Chiefs flash multiple tight ends again with Demetrius Harris as the No. 2

The Kansas City Chiefs saw TE Demetrius Harris return to the field just last week after he had been out since November 2014. He didn't practice all offseason as he went through some setbacks with his broken foot.

He was cleared just last week which made me think the Chiefs are going to ease him in as he returns from injury. I didn't expect him to have more snaps than rookie James O'Shaughnessy but as it turns out Harris did have more snaps than him.

Based on snap count, Harris looks like the Chiefs second tight end. Which was a question, at least to me.

Travis Kelce led all tight ends with 56 snaps, which is no surprise. Kelce wasn't the full-time tight end until midway through last year so this is still kinda new for him. Harris ended the game with 30 snaps, many of which came in the Chiefs two tight end sets. O'Shaughnessy finished with 13 snaps. (Note: Snap counts come from the NFL)

As we expected, the Chiefs used the hell out of multiple tight end formations. I counted 19 plays with two tight ends and seven plays with three tight ends (the Chiefs completed passes of 10 and 16 yards with three tight ends on the field). That's more than a third of their offensive plays with multiple tight ends.

The Chiefs most popular formation was "21" personnel (two backs, one tight end) with nine plays there while the second most popular was "12" personnel which includes two tight ends. The Chiefs ran "12" personnel seven times on first down and averaged 10 yards per play. So that's pretty good.

These numbers show the value of a tight end in Andy Reid's offense, and it may only increase as Harris becomes more comfortable and O'Shaughnessy continues to come along as an NFL player.