To wrap up the 2025 season, the Kansas City Chiefs lost 14-12 to the Las Vegas Raiders on a game-deciding field goal in the final seconds.
Let’s look at how Kansas City used its players in their final opportunity to gain experience with live reps until August:
Starters (offensive): WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Marquise Brown, TE Travis Kelce, LT Esa Pole, LG Kingsley Suamataia, C Creed Humphrey, RG Hunter Nourzad, RT Chukwuebuka Godrick, WR Jalen Royals, QB Chris Oladokun and RB Brashard Smith.
Starters (defensive): DE Michael Danna, DT Chris Jones, DT Derrick Nnadi, DE Ashton Gillotte, LB Cooper McDonald, LB Nick Bolton, LB Drue Tranquill, CB Kristian Fulton, CB Nohl Williams, S Bryan Cook and S Chamarri Conner.
Inactive: WR Xavier Worthy, RB Isiah Pacheco, CB Melvin Smith Jr., DE George Karlaftis, DE Tyreke Smith, G Trey Smith and NT Mike Pennel.
With a long list of veterans ruled out or on the Reserve/Injured list in Week 18, it was time for the Chiefs’ rookie draft class to be showcased. On offense and defense, every available draft pick played the highest rate of snaps with their respective unit this season:
CB Nohl Williams (100% of defensive snaps)DE Ashton Gillotte (75% of defensive snaps)WR Jalen Royals (68% of offensive snaps)LB Jeffrey Bassa (35% of defensive snaps)RB Brashard Smith (53% of offensive snaps)
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Smith was the lead ball carrier against the Raiders. He was on the field for 12 running plays, doubling the number of snaps running back Kareem Hunt saw in that phase. He was also the Chiefs’ punt returner for the second consecutive week. Smith took advantage of those opportunities and flashed playmaking ability, leading to a question for the coaching staff: Why wasn’t he featured in the offense more this season?
Royals was in formation for 77% of Kansas City’s passing plays in Las Vegas. It was the rookie wideout’s first opportunity to contribute to the Chiefs’ passing game; before Week 18, Royals had four passing snaps the entire season.
When the Chiefs’ offense took the field in Week 18, there was a surprising first-time starter along the offensive line: second-year lineman Hunter Nourzad, who replaced Mike Caliendo at right guard. In the four games starting right guard Trey Smith missed, Caliendo was the substitute each time.
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Nourzad played 100% of the snaps in Las Vegas, while Caliendo was a sixth offensive lineman in formation on each of his three offensive snaps. That is a role reversal; in the second half of the season, Nourzad was often the player brought in as the sixth man. While the lineup change could have been a short-term strategy to see more from Nourzad, the coaching staff may have seen enough of Caliendo to look elsewhere for a reliable backup guard in the future.
It’s also worth noting that tight end Jared Wiley played a season-high 19% of the offensive snaps, including 35% of running plays. When he was drafted, it was clear that Wiley could be a playmaking pass catcher. Still, he will need to do more to carve out a larger role in the offense next year. The extended playing time on running calls was a valuable experience for him.
Throughout the season, the Chiefs’ defensive lineup was tweaked in a search for the right starting 11 players. The back-and-forth playing time was most apparent in the secondary.
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Safety Jaden Hicks was a victim of that constant change. The fluctuation of the second-year safety’s snap counts indicates the coaching staff’s lack of trust in him. However, he kept playing hard and finished the season strong. In Las Vegas, Hicks made one of the best plays a Kansas City safety has made all year when he ranged over the top of a deep throw and laid out to deflect the ball away.
The Chiefs’ defense was expected to feature Hicks similarly to former Chiefs’ safety Justin Reid, but that may have been too tall an order for the 23-year-old this year. With a strong finish to this season, Hicks has momentum to realize his potential in 2026 and beyond.
