Chiefs: I Have Been Struggling

The Struggle has been due to my general lack of belief that we learn truths until the pads are on and even then, I believe it becomes more evident in the 2nd week of work with the players having donned pads and begun contact. In the second week in pads, the truth for each player unfolds and is visible to viewers, even someone who is an outsider with no inside track. My Obervations Thus Far 1. LOT Kingsley Suamataia – from all accounts by pundits and analysts is beyond a Work-in-Progress. He is quick with his feet and learns from his mistakes. I wrote in a previous article that I believed Suamataia had the inside track to the starting role. As long as that proceeds has it has been, I think Kingsley is our next LOT. 2. LOT Wanya Morris – When Brett Veach drafted Morris as the Round 3, 2023 draft pick, I thought that was an excellent choice. Due to UT origin, I had sufficient introduction to him as a player. The LOT Role is to protect the QB from his blind side, a crucial role. I predicted a week ago, that Suamataia would win out the role and speculated about Morris getting snaps inside at OG as well. Morris as the Swing Tackle is fine by me but I thought he played well enough to be a starter. That will all depend on items 4 and 5, below. 3. ROT Jawaan Taylor – I covered this in my previous piece but state again, I thought the officials targeted him unfairly, due to other NFL players aligning the same way as Taylor. That fact tells me the officiating is inconsistent crew to crew, and I believe that the officials should be NFL Employees and receive training and education so that uniformity of what is a a violation and thus in need of a penalty flag, and what does not, is consistent. I know that watching the Chiefs and seeing Taylor draw a flag, and then watching other games on the same day, it was obvious to me that once an observer drew attention to Taylor, that he was flagged unfairly, when comparing other OTs. I did specifically watch for this, and for me it was infuriating. Later in the 2023, Taylor adjusted his alignment and the flagrant attention by referees dwindled. He was a solid ROT, but not elite by any means. Seth Keysor (Chiefs in the North) even dedicated a full article to the topic of Jawaan and the flags. It is my view that Taylor, in his second season on the right side, will provide Patrick Mahomes solid pass blocking protection in 2024. Perhaps the real question is: Will Lucas Niang make the 2024 roster? If Niang can overcome any negative view by Andy Heck and Andy Reid, I think he would add solidity to the OL Group. 4. LOG Mike Caliendo – There has been many laudatory comments about how well Mike is play as the LOG and that is good news. I have often left him out of consideration but he appears to be earning his stripes. I want to see him in week 2 of practice in pads, then I will be more certain about Caliendo taking on the starting role. The fact that Andy Heck appears confident about Caliendo, is also a factor. 5. LOG Joe Thuney – We still don’t know how close Joe Thuney is to playing at his All-Pro level and I don’t think we will know for another week or two. He did come of the PUP this week and is practicing. Thuney has been the leader of the IOL group which is important to the younger players Center, Creed Humphrey and ROG Trey Smith. I worry that a 30+ Year old player can actually get back to form quickly enough to ascend to his previous level and note the difficulty of rehab for a pectoral muscle tear. Laddie and I chatted about it a couple of times over the past week. He has a similar view to mine. I applauded GM Brett Veach going out and signing Thuney at the time and believe he is a total “Chief”. I merely worried about the rehab anavailability. For me? Joe Thuney’s status is in Wait-and-See mode is the status. 6. RB #2 – Will CEH be the #2? I have heard that it is not a locked role and that Deneric Prince is turning in good performances in camp. Since I have been disappointed in Clyde Edwards-Helaire, It would not hurt my feelings one little bit to see Prince emerge in 2024 as the #2 RB. Aside: I really wanted Veach to go out and get Jerick Mckinnon for one more season, but they assigned jersey #1 to Xavier Worthy. I still would like to see Mckinnon back in KC. 7. WR’s Still up in the Air – I think we know that Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, and Rashee Rice are surely the front three WRs of the crew. I think Justin Watson is as well, so that gives me 4 players. The big question seems to be finding a way to get Kadarius Toney in the game. They are working him in as a RB and WR both. Toney has talent that cannot be ignored and it would be powerful if Toney can assume a swing role of RB/WR. Since KC did not bring back McKinnon, it appears to me that Andy Reid wants to use Toney in the multi-role similar to how Reid used McKinnon. The next guy in my list of WRs is WR Nikko Remigio. It’s too early to tell, but it appears to me that Nikko will make the 2024 roster. If they posit Toney as a RB, there is likely one more WR retained to the active roster – Who will that be? it’s too early to tell, but Skyy Moore likely has an inside track. I do not see Moore as WR #1-#4. Moore has been a dissapointment for me from the start but he was a draft pick and coming into his 3rd season. I suspect that this means he will be retained. Outsider views of this posit that Justyn Ross is ahead of Moore. I doubt that is true though. Last but not least – Who takes the place of L’Jarius Sneed? – CB #2 needs someone to step in and step up ASAP. I think we need to see Jalen Watson return from injury status, how well Joshua Williams plays this season, an we surely need to find out if Nazeeh Johnson ascends. I have great confidence in safeties Justin Reid and Bryan Cook and from what I see, Spags is considering using Chamarri Connor in a fluid role. What I hope is that Connor can be used some at CB, as well as at safety. Do I have other worries or Concerns – Not really Truth Time? I am not greatly worried about any position on this roster. There are players who will be new starters and I covered most of the possibilities. I believe in Andy Heck. The OL will be very solid. I believe in CB Coach Dave Merritt. Someone among the players will emerge before the end of Pre-season. WRs? The Chiefs have so many potential candidates that it will become evident for us very soon. I suppose that my biggest item of concern is who will be CB#2 and who will man the Slot when 3 CBs are needed. David Bell – Arrowheadone