The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped their final training camp practice of the week on Wednesday.
They'll soon make the trip to Jacksonville, Florida, where they'll face the Jaguars in preseason Week 1 on Saturday, August 10 at 6:00 p.m. CT. They'll return to camp next week for three more practices before leaving Missouri Western State University and St. Joe for good, at least until next year.
Today's padded practice session saw plenty of intensity, a few injuries, some up-and-down play on the offense during team drills, and a rookie continuing to ascend after a strong training camp.
Let's get to it. . .
Kingsley Suamataia standing out against the Chiefs' top edge rushers
It might be the most overused platitude of football, but Chiefs second-round draft pick Kingsley Suamataia has proven that he doesn't make a lot of the same mistakes twice. He's grown before our eyes in this training camp, getting the overwhelming majority of the first-team repetitions at left tackle as a rookie.
His athleticism and physicality have been notable on plays where he's allowed to get in space, but he's also learning to handle himself better in shorter areas, too. During OL/DL one-on-ones on Wednesday, after struggling to defend a spin move to the inside from Felix Anudike-Uzomah, put together a trio of repetitions that truly showcased his development.
Suamataia worked Anudike-Uzomah up the arc on a speed rush after cutting off the inside counter, but that wasn't even his biggest test. He had back-to-back repetitions against DEs Mike Danna and George Karlaftis, the Chiefs' top two edge rushers. Danna hit him with a speed rush, which was quickly cut off and worked away from the quarterback. Karlaftis went at him with power and a spin, and Suamataia showed off a strong base to hold his ground and not give any way to the would-be quarterback.
With the preseason fast approaching, Suamataia will get his first taste of true NFL competition in Jacksonville. That'll be the next step in his advancement: Going against players who aren't your teammates that you've been practicing against for months on end. The higher draft picks will get an opportunity to face off with the types of players they'll see every game day during the 2024 NFL season.
"Kingsley Suamataia being one of them," Chiefs HC Andy Reid said. "We'll just see how he does in there, but I'm anticipating good things."
. . . like an opportunity to put everything that Suamataia has learned to the test.
The latest on the injury situation
Chiefs HC Andy Reid gave an update on the injury situation after practice on Wednesday. In addition to the players mentioned DE Charles Omenihu and DE BJ Thompson remain absent. Harrison Butker indicated after practice that it should be a few more weeks until Thompson is cleared to return.
"As far as the injuries go, (Nick) Bolton, (Jaaron) Hayek, (Kelvin) Joseph, (Chris) Jones, (Justin) Reid and (Kadarius) Toney were out," Reid said. "Toney's back stiffened up on him."
Toney has now dealt with an ankle injury and back stiffness during training camp. This latest ailment comes just a day after he was listed fifth on the team's first depth chart behind Hollywood Brown, Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, and Mecole Hardman.
There were two injuries during practice. Undrafted LB Swayze Bozeman came up hobbled after a play during team drills. This comes just a day after Steve Spagnuolo praised the rookie for what he'd shown at camp and his willingness to learn from vets like Jack Cochrane.
"(Swayze) Bozeman hyperextended his knee," Reid said. "We'll see where it goes from there."
As for Wanya Morris, there was a scary moment during practice when he suffered a knee injury and stayed down on the field. They stopped practice and players got on one knee around him while the training staff worked with him. This lasted about 45 seconds before Morris popped back up and limped over to the sideline. He was able to walk off the injury and eventually re-enter practice, working at left tackle with the second-team O-Line.
"He came back in," Reid said of Morris. "He just tweaked his knee a little bit."
Reid also indicated that LG Joe Thuney would not play in the upcoming preseason game.
How the resurgence of the Chiefs' deep passing game is impacting everyone else
There is no denying that the Chiefs' offense has shown more verticality at Missouri Western State University over the past several weeks than it featured a season ago. Andy Reid has downplayed it and said they're not throwing the ball deep with any more frequency than they have in years past, but the willingness to push the ball down the field and the success in doing so has been notable.
We're not just seeing more deep throws, though. Patrick Mahomes is also seeing how having a functional deep passing game makes life easier for everyone else on the field.
"If we can hit people deep, it's going to make the safeties get back," Mahomes said. "And then you open up more space in that medium part of the field. Y'all seen Rashee (Rice) had a great camp. So has Travis (Kelce), guys like Noah (Gray) and (Jared) Wiley. If you can open it up down the field with those speed guys, that threat opens the whole entire field up."
It hasn't just opened things up for the pass-catchers either, but the running game has appeared much more successful at times as well. Obviously, we won't get to see that in full until the Chiefs face some actual opponents during the preseason, but the reality is that they can attack every blade of grass with this iteration of the offense.
Quick hitters
The offense didn't have a particularly good day to start 11-on-11 team drills. The first time around they went four-and-out, with two exceptional plays from the defensive secondary. Josh Williams punched out a ball as Rashee Rice brought it down. Bryan Cook contested a pass to Xavier Worthy deep down the left sideline.
Deneric Prince's speed in the open field is notable. He had a long run during 9-on-7 where Bryan Cook attempted to chase him down. He made a solid try, but Prince was far too fast.
Patrick Mahomes finally whipped out the behind-the-back pass during team drills. He flipped it to Isiah Pacheco, who ran it in for the score. Pacheco then punted the football in celebration.
Carson Wentz had a back shoulder fade to Justyn Ross that drew an audible reaction from the crowd at Chiefs training camp. Easily the best catch of the day with tight coverage from Joshua Williams. The two jawed back and forth a bit after the play.
TE Baylor Cupp joined RB Carson Steele in the not-a-fullback-fullback club on Wednesday. He had a rep during team drills where he aligned in the backfield and lead-blocked for Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Some good competition during OL/DL one-on-ones today. Chu Godrick had a play where he tossed Malik Herring out of the club. Fabien Lovett and CJ Hanson had a few good battles.
S Jaden Hicks showed off some mental acuity on a play with some misdirection. He didn't bite on the fake and was able to rally Isiah Pacheco out of bounds before he made a big gain in 11-on-11.
TE Jared Wiley continues to be used most frequently in the red zone. It feels like that's going to be his bread and butter this season.
This felt like WR Mecole Hardman's best day at training camp since I've been out. He made quite a few contested and tough grabs near the sideline. He also had a really good play where he had to catch the ball in stride as he worked across the field in 11-on-11. He reversed course after his catch to avoid contact.
Louis Rees-Zammit and Nikko Remigio were the top two kickoff return specialists on Wednesday.
WR Kyle Sheets has quietly had a really good training camp working with the third- and fourth-unit offense. He also hasn't had the benefit of good quarterback play.
TE Geor'Quarius Spivey continues to impress with his size and strong hands. He also hasn't had the benefit of great QB play.