The writing was pretty much on the wall for ShunDerrick Powell. As the Chiefs drafted Emmett Johnson and signed Terion Stewart, Powell's time with KC came to an end.

“Chiefs waived ShunDerrick Powell,” Aaron Wilson reported Thursday.

Powell signed a one-year, $885,000 reserve contract with the Chiefs in January.

The 5-foot-7 running back was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2025. Before that, he played college football for the North Alabama Lions and  Central Arkansas Bears.

This means Kansas now has an opening on its 90-man roster. The Chiefs had already given Powell a new contract and a ticket-back for offseason practices. But even then, they chose to waive him.

Ever since Powell came out of college, there has been hype around his name. Powell's hype was justified because he was one of the most productive running backs in the FCS.

He rushed for over 4,000 yards and won two FCS All-American honors. When Powell was done with his college career, he had 42 touchdowns to his name.

But just because ShunDerrick Powell is already out of the scheme of things doesn't mean that the Chiefs are out of backfield depth.

Chiefs Make Backfield Moves Ahead of 2026 Season

Kansas has already set the ball in motion when they signed the reigning Super Bowl MVP, Kenneth Walker, to fill the top spot to add depth to their team.

Looking to find more players, the team had traded up in the fifth round to land Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson. The Chiefs' vice president, Ryne Nutt, revealed that the team couldn't be happier.

“We went through the running backs, and Emmett was one of the top guys we watched,” Nutt said. “We loved him. Brett was super high on this kid; we all were really high on this kid.”

Johnson had a season to remember back in 2025. He led the Big Ten in rushing attempts at 251 and rushing yards at 1451. He also racked up 46 receptions for 370 yards, 12 rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns.

Now, with the likes of Mansoor Delane (191 tackles, seven tackles for loss) and Jadon Canady, the Chiefs have tried to add depth to their backline.

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments.

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Written by

Sourav Ganguly

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore