Kansas City

Chiefs

Not a hard choice. Anudike-Uzomah missed all of last season with a hamstring strain. He has three sacks in 34 games and has started just three of those 34 since being drafted with the 31st pick in 2023. Anudike-Uzomah may struggle to make the roster this season.

“Once you start the clock, then the clock’s got to be rolling,” Reid said Saturday. “You just have to evaluate what you want to do there. But he’s in a position where he can do everything, I think.” The timing (Week 15) and severity of Mahomes’ injury would typically have a player in real danger of missing the following season’s opener, but the regular rules have rarely applied to Mahomes. Reid’s quotes suggest this time will be no different. Mahomes will probably still begin training camp on the active/PUP list, but at this point we would probably put his odds of being ready for the opener greater than 50 percent.

Smith spent five seasons in college, including three at Stanford and two at Texas A&M. Smith (6'/208) rushed 44 times for 205 yards and four touchdowns in his final college season, and caught 4-of-5 targets for 18 yards. Former Cowboys star RB Emmitt Smith is EJ’s father.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is currently rehabbing a season-ending knee injury, and although he has a chance to return in time for Week 1, it takes time for players to return to full strength. Enter new Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker, who Veach reminds us was the Super Bowl LX MVP. He adds that the team feels “real good” about the offensive line. Veach also indicates that the team intends to pass the ball more often as the season progresses, but if the run game is working, who’s to say they take the proverbial foot off the pedal? Walker warrants low-end RB1 treatment at this time. He is backed up by veteran RBs Brashard Smith and Emari Demercado, and fifth-round rookie RB Emmett Johnson. The depth chart order behind Walker will become clear in training camp.

Mahomes has a chance to return in time for Week 1 after suffering season-ending ACL and LCL tears last year. It sounds like the plan is to rely on the run game and the defense for the first half of the season, as Mahomes “is working back from that injury.” For those concerned that the Chiefs might stick with that game plan all year, Veach adds that he hopes by “mid-season [or] late season, Pat’s in that groove and we have this thing cooking.” We believe he’s saying that the Chiefs intend to increase their passing frequency as the season progresses and we will continue to monitor Mahomes’ offseason participation. For now, RB Kenneth Walker looks like a safe bet to handle a hefty workload this year.

Kansas City traded up to take Johnson with the 161st overall pick in the draft, adding the Nebraska product to a revamped backfield alongside free agency splash signing Ken Walker III and Emari Demercado. “He’s a juke button, he has very good feet, vision, feel, and he’s very good out of the backfield,” Nutt said of Johnson, 22, who had a 100th percentile college dominator rating at Nebraska along with a 99th percentile college target share. Arrowhead Pride’s Ron Kop, Jr. said the rookie is “projected to be the immediate backup to Walker in the lead-back role, but don’t be surprised if Johnson earns his way onto the field on pass downs or in other situations.” Johnson, who had 1,823 total yards in 2025, is a good candidate to catch major redraft stream this summer.

Smith spent eight seasons with the Buccaneers, who drafted him in the 2015 NFL Draft’s second round, before signing a one-year deal with the Chiefs back in 2023. He has not played since that season. In 2020, Smith’s Buccaneers defeated the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV and in 2023, his Chiefs defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Smith was also named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2015. He earned more than $66.6 million over the course of his career.

Anthony Jr. (6’6"/258) started all four of his seasons at Duke, giving him over 1,700 career defensive snaps with a couple hundred more on special teams. He peaked at 7.5 sacks with 13 TFLs in 2025. His advanced numbers weren’t quite as impressive. He ranked 104th among EDGE defenders in pressures (32) and had a 33.3 percent missed tackle rate, which is one of the highest marks in the class. Antony Jr. has enough bend to turn the corner and chase down quarterbacks, but he’s a liability in the run game and tends to get manhandled if he doesn’t get by tackles on his first go. He will need a year on a practice squad to develop his power at the NFL level.

A strong athlete coming out of Wyoming, Gyllenborg (6’6/249) is a solid receiver with room to grow as a blocker. He dealt with injuries in his final two seasons, with a 30/425/3 receiving line in 2024 and a 24/217/1 line in 2025. Gyllenborg initially played basketball in high school and had limited football experience, but his size and athletic traits led to recruiting interest from colleges. As a raw late-bloomer for football, Gyllenborg’s 4.60 40-yard dash and large frame give him the athletic profile NFL teams like to bet on. He will need to be developed further as an inline blocker in order to provide more to a tight end room beyond speed and ball skills in the passing game. Gyllenborg’s athletic upside will give him a chance to make the Chiefs’ roster.

After spending three seasons with Lindenwood, Caldwell (6’5/216) transferred to Cincinnati and finished his college career with a 32/478/6 line as a senior. This came after he tallied 1,011 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior for Lindenwood. Caldwell is a tall, speedy prospect with athletic traits that will need to be developed. He doesn’t run a complex route tree and isn’t polished as a pass-catcher yet. Production at Cincinnati wasn’t anything exciting, but Caldwell’s athletic abilities showed both through his play and through a positive performance at the NFL Combine. His 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, vertical jump, and broad jump were all in the top-three at the wide receiver position. Caldwell’s size and athleticism make him an intriguing developmental receiver at the NFL level.