3 major mistakes Chiefs can't afford to make on their final 53-man roster

The Kansas City Chiefs are attempting to do something that no other NFL team has been able to accomplish before -- win three straight Super Bowls. Their unprecedented run of dominance has been awesome to watch, and even with how difficult it is to win three in a row, a team with Patrick Mahomes simply cannot be ruled out.

With that being said, though, for the Chiefs to win another Super Bowl, they're going to have to be smart about the moves that they make.

Now that the preseason is done, Chiefs Kingdom has turned its attention to potential roster cuts. Their roster has to be trimmed down to 53 players by the time they take the field in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens. To give themselves the best chance to win, Kansas City should look to avoid making these three mistakes.

3) Deneric Prince did not show enough to make the Chiefs roster

One of the great stories to come from last season was the emergence of Isiah Pacheco. The former seventh-round pick completely took over Kansas City's backfield, rushing for 935 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games played, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt on the ground. He even chipped in another 244 yards receiving with a pair of touchdowns.

It will be Pacheco's backfield for the most part once again in 2024, but depth is important - especially at that position. Unfortunately for Kansas City, their quality depth is lacking.

They brought back Clyde Edwards-Helaire on a one-year deal, but he averaged a mere 3.2 yards per carry last season. He was the one who squandered the backfield to Pacheco, to begin with. Behind CEH, the depth is even harder to notice.

That lack of depth gave Deneric Prince, a former undrafted free agent out of Tulsa, a chance to make the team. Unfortunately for him, Carson Steele has outplayed him during much of the preseason, and Prince managed -1 yards on his three carries in Kansas City's last preseason game. He had two total yards on his four touches in that game. He had a chance to impress and earn a spot, but failed to do enough to show his worth.

The Chiefs will likely want to keep him around on the practice squad, and they should, but it'd probably be a mistake to have him on their 53-man roster come Week 1.

2) Chiefs should not roster more than two quarterbacks

When it comes to the quarterback room, no team is more set than the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback on the planet, and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time already. As frustrating as Carson Wentz can be, he likely has the backup spot locked in. That should be enough.

Mahomes has dealt with his share of minor injuries over the years, but is almost always able to suit up. Last season, he played in 16 of Kansas City's 17 games. The only one he missed was the final game of the season which didn't matter. In the two years before that, Mahomes played in all 17 games. He has been durable, and there's little reason to expect that to change.

If Mahomes does end up going down with an injury, Wentz would be next up on the depth chart. The Chiefs should not plan for the absurd scenario of both Mahomes and Wentz going down with injuries in the same game.

So while yes, Chris Oladokun and Ian Book have both had their share of good moments this preseason, neither should be on the team's 53-man roster. The Chiefs are better off using that spot as depth at another position.

1) Chiefs could choose to roster Kadarius Toney, which would be a mistake

The Chiefs made a blockbuster midseason trade during the 2022 campaign, acquiring former first-round pick Kadarius Toney in exchange for a pair of future draft picks. It's hard to fault Kansas City for making this deal. Toney has always been supremely talented, and he even showed that in one of their Super Bowl wins with the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.

As instrumental as Toney proved to be in that win, he has been mostly unproductive during his Chiefs tenure. Last season, he appeared in 13 games and totaled 27 receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown. He had four more dropped passes than touchdowns. He did not play in any of their four postseason games.

Not only has Toney been mostly unproductive on the field, but he's missed time due to injury, making him a tough player to roster. There's an argument for keeping him around, mainly revolving around a shallow wide receiver room following Hollywood Brown's injury and a possible Rashee Rice suspension, but he hasn't exactly played very well this preseason.

He's talented, but hasn't produced enough to earn this long of a leash. The Chiefs have other more reliable receivers to turn to.