The Kansas City Chiefs will wrap up their preseason against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night before getting set to resume their quest to win a Super Bowl come Week 1 of the regular season.
The Chiefs are widely considered one of the best teams in the NFL heading into 2019, but even they have some jobs that are still relatively undecided.
So, here are three key Chiefs players to watch in Kansas City's final exhibition game:
3. Damien Wilson
The Chiefs signed Damien Wilson this offseason, and now, Wilson is getting set to start full-time at linebacker for the first time of his NFL career.
Wilson spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and made 22 starts overall, but he was in and out of the lineup and was never able to make a real impact as a result.
But he is expected to be a starter on Kansas City's defense going into this season, so it would strongly behoove him to have a solid outing on Thursday to get into a rhythm heading into Week 1.
Wilson is coming off of a 2018 campaign in which he totaled 37 tackles and a sack, but he will be expected to be much more productive than that in a starting role for the Chiefs.
2. Mecole Hardman
When Kansas City drafted Mecole Hardman in the second round of the draft back in April, people instantly began comparing him to Tyreek Hill, which seemed especially significant given Hill's uncertain status at that time.
But now, with Hill in the fold, Hardman is expected to be the Chiefs' No. 3 receiver behind Hill and Sammy Watkins, and he could end up being a big-time weapon in Kansas City's explosive offense thanks to his blinding speed and quickness.
Hardman has certainly had his moments this preseason, catching a couple of touchdown passes, but it would certainly be nice if he could put together a big performance on Thursday.
He probably doesn't need to worry about his job. Hardman seems to have the No. 3 receiver role down. That's not the point.
The point is that he is an incredibly fun player with a ton of potential and always makes for an interesting watch, so keep your eyes on him in the preseason finale.
1. Darwin Thompson
All offseason long, we have assumed that Damien Williams will be the Chiefs' No. 1 back going into 2019, but here we are in late August, and that doesn't seem to be a foregone conclusion.
While Williams is certainly the favorite and will probably end up winning the job, rookie running back Darwin Thompson has been making his case, as he has had a very solid preseason.
The fact that Williams has dealt with some injuries this summer has obviously not helped his case, but that's not the only reason for the hoopla surrounding Thompson.
The kid has been genuinely good and has even passed Carlos Hyde as the No. 2 back on the team, which is a pretty impressive accomplishment in and of itself for a sixth-round pick.
If Thompson shows out in the preseason finale, Williams might be sweating his job out until Week 1.
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