Pre-Camp Breakdown: The Duo of Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. Could Be Special – chiefs.com

Darius Harris

Another returning member from last year’s group, Harris originally joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He spent that initial year rehabbing an injury before appearing in 11 games over the last two seasons (4 in 2020, 7 in 2021), serving almost exclusively in a special teams role last year.

Still only 26 years old, Harris will compete for a rotational role on defense throughout camp. He hasn’t seen a ton of game action during his young career, but it’s worth pointing out that he’s been around Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme longer than any other linebacker on the team.

Elijah Lee

A local product who attended Blue Springs High School and later Kansas State, Lee signed with the Chiefs as a free agent earlier this offseason. The 26-year-old Lee, who originally entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2017, has spent time with San Francisco (2017-19), Detroit (2020) and Cleveland (2020-21) across 66 total games (6 starts). He has 99 career tackles to his name.

Most recently, Lee appeared in 16 games last season for Cleveland as a core contributor on special teams. His 332 special teams’ snaps last season led the Browns by a wide margin and ranked 33rd in the NFL. He’ll likely take on a similar role in Kansas City in addition to the duties he earns on defense.

Another undrafted free agent signee this offseason, Rose was a four-year starter at Iowa State prior to joining Kansas City. He racked up 321 tackles, 41 tackles-for-loss, 14 passes defensed, 9.5 sacks and six interceptions across 49 career starts during his time there, earning First-Team All-America honors and the “Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year” award in 2020.

Pro Football Focus ranked Rose as the No. 10 undrafted free agent available this year while citing the below:

“Rose has the versatile body type to wear a number of different hats in a defense. That will be coveted in certain schemes.”

Here’s more on Rose from Dane Brugler, who ranked him as the No. 14 overall linebacker in this year’s class.

“Rose is a smooth mover with the instincts and toughness that NFL teams covet. He projects as a versatile backup (middle or strongside) at the next level who should find a home on special teams.”

Brugler projected Rose to be selected in the fourth or fifth round, but despite not hearing his name called, the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Rose now has a shot with Kansas City.