3 Chiefs who will make the roster but don’t deserve it
- A beneficiary of the Chris Jones holdout
- A defensive back who fills out needed depth
- A RB who only makes the roster if he's not traded
Cut day is almost here and, on the whole, the Kansas City Chiefs should be staring down the barrel of too much drama in terms of the decisions that they have to make.
Obviously, the heavy-hitters like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, L'Jarius Sneed and many, many others are secure in their 53-man roster spots, but the depth has pretty much decided itself throughout training camp and the preseason as well.
That doesn't mean that some of the players who are going to end up making the 53-man roster truly earned their spots. In fact, you could make the argument that several players are, more or less, backing into a roster spot for the 2023 season. These three players, in particular, stand out as near-locks to avoid being cut, but also as not being totally deserving of a roster spot.
Chiefs Rumors: 3 players who will make the 53-man roster but don't deserve it
3. Tershawn Wharton, DL
The biggest storyline for the Chiefs throughout training camp and the preseason has deservedly been the Chris Jones situation. But with the all-world defensive tackle on track currently to hold out into the start of the regular season and with veteran offseason signing Charles Omenihu set to miss the first six games of the year with a suspension, there is need to fill in the margins on the defensive front.
That's why Tershawn Wharton is likely going to end up on the 53-man roster. But his performance in his young career and his limited ability as he recovers from an ACL injury in the preseason don't necessarily warrant that.
Signed as a UDFA after the 2020 draft, Wharton has seen plenty of time on the roster and logged more than 100 snaps over the first five games of last season before tearing the aforementioned ACL. The problem is that he's not been effective.
Largely used as a pass-rusher with versatility due to being undersized as a tackle but big on the edge, Wharton registered just five pressures and one sack in the 140 total snaps he was on the field this season.
The biggest reason that he'd qualify as being undeserving, however, is the emergence of Danny Shelton throughout the preseason. The veteran defensive tackle was a bonafide standout for Kansas City and likely earned a 53-man roster spot. But with Jones holding out and Omenihu ineligible to make the roster, Wharton is going to survive cut day and perhaps have a chance to add job security when he likely has to see the field early in the season due to those absences.