Early on, most vibes coming out of the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph have been positive through three full-squad workouts.
One unfortunate exception has been the status of rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane, the sixth overall selection in April’s draft. Delane suffered a shoulder injury earlier this summer in organized team activities (OTAs). He was reportedly just cleared for practice as rookies arrived to St. Joseph last week.
Delane has participated
in every practice dating to the rookie portion last weekend. He has worn a yellow, non-contact jersey each time.
Speaking after Friday’s session, head coach Andy Reid described Delane as in an unusual position of practicing while still recovering from injury.
“He’s a tough kid,” the coach remarked. “He was a state wrestling champ and all that stuff. Tough kid. He wants to be out there. He wants to do everything. We’re not allowing him to use that arm. He’s out there playing kind of one-handed. Until he’s completely clear, we’re going to keep an eye on him.”
As such, Delane’s focus in camp so far has been on what his feet can do, as opposed to arm placement while covering receivers.
While Reid stressed the importance of time, fans may see his work lessened in the coming days as the team transitions to padded practices. Still, the rookie is getting valuable work in during his first camp working with Chiefs’ defensive backs coach Dave Merritt.
“When we get into the contact stuff,” Reid predicted, “we’ll back off a little bit on him there. But he’s working his tail off and doing what he can do with that. It’s great for him because he has to work his feet, his techniques, his level, how high are you rising up as guys are making moves on you, are you pedaling, what are you doing there. It actually works to his benefit in the long run.”
Ultimately, the Chiefs hope for Delane to join with second-year cornerback Nohl Williams for a pair of young starters at an increasingly expensive position. Williams has been one of the stars of camp so far. Reid is happy with the work Williams has put in with Merritt ahead of Year Two.
“Up to this point, he’s done a nice job,” Reid observed of Williams. “He had a good offseason program…Out here, he’s been strong where he can bend, maintain that bend and still move with his feet. Dave overemphasizes all of that: use your feet [and] then be able to build cushions from there and angles. He’s done a nice job of that. He’s really worked hard at that.”
