Undrafted Xavier Nwankpa Making a Good Impression with the Chiefs…

RagnarLothbrok said:

…and is currently projected to make the 53-man roster. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t any good at Iowa.

(Fyi: Scroll down to the bottom of the article for safeties and a brief commentary on X)

Chiefs 53-man roster projection: A few surprises based on early practices

Do you know Andrew Armstrong? Or Xavier Nwankpa? Why both should be in the mix to earn roster spots heading into the Chiefs' 2026 season.

www.nytimes.com

Last, when Xavier was asked about what it was like meeting Patrick Mahomes for the first time, he replied. “Run the ball.”

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52317Hawk said:

Any chance you can C&P the article?

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RagnarLothbrok said:

Crap. I just re-opened the article and now it’s behind a paywall. Sorry about that.

I just happened to stumble upon the article and saw X’s name as a “pleasant surprise” in the heading. The article in a nutshell broke down each position or position group and named whom they believed would make the final cut and who would likely be on the outside looking in. When you get to safeties, there was a brief description of Nwankpa turning heads and making a name for himself on special teams. His name was then included in a small list of names projected to make the final cut at safety.

In short, X has a decent shot at making the Chiefs final roster notably as a special teams player. From there, who knows?

Oh, and I was making fun of eyesofhawk, but yeah, Kansas City’s inability to run the football finally caught up with them last season. I don’t care how good your quarterback is or how fast your receivers are. If you’re one-dimensional on offense, you’re not going to light up the scoreboard in the NFL. IIRC, Kansas City put up decent yards last year but kicked a lot of field goals, especially in the red zone. Not being able to get yards on the ground was why.

Perhaps Kenneth Walker will change that narrative.

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RagnarLothbrok said:

…and is currently projected to make the 53-man roster. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t any good at Iowa.

(Fyi: Scroll down to the bottom of the article for safeties and a brief commentary on X)

Chiefs 53-man roster projection: A few surprises based on early practices

Do you know Andrew Armstrong? Or Xavier Nwankpa? Why both should be in the mix to earn roster spots heading into the Chiefs' 2026 season.

www.nytimes.com

Last, when Xavier was asked about what it was like meeting Patrick Mahomes for the first time, he replied. “Run the ball.”

Click to expand...

RagnarLothbrok said:

Crap. I just re-opened the article and now it’s behind a paywall. Sorry about that.

I just happened to stumble upon the article and saw X’s name as a “pleasant surprise” in the heading. The article in a nutshell broke down each position or position group and named whom they believed would make the final cut and who would likely be on the outside looking in. When you get to safeties, there was a brief description of Nwankpa turning heads and making a name for himself on special teams. His name was then included in a small list of names projected to make the final cut at safety.

In short, X has a decent shot at making the Chiefs final roster notably as a special teams player. From there, who knows?

Oh, and I was making fun of eyesofhawk, but yeah, Kansas City’s inability to run the football finally caught up with them last season. I don’t care how good your quarterback is or how fast your receivers are. If you’re one-dimensional on offense, you’re not going to light up the scoreboard in the NFL. IIRC, Kansas City put up decent yards last year but kicked a lot of field goals, especially in the red zone. Not being able to get yards on the ground was why.

Perhaps Kenneth Walker will change that narrative.

Click to expand...

52317Hawk said:

Yeah, I knew you were making fun of that *** which is why I added the 0-0. As a Chiefs fan the run game has been a sore spot (for the most part) for a number of years. I hope Walker can make a difference. I also think the OL has to improve or it will be another ho-hum year.

Thanks for posting the article. If memory serves, X was a stud on special teams at Iowa and if he proves his worth certainly could make the Chiefs roster.

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RagnarLothbrok said:

…and is currently projected to make the 53-man roster. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t any good at Iowa.

(Fyi: Scroll down to the bottom of the article for safeties and a brief commentary on X)

Chiefs 53-man roster projection: A few surprises based on early practices

Do you know Andrew Armstrong? Or Xavier Nwankpa? Why both should be in the mix to earn roster spots heading into the Chiefs' 2026 season.

www.nytimes.com

Last, when Xavier was asked about what it was like meeting Patrick Mahomes for the first time, he replied. “Run the ball.”

Click to expand...

RagnarLothbrok said:

That’s a far cry from “not any good.”

While not entirely meaningless, star projections for high school prospects are not an exact science.

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Oldman74 said:

I coached against X in high school. I thought his college career mirrored his high school career in some ways. When he played at depth, he was a guy. When the scheme asked him to be down in the box and around the LOS, he was very active and disruptive. He was a dude. I'm no NFL brain, but in my limited opinion X needs to be in that hybrid/slot position to stick on defense. Special teams will need to be a major part of his career going forward.

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UIAlumFireFighter said:

**** the Chiefs and the Raiders. Go Broncos.

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Titanhawk said:

5-star who in his fourth year was 3rd all big ten (writers) and honorable mention (coaches) - I'm sure there are plenty who would say he underachieved.

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