It’s now time for all good men to come to the aid of their country… I mean, Team. Football is finally back baby and even though it’s just training camp, expectations are higher than ever for our Kansas City Chiefs. With all sorts of changes this offseason, we’re all wanting to know a few things and hopefully we can get those questions answered by the end of camp. These questions will also serve as a view to a kill… I mean, training camp. First and foremost, let’s take a look at what we’d like to know.
.
.
1. Is Patrick really good to go?
With turf toe surgery back in February right after the Super Bowl, many have wondered if Patrick Mahomes would be ready to go by the time the beginning of the season rolled around in September. The good news is, he’s ready now and will be a full participant in Training camp.
.
.
One week ago, from the horses mouth:
.
“I’ve been training, running, throwing, doing everything that I usually do. That’s what was so good about (OTA’s) and doing those things is that I tested it there and realized I was good. Then when I got back with (personal trainer Bobby Stroupe) and I was able to do what I normally would do.”
.
At the end of the 2020 season Mahomes’ left shoe was equipped with a special carbon fiber orthotic to help reduce the possibility of further injury. From where things stand now, it looks like that helped.
.
.
2. Is Tyrann Mathieu taking the field even
though he hasn’t yet secured an extension?
.
No worries here either. Mr. Honey Badger — aka The Landlord — is not only back at it in St. Joe for the beginning of camp, but he’s passed the physical and in great shape:
.
.
.
If there is one player who is the most important on the defensive side of the ball, that player is Tyrann Mathieu, and it has been that way since he came to the Chiefs two years ago. He was also critical to the Chiefs two Super Bowl runs. Back in May he was asked if a contract extension would get done to which he replied on twitter: “Probably Not. Been here before. All good.” Then, The K.C. Star reported in June that Mathieu was “optimistic an extension would get done.” So, who knows. The bottom line? Mathieu is in camp and if the Chiefs want to, they can place the Franchise tag on Mathieu next offseason thereby keeping him around another year after this one. However, that won’t make this very vocal defensive leader a happy camper, that’s for sure. I just hate the idea of what this defense would look like without Mathieu.
.
3. What does the OL alignment look like?
.
One thing we know for sure about this new offensive line is: they like to be violent. First year RG Trey Smith described himself as a “goon.” When new LT Orlando Brown was asked about Trey Smith’s comment, he followed that up by saying, “Yeah, man, we’ve got a bunch of renegades up front.”
.
.
While the left side of the line appears to be written in stone with Brown and LG Joe Thuney, the starting positions at Center, Right Guard and Right Tackle look to be open competitions. While many are projecting Mike Remmers as the starter at Right Tackle the future of he OL looks like it will be: LT Brown, LG Thuney, OC Humphrey, RG Smith, and RT Niang. That’s the 2022 starting offensive line, IMHO. So, the question is… how do we get there?
.
If Creed Humphrey wins the starting OC role this season, whether that’s on day one or mid-way in to the year, say, after the Bye Week… then that leave the RG and RT positions to be transitioned too. Reid likes his vets so I’ guess he goes with a vet to begin the year on the right side. OC is a strong possibility as Creed Humphrey is not only one of the best Centers to come out of the draft in years, but he has the blessing of Orlando Brown, who he played with at OU.
.
4. Who’s on the field the most at CB?
.
We’ll be watching the CB situation closely. With Bashaud Breeland not returning, the obvious characters are: L’Jarius Sneed, Charvarius Ward, and Rashad Fenton as the primary three starters. Fenton played on nearly 50% (49%) of the defensive snaps last year so those who are less familiar with his play need to know that PFF gave him a 2020 seasonal grade of 70.3. That’s plenty enough better than the 64.4 rating they gave to Charvarius Ward, but not nearly as good as the 72.9 rating they gave to Sneed, who might end this season as a top ten CB in the league. Still, Fenton’s performance is close to what Sneed’s was and although Ward had a down year with a broken hand, we expect him to have a bounce back season.
.
Probably the biggest CB questions come when you consider who will be the depth corners? If there’s a long term injury to even one front line CB, the Chiefs could be in trouble. It’s encouraging to see Deandre Baker back up and in the running after he broke his femur late in 2020, but we also know how long it takes an injured player to fully recover, which is usually after a full season. If Mike Hughes can fulfill the promise of a first round pick, the Chiefs could really have an excellent cornerback room. Otherwise, they’re an injury away from being in the bottom ten.
.
The cornerbacks situation is clearly a place to watch. Inquiring minds want to know.
.
5. Can Cornell Powell and Noah Gray
find their niche beginning in TC?
.
From everything we’re seeing so far this offseason, Brett Veach has done an excellent job of bringing in two pass catchers — Cornell Powell and Noah Gray — who can hold onto the ball, and who have improved their possible early status as players who can contribute early in the season.
.
.
One huge hole in the CHiefs attack, which was exposed in Super Bow LIV, was the lack of pass catchers who could make a move and hold onto the ball on underneath routes. When all you have is Travis Kelce to make those kinds of moves, you’re sunk. Yes, Tyreek Hill is capable but the Chiefs game plan appeared to be to use Hill on deep routes, which also requires max protection by the OL, which is exactly where they failed. Thus, an almost completely rebuilt OL in 2021.
.
..
Enter Noah Gray and Cornell Powell… to the rescue! It may take some time for them to get integrated into the offense, but once they do, Patrick Mahomes can exploit teams in a new ways. That thought is absolutely astounding.
.
6. Will Frank Clark show up big time
even though he has off field issues?
.
.
Frank Clark is in camp. Enough said.
.
7. Will Will Parks fit into Armani Watts role?
.
.
With Safety Armani Watts going to the PUP (Physically Unable to Preform), it leaves the door wide open for newly acquired Will Parks to slip right into his spot as a backup Safety. Watts hasn’t played more than 10% of the snaps, but Parks is capable of much more. Parks is now 26 years old, is heading into his 6th season in the NFL and played in more than 50% of the defensive snaps 3 out of his first four seasons, before signing with the Eagles in the Spring of 2020 and being released because of a hamstring injury.
.
.
After he was released the Broncos signed him back but he signed with K.C. this past May. Rodney McCloud, an Eagles Safety, said of Parks:
.
“Energy. That’s the first word that comes to mind for Will Parks, man. He’s a very energetic guy, comes to work every day ready. This guy has shown that he has the ability to do it all.”
.
8. What is the on-the-field mix at LB?
.
The big news here is that Anthony Hitchens has slimmed down to 231 lbs., a weight that can possibly give him a step in coverage. With the NFL still transitioning to a passing game league, any help in coverage will benefit the Chiefs. We’ll be keeping an eye on the Linebackers to see what the transition for Nick Bolton as the MLB looks like. While we expect Bolton to get more and mroe ILB snaps as the year progresses, it may begin to happen in camp.
.
Pete Sweeney at ArrowheadPride said this week that he expects Anthony Hitchens to tutor Nick Bolton this season much the same way Alex Smith tutored Patrick Mahomes in his rookie year with Bolton taking over next year. However, if Hitchens can piece together a strong season it means one less piece GM Brett Veach will have to replace next offseason.
.
Final Note
Here’s a look at the Chiefs schedule this next week in Training camp. Remember, if you want to go to training camp, you need to make prior arrangement with the Chiefs organization.
.
.
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
.
If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/chiefs-camp-8-things-we-want-to-know/#disqus_thread)
.