Through plenty of adversity, the Kansas City Chiefs have reached their bye week undefeated at 5-0.
It's an early bye for Kansas City this year, but perhaps coming at a good time as they have piled up plenty of injuries and have played a tough schedule. When the Chiefs return to action on October 20th against the San Francisco 49ers, hopefully they'll begin to get more contributions from their rookies.
Outside of wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the 2024 Chiefs rookies haven't made much of an impact, especially compared to the previous two draft classes. Perhaps that will change the more they break in down the stretch. Below we'll provide rookie report cards for each player in the order they were drafted, including one undrafted free agent.
*Disclaimer: List will not include sixth-round pick CB Kamal Hadden, who didn't make the team and is now with the Green Bay Packers.
WR Xavier Worthy
Worthy has been the only rookie to really contribute for the Chiefs so far this season. He had a sizzling debut, racking up 68 total yards and scoring two touchdowns. He has made explosive plays both as a pass catcher and a runner, totaling 221 yards and a team-high four touchdowns on the season.
The Chiefs will lean on Worthy even more down the stretch with Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice both out for the season. Coach Andy Reid will likely continue to increase his workload and responsibilities as the year goes on, similar to what he did with Rice in 2023. Hopefully for the K.C. offense, Worthy takes another big step forward in his development come playoff time.
Grade: B+
OT Kingsley Suamataia
The Chiefs quickly gave Suamataia the starting left tackle job early during training camp. He had a solid camp and preseason by all accounts, but it did not translate to the regular season. Suamataia had a tough Week 1 outing against the Baltimore Ravens, then got absolutely dominated in Week 2 by Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
K.C. had no choice but to bench Suamataia for second-year tackle Wanya Morris. Though he hasn't been perfect, Morris has played better than Suamataia and doesn't appear to be letting the starting job go anytime soon. Barring injury, it looks like Suamataia will have to wait until next year to get another crack as a starter.
Grade: D-
TE Jared Wiley
Wiley was one of the stars of training camp, making eye-popping catches and getting run with the starters. He is very physically impressive at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds. Unfortunately, he has yet to make any impact, having just one catch for seven yards on the season.
It's hard to be too tough on Wiley, though, given that he's playing behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray. The Chiefs have made Kelce a big focal point each of the last two weeks with Rice down, and Gray's role within the offense has increased as expected. The upside is still there, but Wiley is going to be more of a project than a weapon as a rookie.
Grade: C
S Jaden Hicks
Hicks was another standout at training camp and he also had a very good preseason. However, like Wiley, Hicks finds him self buried a bit on the depth chart. He has played mostly on special teams and has only gotten 13 snaps on defense, recording three tackles.
As the season continues to unfold, Hicks may see his role increase. He'll also be the next man up if either Bryan Cook or Justin Reid go down. Hicks still has great potential, but it's unclear how much we'll get to see of it in 2024.
Grade: C
C Hunter Nourzad
Nourzad was selected in the fifth-round to be Creed Humphrey's backup and possibly rotate a little at guard. He impressed enough during preseason to make the team, but is destined to be a backup after the Chiefs gave Humphrey a long-term contract a couple of months ago. He hasn't seen the field on offense yet, but has played 25 snaps on special teams. A fair evaluation can't be given to Nourzad at this time.
Grade: Incomplete
G C.J. Hanson
Hanson impressively made the roster as a seventh-round pick. He has yet to be active for a game this season and likely won't unless there's an injury. If Trey Smith leaves in free agency after this year, Hanson could compete for a starting role in 2025. Until then, like with Nourzad, there's no evaluation for Hanson at this point.
Grade: Incomplete
RB Carson Steele
Steele was the biggest star of the preseason for K.C., showing off his power running style and scoring two touchdowns. He deservingly made the team, and quickly found himself in an important role when starting running back Isiah Pacheco went down.
While Steele has had a handful of impressive runs this season, he has unfortunately developed a fumbling problem, putting the ball on the ground three times with two of them resulting in turnovers.
With Kareem Hunt now back in the fold, Steele has been regulated to the occasional carry and some fullback duty. When Pacheco returns, it will be tough for Steele to see the field. Steele deserves a ton of credit for making the team as a UDFA, but it looks like his fumbling issue is going to cost him a lot of snaps.
Grade: B-
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