Offense All Pass Run
Total 62
(100%) 39
(100%) 23
(100%)
Creed Humphrey 62
(100%) 39
(100%) 23
(100%)
Hunter Nourzad 62
(100%) 39
(100%) 23
(100%)
Esa Pole 62
(100%) 39
(100%) 23
(100%)
Kingsley Suamataia 62
(100%) 39
(100%) 23
(100%)
Chukwuebuka Godrick 61
(98%) 38
(97%) 23
(100%)
Marquise Brown 50
(81%) 34
(87%) 16
(70%)
Travis Kelce 50
(81%) 34
(87%) 16
(70%)
JuJu Smith-Schuster 48
(77%) 31
(79%) 17
(74%)
Jalen Royals 42
(68%) 30
(77%) 12
(52%)
Noah Gray 34
(55%) 17
(44%) 17
(74%)
Chris Oladokun 33
(53%) 20
(51%) 13
(57%)
Brashard Smith 33
(53%) 21
(54%) 12
(52%)
Shane Buechele 29
(47%) 19
(49%) 10
(43%)
Kareem Hunt 24
(39%) 18
(46%) 6
(26%)
Jared Wiley 12
(19%) 4
(10%) 8
(35%)
Dameon Pierce 5
(8%) 0
(0%) 5
(22%)
Jason Brownlee 5
(8%) 3
(8%) 2
(9%)
Mike Caliendo 3
(5%) 0
(0%) 3
(13%)
Jaylon Moore 2
(3%) 1
(3%) 1
(4%)
Robert Tonyan 2
(3%) 2
(5%) 0
(0%)
Jimmy Holiday 1
(2%) 1
(3%) 0
(0%)
Defense All Pass Run
Total 60
(100%) 29
(100%) 31
(100%)
Nick Bolton 60
(100%) 29
(100%) 31
(100%)
Chamarri Conner 60
(100%) 29
(100%) 31
(100%)
Kristian Fulton 60
(100%) 29
(100%) 31
(100%)
Nohl Williams 60
(100%) 29
(100%) 31
(100%)
Bryan Cook 59
(98%) 28
(97%) 31
(100%)
Ashton Gillotte 45
(75%) 21
(72%) 24
(77%)
Charles Omenihu 39
(65%) 24
(83%) 15
(48%)
Michael Danna 36
(60%) 18
(62%) 18
(58%)
Jaden Hicks 36
(60%) 21
(72%) 15
(48%)
Derrick Nnadi 36
(60%) 12
(41%) 24
(77%)
Jerry Tillery 32
(53%) 10
(34%) 22
(71%)
Drue Tranquill 30
(50%) 13
(45%) 17
(55%)
Cooper McDonald 25
(42%) 9
(31%) 16
(52%)
Chris Jones 22
(37%) 16
(55%) 6
(19%)
Jeff Bassa 21
(35%) 8
(28%) 13
(42%)
Kevin Knowles II 14
(23%) 12
(41%) 2
(6%)
Zacch Pickens 12
(20%) 5
(17%) 7
(23%)
Ethan Downs 10
(17%) 4
(14%) 6
(19%)
Mike Edwards 3
(5%) 2
(7%) 1
(3%)
Special Teams Snaps
Total 32
(100%)
Jack Cochrane 28
(88%)
Jaden Hicks 27
(84%)
Cooper McDonald 27
(84%)
Joshua Williams 25
(78%)
Jeff Bassa 23
(72%)
Cole Christiansen 23
(72%)
Ethan Downs 22
(69%)
Nazeeh Johnson 21
(66%)
Kevin Knowles II 18
(56%)
Jalen Royals 16
(50%)
Brashard Smith 12
(38%)
Matt Araiza 10
(31%)
Harrison Butker 10
(31%)
Jared Wiley 10
(31%)
Nohl Williams 10
(31%)
James Winchester 10
(31%)
Nick Bolton 5
(16%)
Michael Danna 5
(16%)
Derrick Nnadi 5
(16%)
Jerry Tillery 5
(16%)
Drue Tranquill 5
(16%)
Mike Caliendo 4
(13%)
Noah Gray 4
(13%)
C.J. Hanson 4
(13%)
Creed Humphrey 4
(13%)
Jaylon Moore 4
(13%)
Hunter Nourzad 4
(13%)
Esa Pole 4
(13%)
Kingsley Suamataia 4
(13%)
Bryan Cook 2
(6%)
Ashton Gillotte 1
(3%)
All Snaps Off Def ST Total
Total 62
(100%) 60
(100%) 32
(100%) 154
(100%)
Matt Araiza 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 10
(31%) 10
(6%)
Jeff Bassa 0
(0%) 21
(35%) 23
(72%) 44
(29%)
Nick Bolton 0
(0%) 60
(100%) 5
(16%) 65
(42%)
Marquise Brown 50
(81%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 50
(32%)
Shane Buechele 29
(47%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 29
(19%)
Harrison Butker 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 10
(31%) 10
(6%)
Mike Caliendo 3
(5%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 7
