The Kansas City Chiefs’ undefeated season is still ongoing as the defending Super Bowl Champions enter Week 11 with an unblemished 9-0 record. While there have been some scares along the way, the Chiefs have worked hard as a team to remain perfect as they look to become the first franchise to win three consecutive Lombardi Trophies.

Everything is going well for the Chiefs at the moment, however, that could change for certain players down the stretch. Certain Kansas City players have been performing to expectations and continuing to struggle could lead to them riding the bench down the stretch.

Here are four Chiefs who are at-risk of being benched in the second half of the season.

1. Kingsley Suamataia, OT

Building a strong offensive line is important to succeeding in the NFL and no team knows that better than the Chiefs. That’s why general manager Brett Veach used a 2024 second-round pick on tackle Kingsley Suamataia after showing quite a bit of potential during his time at Oregon and BYU.

While the 6-foot-4 blocker could still have a promising NFL career ahead of him, it isn’t hard to be disappointed by his current performance. Suamataia has struggled both as a pass and run blocker, playing to a putrid 36.8 offense grade on Pro Football Focus — the worst mark among all Kansas City offensive linemen this season.

Suamataia’s struggles have also caused his playing time to plummet. He went from playing 54 offensive snaps in each of the first two games to begin the season to playing a combined eight opportunities between Weeks 3 and 9. Although he saw 48 offensive snaps in Week 10, that was due to Wanya Morris leaving the game with a knee injury.

With Morris’ knee injury no longer an issue, Suamataia must find ways to impress the coaching staff and prove that he deserves more playing time. If not and he continues to falter whenever an opportunity arises, the Chiefs could decide to temporarily bench him.

2. Justin Watson, WR

If you haven’t noticed much of Justin Watson this season, you likely aren’t the only one. The former 2018 fifth-rounder has had issues leaving a mark in the passing game, hauling in only 15 catches for 177 receiving yards without a touchdown in his first nine games.

Watson’s performance is only made worse by the fact that it came after he posted a career-best 27-460-3 stat line in 16 games last season. That’s without mentioning how he went from having seven 40-plus-yard performances in 2023 to just one in 2024, which didn’t even happen until Week 9.

If Rashee Rice, Marquise Brown, and JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t miss a chunk of time this season, there’s a chance that Watson wouldn’t even be in the lineup at this point. He’s done very little to help the Chiefs win games despite playing at least 69% of offensive snaps in each of the last five games.

With his 30th birthday approaching in April, it’s likely that Watson is who he is at this point and his 2023 performance may have just been a fluke. If he can’t figure out how to capitalize on his chances, the coaching staff may opt to bench him and give someone else an opportunity to step up.

3. Derrick Nnadi, DT

There’s been little to love about Derrick Nnadi’s performance in his seventh NFL campaign. The former Florida State defender is in the middle of his worst season yet as he’s only managed to record two solo tackles while playing only 16% of offensive snaps in the first nine games.

If Nnadi was a career backup player, that would be one thing. That isn’t the case here, though. The 28-year-old veteran defensive tackle’s struggles are a big reason why he’s yet to start a single outing this year despite starting in 86-of-98 appearances (87.8%) in the six previous seasons.

Nnadi’s lackluster showing has led to an abysmal 41.8 defense grade on PFF, which ranks second-worst among Chiefs defenders in 2024. It’s evident that the Virginia Beach, VA native is a liability at this point and has to figure out a way to contribute if he wants to remain in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s plans.

It’s also worth noting that Nnadi just turned 29 in May, so it’s possible that he might have reached the stage where a decline is inevitable. If that’s the case and he can’t return to his previous form, it wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up taking a ride on the pine.

4. Carson Steele, RB

Ask any Chiefs fan who’s been one of the most disappointing players this season and a lot of them would likely say Carson Steele.

That’s because expectations were fairly high for the ex-UCLA running back when he cracked the initial 53-man roster after joining the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in the offseason. A strong preseason performance only elevated the thoughts of what he could achieve at the NFL level, leaving time to reveal if he’d end up proving himself.

Even with the RB room being in disarray early in the season due to Isiah Pacheco’s injury, Steele couldn’t capitalize on the juicy opportunity. The rookie runner quickly found himself in the doghouse after only recording 117 rushing yards and three fumbles without a touchdown on 33 carries in his first five games.

Since that poor start, Steele has barely seen any playing time. The Greenwood, IN native has been handed the ball only 13 times in his last four games, converting those chances into 35 rushing yards — an uninspiring 2.7 yards per carry. His inability to positively impact the offense has also led to an increase in his special teams playing time.

With Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire likely rejoining the Chiefs down the stretch, time is running out for Steele to secure his roster spot. The failure to snap out of his funk could lead to him becoming a healthy scratch sooner rather than later.