Originally Posted by Direckshun
(Post 15789631)
I went to camp yesterday:
- I didn't really see Mahomes do anything, but I thought Buechele looked pretty darn good. He had a truly special throw to the near sideline that was fairly Mahomes-ian, as he rolled to his right and threw without setting his feet, hitting a receiver in stride as he dove with a defender draped on him. It was the best throw I'd seen yesterday from any quarterback.
- Clyde has not shown the gamebreaking progression I thought we'd see from him. He still looks solid, like a guy who's going to be a contributor, but this offense desperately needs a tertiary threat in the passing game, and Clyde doesn't quite look to be stepping up into that.
- Darwin Thompson looks bigger and tougher -- I didn't go to camp last year due to Covid concerns, but the previous year he was a rookie and getting demolished in the pass protection drill by every linebacker. He held his own every single rep he got in the pass protection drill. I do think Thompson will still make the 53.
- Speaking of the blitzing vs. pass protection drill, here are some of the highlights: Michael Burton is a tank in pass protection; Edwards-Helaire is far better at pass protection than he was a year ago; Bell and Kelce do a good job against blitzers but Gray and Fortson are, currently, very bad; Gay is a damn buffalo and ruined Gray's life when they went one-on-one.
- Let's talk the two linebackers: Gay, as I just said, is a buffalo. He is huge and fast, and seems to be weaponizing it far better this year than he did last year. The Chiefs still played him only on base downs, which I think we're all going to complain about this season, because his ability to pursue is downright shocking. A QB threw a swing pass to a RB out in the flat, and Gay got there so fast, you could hear his stomping feet from the stands. He looks outstanding, with Pro Bowl upside. Nick Bolton, however, is the "base defense" version of Ben Niemann. He doesn't make mistakes, but he's so blah and unremarkable. He can't beat anybody in the blitzing drill, he doesn't look fast, and in the coverage drill he can't stick with anyone. He's currently a two-down LB only, and may not play that much this year, in part because Hitchens and Gay look great, but also because he simply doesn't look the part right now.
- Gray and Fortson are going to solidly be behind Bell on the depth chart at TE. They're both good receivers and make a bunch of catches, Fortson in particular. But neither can block at all right now -- they're not Tebow bad, but they're bad.
- Yes, everything you're hearing (and seeing) about Chris Jones is true. He's ruining everything in practice, but he's doing it from the DT position -- he's still a tough block from the DE position, but DT is where he's doing his damage. He is not threatening the outside shoulder of the tackles.
- Tre Smith is a man. In the 1 on 1 drills, he had three reps against Chris Jones. He stood Jones up while Jones walked him back in the first rep. Rep 2, Chris Jones swimmed him and Smith got a facemask full of dirt. Rep 3, Jones tried to go across Smith's face and Smith put him in the ground. So not only is Smith a really good blocker, he's not afraid of anyone.
- Niang took 100% of the snaps at RT. Remmers took 100% of the snaps at 2nd string LT.
- This was the backup OL: LT Remmers, LG Durant, C Blythe, RG Allegretti, RT Wylie
- The best DL on the field yesterday was Chris Jones... by a mile. The second best DL on the field yesterday was Tershawn Wharton... by a mile. He is incredibly slippery and fast, a true 3 tech. He made some noise against the 1s and was unstoppable against the 2s.
- Also unstoppable against the 2s was Rashad Fenton. Fenton and Baker got zero snaps with the 1st team, and it wouldn't shock me if he gets more reps over the course of the season.
- Speaking of 1st team secondary, Thornhill was all over the place. He was running with the 3rd team in a couple spots, and he got a couple snaps with the 1st team. Thornhill did have a pretty pass breakup, but also got beat in coverage a few times. He's all over the place right now.
- Devon Key, after giving up that horrific touchdown in the first preseason game, is no longer receiving 1st team reps at safety, but the Chiefs are absolutely hunting for their 3rd safety after Mathieu and Sorensen. The 3rd safety that ran all practice with the 1s..... Zayne Anderson. Mathieu is shouting at Anderson every single snap, and Anderson was attacked (successfully) by the offense on the 1st snap of 11 v 11. We'll see if the Chiefs continue the experiment, or if they end up defaulting back to Thornhill.
- The following notable players received first team reps on special teams: Hardman is still rushing FG attempts; Kemp, Fortson, Witzmann, Darryl Williams, Khalen Saunders, O'Daniel, and Watts. Keep in mind that Toub gets a ton of pull with the bottom of the roster, so those names are worth remembering.
- Orlando Brown concerns me. He doesn't look like he can protect his outside shoulder effectively, and his push in the run game was kind of disappointing in practice. Maybe he wasn't giving it his all.
- Fountain and Dieter got a ton of play with the 2s. Dieter even got some reps with the 1s.
- L'Jarius Sneed is a Pro Bowler in the making. He stuck with Tyreek Hill and slapped a pass away from his arms. (Hill would later snag a ball from Mahomes while roasting Sneed, so it's going both ways.)
- Hardman and Robinson look.... alright. Pretty much more of the same. Pringle has the best shot at being WR3 by November, based on what I saw today.
- I'm not breaking any news here, but Kelce's route-running is absolutely gorgeous. He has a hundred subtle moves that create enough space between him and his competition. He won every single rep against the linebackers in the 1 on 1 coverage drill.
- Danna didn't seem to apply any pressure in the 11 v 11, however the Chiefs did rotate him down at DT a ton in practice -- possibly because Nnadi and Reed both got hurt. Reed just got cramps, so he's fine.
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