Changes are underway in Kansas City, a couple of weeks following the NFL Draft. Andy Reid’s Chiefs, who had their first losing season in 2012 this past season, have waived three players while signing three free agents this Monday. Those who are being let go are quarterback Jake Haenar, defensive end Ethan Hurkett, and defensive tackle Zacch Pickens. The incoming players are wide receiver Xavier Loyd, defensive back Marlen Sewell, and offensive lineman Kahlil Benson.
It could be said that Zacch Pickens is the most important player in the group, having played for three seasons in the NFL, two with the Chicago Bears and one with the Chiefs. He has never been a regular starter, but got relevant play time with the Bears, particularly in his rookie year, playing in 17 games. Ethan Hurkett was an undrafted free agent who played with the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2025 and was briefly signed with the Chiefs.
Jake Haenar was a fourth-round pick by the New Orleans Saints. He was with them for two seasons, starting one game in 2021. In college, he played with the Washington Huskies and then with the Fresno State Bulldogs, with whom he earned Second Team and First Team All-Mountain West honors.
All the incoming players are players just fresh off college, Loyd being a Missouri Tigers wide receiver, Sewell a safety with the Vanderbilt Commodores, and Kahlil Benson a national champion offensive lineman with the Indiana Hoosiers.
Andy Reid compares Emmett Johnson to LeSean McCoy
It seems that Andy Reid is more than sure about the Kansas City Chiefs’ round five pick of this past NFL Draft, Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson. Speaking this week to the press, he compared the player to none other than two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy:
“First of all, he’s got a good feel for things, a smart kid, good kid. He’s got that lateral quickness. We had LeSean McCoy here for a bit, and he has a little bit of that to him, where he can shift gears and still get himself up the field quickly,” Reid said, per the team’s transcript (via NFL.com). “I like the way he pass protects, I like the way he catches the football, and it looks like he can do that here.”
Johnson certainly had an impressive resume with the Cornhuskers in college, being the Big Ten Running Back of the Year, an All-American, and a First Team All-Big Ten selection in 2025. Time will tell if he can be as proficient in the NFL.
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