Chiefs: Cody Thompson is in the Room

Chiefs: Cody Thompson is in the Room – It looks like the Kansas City Chiefs have their 5th wide receiver locked into place once September rolls around and that would be Cody Thompson. With Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson virtually guaranteed spots on the team in 2019, that leaves two WR positions available for 7 other Chiefs to fill, now that Marcus Kemp has been lost for the season with both ACL and MCL injuries. The players most likely to fill those shoes (barring trades or signings): Thompson, Byron Pringle, Gehrig Dieter, Jamal Custis, Felton Davis, Davon Grayson, and Rashard Davis. 

With Cody Thompson’s 7 catch performance vs the Pittsburgh Steelers in Preseason Game 2, it appears the 5th slot is now spoken for and that leaves one spot for 6 players to battle it out. On one hand, there’s still a lot of time to go until cut down day on August 31st but on the other, Cody Thompson has been consistently staking his claim and his unique skill set would help round out the Chiefs wide receiver room. 

There are three kinds of wide receivers who make it big in the National Football League: the ones who can beat you over the top or deep because of their speed — think Tyreek Hill — then there are the ones who are tall and athletic who can go up and fight for the ball in traffic and win — think Julio Jones — and then there are the ones who are possession type wideouts who can run great routes put their foot in the ground and beat you with quickness often coming back towards the QB over the middle — think Julian Edelman. The Kansas City Chiefs finally have that last kind of wide receiver in the person of Cody Thompson.

Like Julian Edelman, Cody Thompson was a quarterback in high school. He grew up in the town of Huron, Ohio (see map above) on Lake Erie, population 6,923 (2017). Huron is located halfway between Cleveland and Toledo and it’s small enough to not show up on a lot of maps. Toledo was Thompson’s college of choice and he played for 5 seasons there, playing in 50 games total. He gained 3,312 yards receiving and 18.3 yards per reception spending his entire college career as a WR. Thompson led the MAC (Mid-American Conference) in yards per reception in 2015 and 2016 and ended up 5th in the MAC in that category All-time.

The Skill Set

Although the Chiefs utilize their wideouts all over, making matchups a difficult task for the opposition, they typically create space for the wide receivers mostly through scheming. With Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, and now Mecole Hardman, able to stretch the field long, it has opened up spaces for tight ends over the middle, mostly Travis Kelce. Those same wide receivers have been used to widen the field which also helps create running lanes for running backs, Jet sweeps, screens and the like. The original concepts of the West Coast offense, which Andy Reid has taken and expanded upon — to put it mildly — is also based upon timing routes. The kind of timing which requires the quarterback to make quick reads and deliver the ball on a dime and in a set amount of time, based upon his steps in the pocket and the wide receivers break in his route. However, Patrick Mahomes has taken the basic play designs of Andy Reid and improvised, the way a great musician does in a jazz quartet.

Cody Thompson gives Mahomes a player who is a proficient route runner in the middle of the field. Thompson has the ability to get off the los (line of scrimmage) execute his route then the quickness to plant his foot in the turf, turn and look for the ball.

Thompson has been diligent in developing his technique. So much of the game is mental and if you have the physical makeup to play at the highest level, you can go far: think Steve Largent. As an ex-instructor I can tell you that if you want to be even more successful, you study success. You know the old adage: success breeds success. Thompson used to watch tape of a certain wide receiver when he was in college:

“I used to watch Sammy Watkins film when he was at Clemson: he was a freak player. Now I’m learning from him. He’s a great guy, a humble person. He’s passing down some knowledge.” -Cody Thompson, The Sandusky Register

So, Thompson was learning how to be a pro long ago. Although he was an Undrafted Free Agent, he had a strong rookie minicamp and mandatory minicamp too.  For many pro athletes, “you learn best by watching” and Thompson has been studying the right way for years and his attention to details, plus an ability to put knowledge into action (premise into praxis), is paying off now

“It’s a lot of verbiage. You have to listen to what speaks for you. You have to adjust. They throw a lot at you to see what you can handle. I’m trying to pick up things as quickly as I can so I can be a viable option for them.”

Seth Keysor, of The Athletic, makes the point that there is more to being a wide receiver than being a good route runner and/or receiving the ball. Thompson has the ability to pick up, yards after the catch, as well:

Thompson may end up playing a lot of Slot receiver for the Chiefs. If he is asked to perform there, he’ll have to know how to deal with LBs who are tasked with hitting him at the los in order to knock him off his route early and disrupt his timing. In the following play, the Steelers allow Thompson a free release. The more he becomes successful, the more you can count on teams sending someone to disrupt his timing and it will be up to Thompson to adapt. That’s the next step for him: avoiding the re-route.

While Thompson is a strong Special Teams contributor, not many fans are standing in line to see who the next great gunner will be… but they are interested in who will fill out the Chiefs wide receiving room roster. Thompson has the background, the tape, the skills, the ability and now the consistent record from college to OTAs to Training camp.

All Thompson needs to do now is: maintain his level of play, continue his progression, and… not get hurt. Remember, it was just one year ago when Byron Pringle, who was burning up training camp, pulled a left hamstring (revealing an Inguinal hernia) in the game against the Green Bay Packers after catching 4 passes for 122 yards… then had to sit out the 2018 season.

Hallelujah, there appears to be some congruency betwixt pundits concerning Mr. Thompson:

“Cody Thompson, an undrafted rookie receiver, is making a strong case to earn a roster spot with the Chiefs.” – Nate Taylor, The Athletic

I don’t think Cody Thompson’s route to the roster is one that comes by default. Even if Marcus Kemp had not gotten injured, Thompson should be making the final roster. This is not a Training camp crush situation either, Thompson has earned this… so far.

So, assuming all is well with the football gods, Cody Thompson should not only make the Chiefs 53-man roster in 11 days but make an important contribution to the offense, expanding its capabilities. His style of play could be a missing puzzle piece making the Chiefs offense globally difficult to deal with, more than it already is, for defenses across the league. Thompson brings something to the table these Chiefs haven’t served before… an inside passing game. Bon appetit, NFL, I have the feeling a host of teams are going to be needing the Heimlich.

Go Chiefs!

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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