Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Chris Oladokun has proven to be far more valuable for the Kansas City Chiefs than the team who drafted him. The other quarterback Pittsburgh drafted in 2022 after selecting Pitt’s Kenny Pickett in the first round, Oladokun has spent most of his career on the Chiefs’ practice squad, winning two rings with the organization. Now, he’s poised to finally enter a game.
Per Peter Schrager, “expect” Oladokun to receive snaps during the Chiefs’ Week 18 finale against the Denver Broncos.
Clinching the No. 1 seed with their 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, the Chiefs are expected to rest many of their starters in the regular season finale, including QB Patrick Mahomes. Veteran Carson Wentz will start and play but it sounds like Oladokun will see some action later in the game.
After drafting him in the seventh round out of South Dakota State, Pittsburgh had little use or role for Oladokun. The No. 4 quarterback behind three others competing for the starting role, Mason Rudolph, Mitch Trubisky, and Pickett, Oladkoun received almost zero reps during training camp. In fact, because we track these kinds of things, he saw just 19 reps across training camp. Most days were spent entirely sidelined during team periods.
Pittsburgh waived him before final cutdowns. He was scooped up by Kansas City and been on the team’s practice squad since. In a 2024 interview on the Stuck In My Thoughts podcast, Oladokun was thankful for his time in Pittsburgh, brief as it was.
“When I got cut, giving me an opportunity to even cut me earlier than the last cut of the last preseason game,” Oladokun said. “Just so I could find another opportunity. That was a blessing in disguise. I’ll always respect and love Coach Tomlin for that. Because he really did look out for me in terms of that.”
With Wentz 32 and a free agent after the season, this will give the Chiefs a chance to evaluate Oladkoun beyond a practice field, running a scout team, or the little preseason action he’s had. If he performs well enough, perhaps the team will give consideration to making him the No. 2 behind Mahomes in 2025. Oladokun and the Chiefs will look for their third-straight Super Bowl ring, something no team has done before.
