Arrowhead Pride
To wrap up the 2025 season, the Kansas City Chiefs lost 14-12 to the Las Vegas Raiders on a game-deciding field goal in the final seconds.
Let’s look at how Kansas City used its players in their final opportunity to gain experience with live reps until August:
Starters (offensive): WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Marquise Brown, TE Travis Kelce, LT Esa Pole, LG Kingsley Suamataia, C Creed Humphrey, RG Hunter Nourzad, RT Chukwuebuka Godrick, WR Jalen Royals, QB Chris Oladokun and RB Brashard Smith.
Starters (defensive): DE Michael Danna, DT Chris Jones, DT Derrick Nnadi, DE Ashton Gillotte, LB Cooper McDonald, LB Nick Bolton, LB Drue Tranquill, CB Kristian Fulton, CB Nohl Williams, S Bryan Cook and S Chamarri Conner.
Did not play: None
Inactive: WR Xavier Worthy, RB Isiah Pacheco, CB Melvin Smith Jr., DE George Karlaftis, DE Tyreke Smith, G Trey Smith and NT Mike Pennel.
With a long list of veterans ruled out or on the Reserve/Injured list in Week 18, it was time for the Chiefs’ rookie draft class to be showcased. On offense and defense, every available draft pick played the highest rate of snaps with their respective unit this season:
Smith was the lead ball carrier against the Raiders. He was on the field for 12 running plays, doubling the number of snaps running back Kareem Hunt saw in that phase. He was also the Chiefs’ punt returner for the second consecutive week. Smith took advantage of those opportunities and flashed playmaking ability, leading to a question for the coaching staff: Why wasn’t he featured in the offense more this season?
Royals was in formation for 77% of Kansas City’s passing plays in Las Vegas. It was the rookie wideout’s first opportunity to contribute to the Chiefs’ passing game; before Week 18, Royals had four passing snaps the entire season.
When the Chiefs’ offense took the field in Week 18, there was a surprising first-time starter along the offensive line: second-year lineman Hunter Nourzad, who replaced Mike Caliendo at right guard. In the four games starting right guard Trey Smith missed, Caliendo was the substitute each time.
Nourzad played 100% of the snaps in Las Vegas, while Caliendo was a sixth offensive lineman in formation on each of his three offensive snaps. That is a role reversal; in the second half of the season, Nourzad was often the player brought in as the sixth man. While the lineup change could have been a short-term strategy to see more from Nourzad, the coaching staff may have seen enough of Caliendo to look elsewhere for a reliable backup guard in the future.
It’s also worth noting that tight end Jared Wiley played a season-high 19% of the offensive snaps,...
