Young Chiefs Players To Watch For In Regular Season Finale

The Kansas City Chiefs will close out the regular season in Los Angeles against the Chargers. However, as it was announced earlier this week, the Chiefs will be resting a good portion of their starters throughout this game. Kansas City will be the three seed in the AFC playoffs. No matter what happens this weekend, they will host whoever ends up with the six seed on Wild Card weekend. As a result of resting guys, there are many young Chiefs players who will get a chance to stand out on Sunday.

Who will turn heads against the Chargers? Which players could boost their opportunities for possibly more playing time in the playoffs? Here are four players that we are most excited to watch on Sunday. Let’s kick it off.

DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Rookie first-round pick Felix Anudike-Uzomah has not been in the spotlight much in his first season. While Chris Jones was holding out and working his way back, Anudike-Uzomah got some chances early in the regular season. In various spots, he was able to flash some quickness and his motor when rushing after the passer. A few pass rush reps against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 really stood out. Overall, Anudike-Uzomah notched half of a sack in that contest against Trevor Lawrence.

The good news is, Felix has still been receiving a handful of snaps in recent games. But this Sunday, Anudike-Uzomah will likely get a much greater chance at playing most downs on the defensive line. There could be some potential opportunities to make plays in the backfield against this weakened Chargers offense. It will be intriguing to see how Anudike-Uzomah performs in a likely increased role this week.

DE BJ Thompson

We will stick with another rookie defensive end for our next player to watch. The Chiefs have made BJ Thompson inactive in every game so far this year. As he has been developing in a redshirt year essentially, Thompson will get a chance to show what he has got. Back in April’s draft, Kansas City took an understandable flier on Thompson, due to his rare mix of quickness and length. He is not as dense as what the Chiefs usually go after for their defensive linemen. Nevertheless, Thompson will be exciting to watch for, if he gets chances to pin his ears back.

CB Ekow Boye-Doe

Ekow Boye-Doe has appeared in all of the last five games for the Chiefs. Yet, the former undrafted free agent out of Kansas State has only appeared on special teams. While that part of the game will be important come playoff time, Sunday could be a nice spot for Boye-Doe to get extra looks on defense. He is not the largest cornerback in the world. But in college and back in the preseason, Boye-Doe displayed that he could play bigger than what his size may indicate at the catch point.

WR Justyn Ross

The wide receiver issues are well documented for Kansas City this season. And while this player may have more hype than some other players that will get rare looks on Sunday, it is hard not to include Justyn Ross in this spot. We are likely going to see him command a lot of snaps. With his mix of size and ability to be a vertical threat, he is a Chiefs player to watch for shots down the field with Blaine Gabbert this week. If Ross can put together a solid day, perhaps he helps his case in competing for a spot next year.