If Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes wins a third Super Bowl in 2023, he will carry two former Pittsburgh Steelers with him along for the ride. That includes 2022 draft pick Chris Oladokun. He has been a member of their practice squad for the past two years.
While he has not earned a spot on the 53-man roster, he has made himself useful. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo spoke highly of the 26-year-old quarterback this week leading up to their game against the Baltimore Ravens in the conference finals, and for good reason.
It is because he is preparing Spagnuolo’s defense to face Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, the premiere quarterback running threat. He “only” rushed for 821 yards in the regular season, but added another 100 and two touchdowns in Baltimore’s Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans. He is the only quarterback to rush for 100 or more yards in the postseason three times.
“I will say we’re fortunate that we have Chris”, Ed Easton Jr. of the USA Today quoted Spaguolo as saying of Oladokun, noting that he was acting as the scout team quarterback emulating Jackson. “He did it last week for us. He was Josh Allen, and Blaine [Gabbert] did a little bit of it too, but you can’t simulate it”.
Oladokun got very little work in training camp and the preseason as a rookie in 2002. Pittsburgh waived him outright; it is not known if they ever offered him a practice squad contract. If they did, then he turned it down. He signed with the Chiefs’ practice squad on August 31, 2022, a member of the organization since then.
Oladokun ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day performance in 2022. He also had a 2.68-second 20-yard split. His athleticism was always an element of his attractiveness coming out of college. But he did not get a chance to compete in Pittsburgh in a crowded quarterback room.
He already has one Super Bowl ring as a member of the Chiefs’ practice squad in 2022. He could get another, in his second season since being drafted, having never spent a second on an NFL 53-man roster. But as Spagnuolo reminds, it is not without contributing to the efforts.
“There are some things that we have talked about in how we should practice to prepare for [Jackson]”, the Chiefs defensive coordinator said. “I think Chris gives us as good a look as we’re gonna get during the course of a practice week”.
Thus, indirectly, the Steelers may help the Chiefs defeat the Ravens. Baltimore is participating in its first conference finals since winning the Super Bowl in 2012. They are the top seed in the conference following a stellar regular season in which they largely dominated the best teams they faced. The glaring exception was their 0-2 record against Pittsburgh—albeit including a season finale in which they rested starters.
