12.8) than he did last year (28.8 and 17.0, respectively), which might indicate that his 2023 appearance was an exception rather than the rule.
What’s even more frustrating is that it isn’t as if Watson lacks opportunities. He’s played at least 51 offensive snaps in each of his last three games, after all. It’s just that he’s failed to make the most of every chance he gets, resulting in PFF‘s receiving 53.5 receiving grade — No. 109 of 117 eligible receivers.
Barring an incredible turnaround, Watson might be playing in Kansas City on limited time.
3. Kingsley Suamataia, OT
Remember when Kingsley Suamataia was supposed to be the Chiefs’ starting left tackle this season? The former BYU blocker was drafted 63rd overall by the franchise in April with the expectation that he could properly protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes for years to come.
Well, that experiment only lasted the first two games before the Chiefs promoted Wanya Morris to the starting LT role. Suamataia simply played too poorly in his first two NFL appearances to justify more opportunities, surrendering five pressures while taking two penalties on 64 passing downs.
Since his demotion, Suamataia has barely seen any playing time. The 21-year-old rookie has only played six offensive snaps in the last five games compared to the 23 he’s played on special teams during that stretch. It’s possible that Suamataia could start again if Morris’ current struggles linger, however, it’s hard to imagine the former providing much of an improvement based on what we’ve seen thus far.
Even though it’s only his first NFL season, Suamataia must be better as a second-round pick. Otherwise, the Chiefs could look to replace his roster spot as early as the offseason.
4. Derrick Nnadi, DT
Since being drafted 75th overall in 2018, Derrick Nnadi has been an integral part of the Chiefs’ defensive line. He started in 86 of his 98 regular-season appearances from 2018 to 2019 and played a big role in the franchise’s last three Super Bowl runs.
Jump ahead to the current campaign where Nnadi’s role has diminished. The former Florida State standout his played a backup role in each of his first seven games to begin the 2024 season, registering only two solo tackles while being limited to a career-low 17% of defensive snaps.
Nnadi has never been the most efficient tackler, however, that doesn’t change the fact that his 24.6 PFF tackle grade is seriously disappointing. That’s without mentioning how his 44.3 grade as a pass rusher is also the worst score of his seven-year career.
If Nnadi can’t get back on track, his playing time will only continue to diminish. Given that he’s becoming a free agent in 2025, it’s in his best interest to reverse course before the Chiefs decide that he doesn’t deserve another contract.
5. Skyy Moore, WR
Skyy Moore played to mixed results in his first two seasons with the Chiefs. Suiting up in 30 games during that stretch, the former 2022 second-round selection turned 43 receptions into 494 receiving yards and a touchdown.
After showing glimpses of potential here and there, Kansas City fans hoped to see him elevate his performance this fall — especially as the WR-related injuries kept piling up.
If you haven’t noticed Moore on the gridiron this season, you aren’t alone. The ex-Western Michigan playmaker has only been targeted three times so far and failed to catch any of those chances. He carries a 39.6 passer rating when targeted with a 33.3% drop rate while averaging 13.7 offensive snaps per outing.
Moore even went from returning 14 punts last season to zero this time around. Although he’s returned a pair of kicks in his last two outings, it’s hard to say if he can carve out a role as an efficient special teamer based on that small sample size.
Moore is currently sidelined with a core injury, leaving time to tell how he performs upon his eventual return. If he can’t prove why the Chiefs drafted him in the second round in the first place, it’ll be tough to feel good about his outlook in Kansas City.
6. Cameron Thomas, DE/LB
The Chiefs added some pass rush depth right before the 53-man roster deadline when they acquired Cameron Thomas from the Arizona Cardinals back in August. The hope was that the former San Diego State defender could rediscover his groove in Kansas City after a disappointing Year 2 with the Cardinals.
Playing time has been tough to come by for Thomas, though. The 6-foot-4 pass rusher has been inactive more often than not, leading to only six offensive snaps and 24 special teams snaps in three games. Unfortunately, his attempts to capitalize on his limited playing time have been unsuccessful.
Through his trio of appearances, Thomas hasn’t registered a single tackle or sack. In fact, he’s missed his only tackling attempt and has now played to a 31.8 defense grade on PFF. Needless to say, it isn’t the bounce-back performance that the Chiefs hoped to see from the ex-2022 third-round pick.
Thomas is only 24 years old, so it’s possible that he hasn’t come close to hitting his potential ceiling. At the same time, though, it’s hard to ignore the fact that his play has noticeably declined since his rookie campaign.
While Thomas is contracted for the 2025 season, playing games for the Chiefs next year is far from guaranteed. Spotrac lists Kansas City as being able to rid itself of his entire $1.4 million salary if they cut or trade him at any point next offseason.
In other words, Thomas must step up and find a way to secure his roster spot if he doesn’t want to be kicked to the curb by the Chiefs after one season.