(5%)
Cole Christiansen 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 23
(72%) 23
(15%)
Jack Cochrane 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 28
(88%) 28
(18%)
Chamarri Conner 0
(0%) 60
(100%) 0
(0%) 60
(39%)
Bryan Cook 0
(0%) 59
(98%) 2
(6%) 61
(40%)
Michael Danna 0
(0%) 36
(60%) 5
(16%) 41
(27%)
Ethan Downs 0
(0%) 10
(17%) 22
(69%) 32
(21%)
Mike Edwards 0
(0%) 3
(5%) 0
(0%) 3
(2%)
Kristian Fulton 0
(0%) 60
(100%) 0
(0%) 60
(39%)
Ashton Gillotte 0
(0%) 45
(75%) 1
(3%) 46
(30%)
Chukwuebuka Godrick 61
(98%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 61
(40%)
Noah Gray 34
(55%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 38
(25%)
C.J. Hanson 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 4
(3%)
Jaden Hicks 0
(0%) 36
(60%) 27
(84%) 63
(41%)
Creed Humphrey 62
(100%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 66
(43%)
Kareem Hunt 24
(39%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 24
(16%)
Nazeeh Johnson 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 21
(66%) 21
(14%)
Chris Jones 0
(0%) 22
(37%) 0
(0%) 22
(14%)
Travis Kelce 50
(81%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 50
(32%)
Kevin Knowles II 0
(0%) 14
(23%) 18
(56%) 32
(21%)
Cooper McDonald 0
(0%) 25
(42%) 27
(84%) 52
(34%)
Jaylon Moore 2
(3%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 6
(4%)
Derrick Nnadi 0
(0%) 36
(60%) 5
(16%) 41
(27%)
Hunter Nourzad 62
(100%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 66
(43%)
Chris Oladokun 33
(53%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 33
(21%)
Charles Omenihu 0
(0%) 39
(65%) 0
(0%) 39
(25%)
Zacch Pickens 0
(0%) 12
(20%) 0
(0%) 12
(8%)
Dameon Pierce 5
(8%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 5
(3%)
Esa Pole 62
(100%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 66
(43%)
Jalen Royals 42
(68%) 0
(0%) 16
(50%) 58
(38%)
Brashard Smith 33
(53%) 0
(0%) 12
(38%) 45
(29%)
JuJu Smith-Schuster 48
(77%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 48
(31%)
Kingsley Suamataia 62
(100%) 0
(0%) 4
(13%) 66
(43%)
Jerry Tillery 0
(0%) 32
(53%) 5
(16%) 37
(24%)
Robert Tonyan 2
(3%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 2
(1%)
Drue Tranquill 0
(0%) 30
(50%) 5
(16%) 35
(23%)
Jared Wiley 12
(19%) 0
(0%) 10
(31%) 22
(14%)
Joshua Williams 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 25
(78%) 25
(16%)
Nohl Williams 0
(0%) 60
(100%) 10
(31%) 70
(45%)
James Winchester 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 10
(31%) 10
(6%)
Jason Brownlee 5
(8%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 5
(3%)
Jimmy Holiday 1
(2%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 1
(1%)
Editor’s Note: Arrowhead Pride obtains snap count data from the NFL’s game stats and information system, which allows us to break out snap counts by run or pass on offensive and defensive plays. Because GSIS data ignores plays that were nullified by penalties, total offensive and defensive snap counts will vary from other sources, which get their data from NFL Gamebooks