Chiefs Training Camp Day 8: OPEN THREAD

Chiefs Training Camp Day 8:

OPEN THREAD

by Laddie Morse

Watching football on Thursday evening left me thirsty for Kansas City Chiefs football. It was great to see the Chiefs ex-OC Matt Nagy pulling the strings for Chicago but beyond that, the game was a major tease. Football, yes. Chiefs football? No. That being said, fans should get ready for a number of game-time interruptions so that referees, coaches and media can all talk through the new helmet rule and how it applies on different plays. It’s not going to be smooth sailing on the institution of this rule so, fans should be appraised of the possible skids-and-jerks to the game flow.

The W-W-W Question: Who Won’t Work?

The Chiefs 2018 draftees are looking better and better as Training Camp unfolds. It’s looking more and more like each of them will play an important role in the team’s plans in 2018. Sure, I’ve heard that Kahlil McKenzie is a Guard of the future but I even heard good things about him in this camp. Still, every other draftee is getting his fair share of positive press. One of the big questions I had coming into camp is whether ot not the Chiefs first pick, Breeland Speaks, a converted OL to OLB, could show us he had the necessary coverage skills and I think that question has been answered so far:

NT Derrick Nnadi was heralded by the Chiefs regime who drafted him as being a run stopper but he comes in a bit smallish so the question for him was whether or not he could fend off the larger offensive linemen he’d face and make an impact in year one? Nnadi tops AP’s Pete Sweeney’s list of day one contributors:

From early on in Training Camp, Dorian O’Daniel has been right there:

As many of you know, I have just retired last year after 39 years of teaching kids Pre-8th graders. The shaping of our young minds and hearts has always been a top priority for me so when I witness a player embracing the same basic tenets I have given my life for, it touches me deeply. Dorian O’Daniels is one of those players… not to say we don’t have many of those wonderful white-hearted players on the Chiefs roster. Here’s what O’Daniel had to say recently about the Helmet Walk: a time after practice where young kids get to carry a players helmet all the way to the locker room while he talks to that player:

“You never know what a young kid may be going through, so to have this platform and to have this opportunity to brighten their day – whether that be a conversation with them or just through some words of encouragement – you never know where that will take them in the long run,” said rookie linebacker Dorian O’Daniel. “Having this opportunity to put that wisdom in their ears, that’s what this game is all about.”

Here’s another favorite player of mine on the Helmet Walk talking to this youngster. I chose this Helmet Walk vid because if you turn the volume up, you can hear their conversation. LDT is another wonderful human being:

Tremon Smith has been getting lots of props for his gunner ability and return skills. In fact, it looks like he has already secured his place on Special Teams as a #1 Gunner (because of his 4.3 – 40 speed, which happens to be 2nd on the team to you know who) and a #2 Kick Returner: Toub says he has a great first step once he catches the ball. Beyond that, Tremon (pronounced: truh-MON and not, TRAY-mon) is also getting oodles of kudos for his CB play and it won’t surprise me at all to see him in a starting role by the end of this season. You do know I like to call him, “Sherman-Lite” (as in, Richard Sherman), right? In fact, I may have to take the “Lite” off that label before the season is up. In the meantime, Tremon will be getting on the field plenty when the Chiefs want to load the field with their best corners.

With Kahlil McKenzie’s family background it won’t surprise me either if he’s an All-Pro one day. I just think he looks so much better in Red and Gold than Black and yuck:

Based upon the difficulty of the position, I am going to say WWW… will be Breeland Speaks –> in his first year. I know I’ll get some grief for that but hear me out. Derrick Nnadi will gets a lot of rotational reps — if he stays healthy — because I don’t believe the NT position is as skill reliant at OLB. I’m assuming Reggie Ragland will be back to 100% and going strong (Brett Veach says if it were the regular season, Ragland would be playing right now) but even if he does, Dorian O’Daniel will get enough snaps during preseason games to show he can be an effective rotational guy as well, especially in the current pass-happy NFL.

The same goes for Armani Watts. In fact, I’ve heard enough good things about Watts in camp to think that there’s an outside chance he becomes a starter by mid-season. That leaves Tremon Smith and Kahlil McKenzie. As I mentioned, McKenzie will likely be the Chiefs “Guard of the Future” and even if he takes one more year to mature than LDT, he should be ready in 2020. Now, there’s a chance that during the first year of this draft class, for the Chiefs… that it’ll be turned on it’s head. That’s right, Tremon Smith could be the best player who shows up earliest from this draft class. Speed kills and 5th round choice Tyreek Hill proved that two years ago.

As with all things these days concerning the Chiefs… it’s a wait-n-see game.

Dandy Duel of the Day

Demarcus Robinson had a very good day — and he’s been having a good camp — on Day 7. Kendall Fuller asked to guard him and here’s what happened (here’s two views of the same play):

Patty Takes: “Somewhere, Over the….”

Speaking of Demarcus Robinson, he was in on this Patrick Mahomes throw a few days ago. Definitely worth posting now:

If you’re Jonesing for more of “Patrick Mahomes,” then you might want to check out an article by Pete Prisco for CBS Sports called, “Patrick Mahomes’ ridiculous right arm and more reasons why he’s ready to power the Chiefs.” It includes a video interview of Mahomes and HC Andy Reid, RB Kareem Hunt, ILB Reggie Ragland, WR Tyreek Hill… all commenting on Mahomes fire rocket arm. 

The next weeks schedule looks like this for the Chiefs:

• Sunday, Aug. 5 – 8:15 a.m. AUTOGRAPH DAY – SEASON TICKET HOLDERS
• Monday, Aug. 6 – 8:15 a.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 7 – 9:15 a.m.
• Wednesday, Aug. 8 – No Practice
• Thursday, Aug. 9 – GAME DAY

Don’t miss out on Ransom Hawthorne’s piece called,

“Chiefs Ugly Ducklings: Bird-Brained Thoughts

About Sutton’s Flock of Unsettling Starters”

at 10:45 this morning here at ArrowheadOne.

Enjoy Chiefs Training Camp Day 8. Go Chiefs!

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