Chiefs-Ravens snap counts: Hardman, Williams get more; Thornhill less

The Kansas City Chiefs fell to 1-1 with a 36-35 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Let’s see how the Chiefs used their players in a painful loss before a national television audience.

Starters (offensive): WR Tyreek Hill, WR Mecole Hardman, LT Orlando Brown Jr., LG Joe Thuney, C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith, RT Lucas Niang, WR Demarcus Robinson, TE Travis Kelce, QB Patrick Mahomes and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Starters (defensive): DE Chris Jones, DT Derrick Nnadi, DT Jarran Reed, DE Frank Clark, LB Ben Niemann, LB Anthony Hitchens, LB Nick Bolton, CB L’Jarius Sneed, CB Charvarius Ward, S Tyrann Mathieu and S Daniel Sorensen.

Did not play: QB Chad Henne, T Mike Remmers and G Andrew Wylie.

Inactive: CB Deandre Baker, DE Joshua Kaindoh, OL Austin Blythe, G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and WR Daurice Fountain.

Editor’s Note: Arrowhead Pride obtains snap count data from the NFL’s game stats and information system, which allows us to break out snap counts by run or pass on offensive and defensive plays. Because GSIS data ignores plays that were nullified by penalties, total offensive and defensive snap counts will vary from other sources, which get their data from NFL Gamebooks.

Offensive takeaways

• As we always expect, starting offensive linemen Orlando Brown Jr., Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith and Lucas Niang played every snap together. Reserves Andrew Wylie and Mike Remmers remained on the sidelines.
• Wide receiver Tyreek Hill missed only one offensive snap after being on the field for 89% of the snaps against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. Mecole Hardman’s use increased by 15% over Week 1, while Demarcus Robinson’s decreased by 17%. Daurice Fountain was inactive against Baltimore.
• Tight ends Travis Kelce and Blake Bell both had their percentage of offensive snaps increase slightly, while Jody Fortson saw his decrease from 11% to 4%. Rookie Noah Gray had no offensive snaps against Baltimore. Kelce continued to be used on both running plays and passing plays, while Bell’s use on running plays increased over Week 1.
• Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s offensive snaps decreased by 11% over Week 1, while those of Darrel Williams increased from 21% to 29%. Unlike in Week 1, there was a difference in use. Edwards-Helaire was used more often on running plays, while Williams was used more often on passing plays.

Defensive takeaways

• Defensive end Frank Clark and safety Tyrann Mathieu were both used as if they were fully recovered from the issues that kept them inactive in Week 1. Clark was on the field for 69% of the defensive snaps — a figure on the low side of his range in 2020 — while Mathieu was in for every defensive snap. Derrick Nnadi was also used as if he was fully healthy; his percentage of defensive snaps increased from 32% to 41% over Week 1. That’s well within his range of use from last season.
• Safety Daniel Sorensen was also on the field for every defensive snap, while starting cornerbacks Charvarius Ward and L’Jarius Sneed were in for almost every snap — just as we typically see in the Chiefs’ secondary. Cornerback Mike Hughes’ use dropped from 54% to 31% of the snaps. Those snaps went to Rashad Fenton, who wasn't used on defense during Week 1. Fenton came in more often on passing plays. Cornerback Chris Lammons was once again used only on special teams, while Deandre Baker was again inactive.
• With Mathieu back, safety Juan Thornhill’s use dropped from 95% against Cleveland to just 14% against Baltimore. But unlike in Week 1, he was used primarily in passing plays; he was in the game for 5% of the running plays and 28% of the passing snaps. In addition, the Chiefs relied more on defensive linemen and linebackers than they did against Cleveland — and when they did add defensive backs to the mix, they tended to add a cornerback instead of a safety.
• With Clark’s return to the lineup, Mike Danna’s use fell from 79% to 40%. Alex Okafor’s use remained steady — although, unlike in Week 1, he was used equally often against the run and the pass. Chris Jones’ use also remained steady — but his pattern of use also changed substantially from Week 1, seeing the field on 66% of running plays and 90% of passing plays. Rookie Joshua Kaindoh was inactive for the game.
• On the inside, Jarran Reed’s use increased slightly. Khalen Saunders’ use went up from 20% in Week 1 to 39% in Week 2 — and was utilized even more often in running situations. Tershawn Wharton’s defensive snaps fell from 59% to 29%.
• Linebacker Ben Nieman’s use remained steady at 69%. The increased reliance on linebackers was reflected with increases for both Anthony Hitchens and Nick Bolton. Their roles remained unchanged: Niemann saw more use against the pass, while Hitchens and Bolton were on the field more often for running plays. Just as against Cleveland, Darius Harris and Dorian O’Daniel only played on special-teams snaps.