What do the Chiefs-Cardinals snap counts tell us about the depth chart?

At the beginning of last week, the Kansas City Chiefs released their first unofficial depth chart of the season. We use the word “unofficial” because history shows that these depth charts can be significantly off-base. But they still come from the team, so we pay some attention to them.

In recent years, NFL stats nerds have developed a new way to chart snap counts. It provides little value in the regular season — but during the preseason, it’s a valuable tool that can help us puzzle out a team’s depth chart.

Let’s see how Anthony Reinhard (StatButler.com) charted Saturday’s game between the Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals.

By looking at this data, we can estimate that going into Saturday’s game, Kansas City’s depth charts probably looked something like these.

Some notes

• During the preseason, we should expect depth charts to be fluid. Based on what happened during Saturday’s game, these have probably changed already. They could change again tomorrow.
• Strictly based snap counts, some players might have been higher on the depth chart going into Saturday night. But it’s probably unwise to depend exclusively on snap counts, because sometimes teams hope to generate trade interest by featuring a player they don’t think they’ll keep.
• We’re projecting cornerback Kristian Fulton — who did not play on Saturday — as a second-string player, based on where he played during Monday’s training camp practice. He was not listed on the team’s unofficial depth chart last week.
• For unknown reasons, Reinhard listed linebacker Cooper McDonald and cornerback Jacobe Covington as edge rushers.

We’ll look forward to seeing how this data changes when the Chiefs play the Seattle Seahawks on Friday night.