Chiefs Training Camp: L’Jarius Sneed, Khyiris Tonga Face Real Competition for Starting Jobs
The Kansas City Chiefs have won three Super Bowls and reached five in the past seven seasons, but that run of sustained success has come with a price. Rivals raid the roster every offseason, and the front office has had to keep rebuilding around Patrick Mahomes to stay ahead. This year, the questions are different — and heavier. The Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in the Mahomes era last season, and the roster looks noticeably different heading into 2026 training camp.
Kansas City hasn’t released an official depth chart yet. Using Ourlads’ unofficial projection as a baseline, two names stand out as starters whose grip on the job isn’t as secure as their listing suggests.
L’Jarius Sneed Is Fighting to Reclaim His Old Job
Sneed spent 2020 through 2023 in Kansas City, won two Super Bowls, and turned himself into one of the better cornerbacks in the league along the way. His final season with the Chiefs was his best — good enough that it priced him out of the team’s budget. Kansas City traded him to the Tennessee Titans in 2024.
The Titans stint didn’t go the way anyone expected. Sneed played in just 12 games across two seasons, and Tennessee released him after the injuries piled up. Kansas City brought him back on a one-year deal, and Ourlads currently has him as the No. 2 outside corner behind rookie Nohl Williams.
That projection might already be outdated. According to ESPN’s camp tracker, Sneed took part in 1-on-1 and 7-on-7 drills for the first time this camp — a sign his knee is progressing. Head coach Andy Reid has said the team has experience managing Sneed’s knee carefully, according to Arrowhead Addict, and has eased him in rather than rushing him back.
The stakes go beyond one player’s recovery. Kansas City lost both of its top outside cornerbacks this offseason — Trent McDuffie was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and Jaylen Watson left in free agency. Williams started just five games as a rookie. With the Chiefs trying to win now, not develop for later, a healthy Sneed playing at his old level gives Kansas City’s secondary something it’s currently missing: a proven veteran who’s actually won big games at this position before.
Per Arrowhead Pride’s observations from the Chiefs’ first full-team practice, Sneed has been working exclusively on the outside so far, with Christian Roland-Wallace and rookie Jadon Canady handling nickel reps. That alignment matters: if Sneed is ticketed for outside corner only, his path back to a starting job runs directly through Williams.
Khyiris Tonga’s Starting Spot Isn’t as Settled as It Looks
Kansas City has poured resources into its defensive line the past two years, drafting R Mason Thomas and Peter Woods this spring. Both rookies currently sit behind George Karlaftis and Chris Jones on the depth chart, so barring injury, neither is in the mix to start Week 1.
Tonga is a different story. The nose tackle signed a three-year, $21 million deal with $14 million guaranteed in March, a notable investment for a player who has bounced around the league. He entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick by the Chicago Bears in 2021 and has since played for Chicago, the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad, the Minnesota Vikings, the Arizona Cardinals and, most recently, the New England Patriots — Kansas City is his fifth NFL roster. He’s appeared in 67 career games with 0.5 career sacks, a run-stuffer by trade rather than a pass rusher.
The player pushing him is Omarr Norman-Lott, a 2025 second-round pick out of Tennessee. Norman-Lott tore his ACL in Week 7 of his rookie season and started this camp on the physically unable to perform list. “As far as any of the injuries go, right now, some updates would be Norman-Lott most likely will start on PUP but is making progress,” Reid said. “He had the ACL reconstruction there.”
As of ESPN’s most recent camp report, Norman-Lott is still missing practice time with the knee. That means the competition hasn’t really started yet — it’s paused. If and when he’s activated off PUP, the matchup becomes straightforward: Tonga offers steady, veteran run defense at a fair price, while Norman-Lott offers more upside as an interior pass rusher, assuming the ACL doesn’t sap his burst. General manager Brett Veach said after the draft he expected Norman-Lott ready for camp, but wanted to bring him along slowly rather than rush the timeline.
| Player | Position | 2025 Games | Career Sacks | Camp Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L’Jarius Sneed | CB | Missed most of 2024–25 with Titans | N/A | Practicing, ramping up |
| Nohl Williams | CB | 5 starts (rookie) | N/A | Listed as starter |
| Khyiris Tonga | DT | 14 (New England) | 0.5 (career) | Practicing, listed as starter |
| Omarr Norman-Lott | DT | 6 (rookie, ACL Week 7) | 1.0 (rookie season) | On PUP, not yet practicing |
What It Means for Kansas City
Neither battle is settled, and neither should be treated as a lock in either direction. Sneed has the pedigree but needs to prove his body will hold up after two lost seasons in Tennessee. Tonga has the contract and the starting nod for now, but a healthy Norman-Lott changes the math on Kansas City’s interior pass rush fast. The Chiefs have less than a month before roster cuts hit on August 30, and how these two competitions shake out will say a lot about whether this defense looks meaningfully different than the one that missed the playoffs last season.
