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Chiefs' 53-man roster projection leaves off RB Carlos Hyde

Carlos Hyde has eight carries for 26 yards with a touchdown and a fumble through the Chiefs' first three preseason games. He has not been targeted with a pass. AP Photo/Ed Zurga

The Kansas City Chiefs will cut their roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. Here is a projection:

QUARTERBACK (2): Patrick Mahomes, Matt Moore

The Chiefs don't need three QBs. Their quarterback has started at least 15 games in each of the last 16 seasons. They can stash Chase Litton on the practice squad in the unlikely event of an emergency.

RUNNING BACK (3): Damien Williams, Darwin Thompson, Darrel Williams

The Chiefs are living dangerously if they go with fewer than four but that appears the way they're headed. Carlos Hyde didn't play in the third exhibition game until the third quarter, long after the starters were gone. They've needed the depth in previous years and often left themselves short. Damien Williams has yet to prove he can be a featured back over a long season.

FULLBACK (1): Anthony Sherman

Sherman won't play much on offense but has value on special teams and for his intangibles.

WIDE RECEIVER (7): Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman, De'Anthony Thomas, Byron Pringle, Cody Thompson

The Chiefs don't need seven at these positions but it's a position of depth.

TIGHT END (3): Travis Kelce, Blake Bell, Deon Yelder

Yelder's recent ankle injury complicates matters. The injury doesn't appears serious enough to end his season but it might keep him out of the lineup early. If so, the Chiefs have to decide whether he's worth waiting for.

OFFENSIVE LINE (10): Eric Fisher, Andrew Wylie, Austin Reiter, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Mitchell Schwartz, Cameron Erving, Jeff Allen, Kahlil McKenzie, Nick Allegretti, Ryan Hunter

The Chiefs could go in a few different directions at these positions. But in Allen and either Erving or Wylie, the Chiefs have a couple of veteran reserves with versatility. McKenzie and Allegretti are recent draft picks, McKenzie last year and Allegretti this. Hunter is a developmental prospect with promise.

DEFENSIVE LINE (8): Frank Clark, Alex Okafor, Chris Jones, Xavier Williams, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Emmanuel Ogbah, Khalen Saunders, Derrick Nnadi

The Chiefs lost some depth and versatility with Breeland Speaks' knee injury.

LINEBACKER (6): Anthony Hitchens, Reggie Ragland, Damien Wilson, Darron Lee, Dorian O'Daniel, Ben Niemann

This position group seems the easiest to predict. The Chiefs had only eight healthy linebackers in camp.

SECONDARY (10): Cornerbacks Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, Kendall Fuller, Herb Miller, Rashad Fenton, safeties Tyrann Mathieu, Daniel Sorensen, Juan Thornhill, Armani Watts, Jordan Lucas

Cornerback Morris Claiborne will miss the first four games because of an NFL suspension. Don't discount the possibility of the Chiefs acquiring another veteran corner at least until he returns. In the meantime, they had a lot of young corners to sift through and it appears Miller and Fenton are the winners.

SPECIALIST (3): K Harrison Butker, P Dustin Colquitt, LS James Winchester

Butker and Winchester had no competition in camp and Colquitt appears to easily have won the job instead of rookie Jack Fox.