Welcome to Arrowhead Pride’s weekly snap-count analysis!
Let’s take a closer look at the Kansas City Chiefs’ snap counts in the 35-12 win over the New York Jets in Week 9. The starting lineups are courtesy of NFL Game Stats and Information, and the snap-count data comes from Pro Football Focus’ premium stats.
Starters (offensive): LT Kahlil Benson, LG Kingsley Suamataia, C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith, RT Jaylon Moore, QB Patrick Mahomes, WR Rashee Rice, WR Xavier Worthy, WR Cyrus Allen, RB Kenneth
Walker and TE Travis Kelce
Starters (defensive): DE George Karlaftis, DT Chris Jones, NT Khyiris Tonga, DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, LB Nick Bolton, LB Drue Tranquill, CB Kristian Fulton, CB Nohl Williams, S Chris Roland-Wallace, S Alohi Gilman and S Chamarri Conner
Did not play: N/A
Inactive: QB Garrett Nussmeier (Emergency third QB), CB Mansoor Delane (shoulder), FB Ben VanSumeren, DE Jack Pyburn, DT Peter Woods (neck) and OT Diego Pounds
The big takeaway: Kristian Fulton continues playing well in relief
With Delane out again, veteran cornerback Kristian Fulton stepped into a starting role for the second consecutive week. His role as a reliable outside cornerback was further solidified over 62 snaps and 39 snaps in coverage. He was targeted three times and allowed just one catch for five yards. He had a clean sheet on the penalty front after drawing a flag for over-aggressive coverage against the Denver Broncos.
It’s the fourth game this season that Fulton has had to fill in for an injured Delane, and he has stepped up in a big way seemingly every time. When you look at his entire season, Fulton has been faulted for just 50 receiving yards on 8 catches (15 targets) against him in coverage; quarterbacks are registering a 32.6 passer rating when targeting the veteran cornerback.
Kansas City has a strong trio of outside cornerbacks as it tries to figure out how best to cover the slot.
The Offensive takeaway: Chiefs have a WR3 by committee
The Chiefs’ wide receiver position continues to be led by Xavier Worthy (74% offensive-snap rate) and Rashee Rice (58%). After that, there hasn’t been a clear WR3 like there was when the group was completely healthy. Here’s how the rest of the group’s snaps broke down:
- Andrew Armstrong (22 snaps) — 0 targets
- Jalen Royals (21 snaps ) — 2 catches for 18 yards (1 first down)
- Cyrus Allen (19 snaps) — 1 target
Allen took a step back in playing time after 30 snaps in Denver; he did fumble a kick return this week.
Royals made a strong catch on a pass thrown over the middle in traffic, slightly behind him, to move the chains in the red zone.
Armstrong seems to have a defined role as the strongest blocker of the trio, so the coaching staff is trying to use each player to their strengths while general manager Brett Veach potentially adds a proven player to the mix before tomorrow’s trade deadline.
The Defensive takeaway: Chris Roland-Wallace has become one of defense’s key players
Since veteran slot cornerback L’Jarius Sneed was placed on the Reserve/Injured list before Week 8, the Chiefs have trusted safety Chris Roland-Wallace as the Nickel and primary slot defender.
With 45 snaps against New York, he out-snapped teammates in the secondary like safety Alohi Gilman (44 snaps) and safety Jaden Hicks (19 snaps). He has mainly been a staple in defending teams’ quick passes, but he was also used on blitzes a season-high five times in Week 9; he registered two hurries.
While I believe rookie Jadon Canady could eventually prove he has the coverage chops to be trusted more in the slot, Roland-Wallace is proving defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo right in trusting him to this extent, even after an undisciplined post-snap play that got him ejected in Week 6.
Offensive Snaps
Defensive Snaps
Special teams snaps
