Marcus Harris
A “Reserve/Future” signee back in January, Harris was a seventh-round pick of the Texans in the 2024 NFL Draft before being part of Houston’s final roster cuts prior to the 2024 campaign. He then went on to spend time on several practice squads (Houston, New England and Buffalo) before signing with the Chiefs’ practice squad in late December.
The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Harris was the No. 15 overall defensive tackle available in his class according to Dane Brugler’s draft guide following a senior season in which he led Auburn in sacks (7) and tackles-for-loss (11). Prior to transferring to Auburn ahead of the 2021 campaign, Harris spent the first two years of his career at the University of Kansas.
Amari McNeill
An undrafted free agent signee, McNeill – who checks in at 6-foot-2 and 287 pounds – appeared in 32 games for Colorado over the last three seasons, tallying 77 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks and three forced fumbles in that time.
Prior to joining the Buffaloes, McNeill spent two seasons at Tennessee.
Damon Payne
Another rookie free agent signee, Payne recorded 348 defensive snaps during his lone season with the Wolverines, appearing in 13 games. Prior to transferring to Michigan, the 6-foot-3, 308-pound Payne played in 31 games with Alabama from 2022-24.
His 12 defensive stops last season ranked fourth among Michigan interior defensive linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.
Defensive Ends
Next, this breakdown of the Chiefs’ defensive ends begins with George Karlaftis, last year’s leader in defensive snaps among linemen, followed by a pair of recent Day 2 draft picks in Ashton Gillotte and R Mason Thomas.
The rest of the Chiefs’ edge-rushers are then listed alphabetically.
George Karlaftis
A consistent contributor throughout his career in Kansas City, Karlaftis has ranked either first (2025) or second (2022-24) on the Chiefs in pressures since joining the team as a first-round pick in 2022.
He led Kansas City with 66 pressures in 2025 to go along with 23 quarterback hits, 10 tackles-for-loss and six sacks, trailing only defensive tackle Chris Jones in the latter three categories for the team-lead.
Now entering his fifth season in the NFL, Karlaftis will be relied upon heavily once again in 2026 as one of Kansas City’s primary pass-rushers.
Ashton Gillotte
The No. 66 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Gillotte recorded 24 pressures, eight quarterback hits, three tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception last season. His 485 defensive snaps trailed only Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu among Chiefs’ edge-rushers.
The University of Louisville product earned several opportunities to play as the year went on, logging at least 50% of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps in each of Kansas City’s final five games, and heading into 2026, he has a legitimate chance to earn a starting role opposite of Karlaftis.