The Chiefs’ Week 1 preseason in Kansas City vs. Arizona features a notable inactive list, with Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown among Chiefs’ inactives and Cardinals veterans Valentin Senn, Will Hernandez, Quez Watkins, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Walter Nolen, and BJ Ojulari also not slated to play. In preseason, teams don’t formally declare inactives the way they do in the regular season; players simply aren’t expected to participate, and rosters can shift up until kickoff.

For fantasy-minded fans, the absences open shallow depth chart opportunities and highlight which young or backups could see extra reps. Chiefs’ pass-catching options could shift upward behind Rice, while the Cardinals will lean on other receivers and depth pieces to fill gaps. This game will give a brisk read on how both teams deploy their non-starting units and which players might warrant late-round attention or DFS exposure in the near term.

Bottom line: eye the backups who seize snaps when the stars sit. In these early exhibitions, what happens in these first drives often signals who gains a louder role once the regular season rolls around. The preseason nature of the inactives means the real fantasy impact will emerge in subsequent games as coaches reveal more of their rotation and injury slate evolves.