Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Kansas City's six rookie draft picks are pushing five veterans for roster spots during minicamp this week
- Each rookie brings specific skills that could immediately upgrade positions currently held by aging or inconsistent players
- The outcomes will reshape the Chiefs' depth chart and determine which veterans survive the first training camp cuts
The NFL Draft is an opportunity for teams to replenish their rosters with younger talent but every year the new additions make some veterans sweat nervously, fearing their time with a team may be coming to a close. As rookie minicamps get underway, the Kansas City Chiefs are one franchise to keep an eye on as their six selections attempt to impress coaches and front office staff.
Particularly, there are five positions where these rookies could earn roster spots and achieve their NFL dreams but it may come at the cost of a veteran trying to elongate their own.
DT Khyiris Tonga
Currently Kansas City's starting right defensive tackle with Chris Jones to his left, Tonga is a bit of a journeyman who appears to still have a lot to prove. He's played with four different teams across five seasons and most recently helped the New England Patriots get to the Super Bowl. However, Tonga recorded just nine solo tackles in 14 games and failed to reach an opposing quarterback. He earned a 67.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus (38th out of 134) yet his 14 pressures were subpar compared to the rest of the league.
Enter second-round pick Peter Woods out of Clemson. The 6-3, 298-pound defensive lineman is going to take someone's job and be a starter at some point this season and Tonga looks the likeliest target. In fact, Woods was likely selected to succeed the 32-year-old Jones at some point but he would prove the front office correct in their assessments by getting a head start this year.
DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah
The 24-year-old Uzomah missed all of 2025 with injury and enters this season having to fight for his spot. In two years as an NFLer, he has only 24 total solo tackles and three sacks. Uzomah has a promising career ahead of him if he's truly back to full health but any kind of setback or failure to grasp his opportunity is only going to open the door for a younger, hungrier prospect.
That would be R Mason Thomas in this case. The 6-2, 241-pound edge rusher out of Oklahoma is smaller than the typical model defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes but that suggests the latter is looking to evolve. That's a bad sign for Uzomah who could see his usage dwindle if Spagnuolo opts to deploy Thomas and his speed to get to opposing quarterbacks.
LB Cole Christiansen
Christiansen is listed first on Kansas City's depth chart at the moment but I've got a feeling he's going to wind up as a bench rider if not cut at some point. He played only three games last year and failed to record a solo tackle. In fact, Christiansen has played more than four games just once in his career and that was nine appearances in 2024. He's not exactly the face of consistency the Chiefs want.
Despite being listed as a cornerback, fourth-rounder Jadon Canady may see himself line up more often at linebacker. At least, that's how the team has him on the depth chart behind Christiansen. It would make sense if Spagnuolo has a vision of using his 5-11, 181-pound frame to fein pass rushes but have Canady drop back in coverage. That would make him more versatile than Christiansen in the long run.
RB Emari Demercado
The former Cardinals backup joined Kansas City thinking he'd have a shot at starting snaps in the backfield with Patrick Mahomes. Then Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker showed up. Okay, continuing as a backup won't be a bad thing, especially with how Walker best succeeded in a system that featured Zach Charbonnet finding the endzone more often than he did. Then Nebraska's Emmett Johnson was drafted in the fifth round.
Johnson, 5-11 and 200 pounds of muscle, is meant to compliment the Walker-Demercado duo. But as we've seen with other late-round gems like Cam Skattebo, all it takes is one angry run to impress a coaching staff. Johnson is more than capable of breaking off a few of those. He rushed for 1,451 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Cornhuskers last year, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Johnson doesn't have to be a Skattebo to pass Demercado on the depth chart, he just has to be himself.
QB Chris Oladokun
The South Dakota State product wasn't meant to see the field last year, alas, he made three appearances after Mahomes and backup Gardner Minshew went down with injuries. He managed just 235 yards and a single touchdown but coughed up the football twice. It would be harsh to penalize him for being thrown into the furnace like that but when you're the emergency QB, your job is literally just to stop the bleeding. With Mahomes expected to be healthy by Week 1 and Justin Fields arriving to back him up, head coach Andy Reid may turn the emergency spot into a project.
That's where LSU's Garrett Nussmeir comes in. The 24-year-old toughed his way through injury last year and it absolutely tanked his draft stock. While it appeared unfair, fate may have landed him right where he needed to be in Reid's hands. He can learn from Mahomes while using his previous misfortunes as motivation to prove the haters wrong. That usually results in a veteran getting the boot to make way for the young gun.
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