For the fourth consecutive day in St. Joe, Kansas City Chiefs players, coaches and fans were treated to a cool morning; this practice was breezy but sunny, and lasted roughly two hours.
The team is looking ahead to a rest day on Sunday before the pads come on Monday. Here’s everything to know from Arrowhead Pride’s in-person observations of Saturday’s practice:
Injury update
Jared Sapp has the details on rookie wide receiver Cyrus Allen’s mid-practice injury that drew a loud gasp from the crowd watching. It happened
during punt team.
Defensive lineup notes
With defensive end Ashton Gillotte unavailable due to a strained hamstring he suffered during Friday’s practice, fourth-year player Felix Anudike-Uzomah stepped up to play more with the starting defense on Saturday.
As practice began, the first-team unit walked through different formations. Most notable was this year’s first look at Dime personnel, the defensive formation with six defensive backs, one linebacker and four pass-rushing threats up front.
In the back end, cornerbacks Mansoor Delane and Nohl Williams manned the outside spots. