Cut day is almost here and, on the whole, the Kansas City Chiefs should be staring down the barrel of too much drama in terms of the decisions that they have to make.
Obviously, the heavy-hitters like Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, L'Jarius Sneed and many, many others are secure in their 53-man roster spots, but the depth has pretty much decided itself throughout training camp and the preseason as well.
That doesn't mean that some of the players who are going to end up making the 53-man roster truly earned their spots. In fact, you could make the argument that several players are, more or less, backing into a roster spot for the 2023 season. These three players, in particular, stand out as near-locks to avoid being cut, but also as not being totally deserving of a roster spot.
Chiefs Rumors: 3 players who will make the 53-man roster but don't deserve it
3. Tershawn Wharton, DL
The biggest storyline for the Chiefs throughout training camp and the preseason has deservedly been the Chris Jones situation. But with the all-world defensive tackle on track currently to hold out into the start of the regular season and with veteran offseason signing Charles Omenihu set to miss the first six games of the year with a suspension, there is need to fill in the margins on the defensive front.
That's why Tershawn Wharton is likely going to end up on the 53-man roster. But his performance in his young career and his limited ability as he recovers from an ACL injury in the preseason don't necessarily warrant that.
Signed as a UDFA after the 2020 draft, Wharton has seen plenty of time on the roster and logged more than 100 snaps over the first five games of last season before tearing the aforementioned ACL. The problem is that he's not been effective.
Largely used as a pass-rusher with versatility due to being undersized as a tackle but big on the edge, Wharton registered just five pressures and one sack in the 140 total snaps he was on the field this season.
The biggest reason that he'd qualify as being undeserving, however, is the emergence of Danny Shelton throughout the preseason. The veteran defensive tackle was a bonafide standout for Kansas City and likely earned a 53-man roster spot. But with Jones holding out and Omenihu ineligible to make the roster, Wharton is going to survive cut day and perhaps have a chance to add job security when he likely has to see the field early in the season due to those absences.
2. Mike Edwards, S
With the departure of Juan Thornhill in free agency, the Chiefs were in a position this offseason where they needed to figure out the safety room behind Justin Reid, who is the only surefire starter in the group that they brought in for camp.
2022 second-rounder Bryan Cook has assuredly earned the starting job opposite Reid and rookie fourth-round pick Chamarri Conner was one of the preseason stars for the Chiefs. That then leaves veterans Mike Edwards and Deon Bush behind that trio with a host of UDFA signings filling out the depth at the position on the 90-man roster.
When cut day comes, the Chiefs are likely going to keep five safeties on the 53-man roster, which all but assures that Edwards is going to make it into the rotation. But when you look at what we've seen from the former Bucs safety recently, there's not much to indicate he's deserving of that role.
Some might try to argue the same for Bush in that capacity, but the former Bears defensive back actually shined in coverage for the Chiefs last season and could be a great situational and depth piece for Steve Spagnuolo's defense once again. Edwards, on the other hand, has shown some decline in his overall performance in recent years. More notably, there's not an area of the position where he truly stood out last year -- it was average or worse basically across the board.
The Chiefs like to have to have a deep-ish safety room, so Edwards' experience is likely enough to make him part of that. When you look at the body of work, however, his impact certainly doesn't warrant him being a lock for the 53-man roster.
1. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB
Remember when the Kansas City Chiefs used the final pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft to select LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and it was supposed to take the Patrick Mahomes-led offense to new heights? Well, even the Chiefs miss now and then, and this was undoubtedly one of those cases.
If you need an evidence of the lack of faith that Andy Reid and the coaching staff have in CEH at this point, his workload has diminished every year that he's been in the league to the point that he saw under 100 touches last season in 10 games -- which is also another issue in that he's missed at least three games in every season that he's been in the NFL.
Edwards-Helaire is already going to be buried on the depth chart when he does make the roster behind Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon. The preseason showing of La'Mical Perine might also propel the former Jet ahead of him as well. But the Chiefs have long valued rotating their backs and keeping four on the 53-man roster. So with Deneric Prince not producing in preseason action, it seems as if CEH will find himself safe on cut day.
But again, nothing in his three pro seasons to this point or in the preseason this year warrant him being a lock to make the roster. As a former first-rounder, there has been growing buzz that he could be traded, which is likely the only way that he doesn't end up on the 53-man roster. That's entirely plausible, but also speaks to how undeserving he is of a final roster spot if the team appears to be actively looking to move him.