There’s no upside for the Kansas City Chiefs in seeing Patrick Mahomes sidelined. But in the middle of that reality, an opening has appeared for Chris Oladokun. With Mahomes out, Oladokun finally gets a stretch of snaps that actually matter, and Andy Reid didn’t dance around what this week represents for the quarterback.

“I think this game will be another audition for that. He did a nice job last week… We’ll just see where he continues to grow at,” Andy Reid said.

Doors don’t open often, but when they do, you’d better be ready to walk through them. Oladokun is getting that chance because the Chiefs’ quarterback depth chart has been turned upside down over the last few weeks.

Veteran backup Gardner Minshew, who was expected to be the steady hand behind Mahomes, completed a few passes before throwing a costly interception that helped officially knock Kansas City out of playoff contention. The pick hurt, but it didn’t suddenly erase what Minshew has been in this league. Coaches know what he can do.

The plan was clear earlier in the year. With Mahomes expected to miss time over the summer, Minshew was lined up to be the primary backup through camp and potentially into Week 1. But Minshew suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter at Tennessee during his first start as a Chief, and just like that, everything changed.

That’s where Oladokun entered the picture. Thrown into a situation that had been prepped all week for someone else, he took over against the Titans and didn’t look overwhelmed. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 111 yards in his first meaningful NFL action and looked pretty decent.

Then came the start against the Denver Broncos. He went 13 of 22 for 66 yards, a touchdown, and a 79.0 rating. A little modest, sure. But he was facing the league’s top defense, operating behind two third-string offensive tackles, and trying to manage a game that wasn’t designed around him.

What made it more impressive was how little prep he had. According to Travis Kelce, Oladokun wasn’t getting much in the way of first-team reps leading into the game.

“I’m a busy body at practice, I like to get some work in. So, during the defensive period, things like that, I’m usually around all the quarterbacks. So, it wasn’t the first time I’d ever caught a pass from him. I’d at least seen it come out of his hands,” Kelce revealed on the New Heights podcast.

And just like that, Oladokun has placed himself squarely in the Chiefs’ 2026 quarterback conversation. And he knows he belongs in it.

Chris Oladokun knows he belongs in the league

Chris Oladokun, now 28, has been part of the Kansas City Chiefs organization since 2022, but it never felt like it. He hadn’t taken a single regular-season snap for Kansas City before stepping in for Gardner Minshew against the Tennessee Titans. When he lined up against the Denver Broncos the following week, he had thrown just 16 passes in his entire NFL career.

Four years into a professional football life with almost no real-game tape, doubt tends to creep in. Oladokun admitted he felt it, too.

“I think the thing that I take the most from is that I belong in the league. When you don’t play for four years, your mind starts to wander. Am I really supposed to be here? Should I be somewhere else? You’re not really sure because you haven’t done it. When you go out there and do it vs guys that are starters and all pros and Pro Bowls, it gives you confidence that I do belong here.”

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The Broncos game backed that up. Watching him operate, there was no sense of a quarterback playing tight or afraid to make a mistake. He moved in the pocket, escaped pressure when it closed in, and delivered throws while bodies were around him.

Confidence wasn’t an issue. If anything, it showed up immediately. Maybe that comes from spending years in the same room as Patrick Mahomes. Maybe it’s just the result of finally getting a chance to play without wondering if it would be taken away after one play. Either way, Oladokun didn’t look out of place.

Now comes what might be his clearest window. This week’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, one of the league’s struggling defenses, is likely his final and best opportunity to make a full case for himself. Andy Reid will be watching closely.