Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart 2026
How to Read the Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart
The 2026 Kansas City Chiefs depth chart shows the projected player order at each position across offense, defense and special teams. The first listed player is the projected starter, followed by backups and additional positional depth. Roles may change following injuries, roster transactions and coaching decisions.
Patrick Mahomes is the Chiefs' starting quarterback, with Justin Fields as the backup. Kenneth Walker III leads the backfield; Jalen Royals, Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice (out) start at wide receiver and Travis Kelce at tight end.
Key
Role
Status
Offense
QB
RB
XWR
ZWR
SWR
TE
LT
LG
C
RG
RT
Usage = last three games in bold, season to date in grey, through October 25, 2026. Starters only. Full splits and league-wide comparison are in StatRankings+.
Defense
LDE
LDT
RDT
RDE
WLB
MLB
SLB
LCB
SS
FS
RCB
NB
Special Teams
| POS | Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PK | StarterHarrison Butker | |||
| P | StarterMatt Araiza | |||
| H | StarterMatt Araiza | |||
| PR | StarterNikko Remigio | RotationalBrashard SmithInjured ReserveRoster status | BackupTyquan ThorntonOUT | |
| KR | StarterNikko Remigio | RotationalBrashard SmithInjured ReserveRoster status | BackupEmmett JohnsonR | |
| LS | StarterJames Winchester |
Special teams, see Full Roster
Injury status: Week 7
- Tyquan Thornton (XWR): Out
- Rashee Rice (SWR): Out, hamstring, did not participate
- Jaylon Moore (LT): Out, concussion, did not participate
- Josh Simmons (LT): Out
- Cooper McDonald (SLB): Questionable, knee, limited participation
- L'Jarius Sneed (NB): Questionable, knee, limited participation
Kansas City Chiefs depth chart questions
Who is the Chiefs' starting quarterback?
Patrick Mahomes is the starting QB for Week 7. Justin Fields is the backup.
Who is QB2 for the Chiefs?
Justin Fields. Garrett Nussmeier is third on the depth chart.
Who is the Chiefs' RB1?
Kenneth Walker III. Emmett Johnson is the primary backup.
Who are the Chiefs' starting wide receivers?
Jalen Royals (X), Xavier Worthy (Z) and Rashee Rice (slot).
Who is the Chiefs' starting tight end?
Travis Kelce. Noah Gray is second on the depth chart.
Is Rashee Rice playing this week?
No. Rashee Rice is listed as out for Week 7 with a hamstring injury.
Chiefs usage: who is on the field and who is getting the ball
The Chiefs depth chart matches how they use it. Xavier Worthy leads the team in target share over the last three games at 19.0% and on the season at 18.4%. Travis Kelce is next at 13.1% over the same three games, down from 17.1% on the season, so the gap between them has widened from 1.3 to 5.9 points.
Jalen Royals has played 53.8% of the Chiefs' offensive snaps over the last three games, up from 32.6% season to date, the largest rise on the roster.
Kenneth Walker III is on the field for 74.0% of snaps over the last three games but runs a route on only 42.9% of dropbacks, the widest gap between the two on the roster. Worthy runs a route on 84.6% of the Chiefs' dropbacks over the last three games, the highest on the team, down from 85.7% on the season.
Walker has played 74.0% of snaps over the last three games, in line with 74.8% season to date. Emmett Johnson is at 28.3%, against 27.3% on the season.
Snap share, route participation and target share cover the last three games, with season-to-date figures for comparison, through October 25, 2026. Minimums in those games: 37 snaps, 15 routes and 3 targets. Full splits and league-wide comparison are in StatRankings+.
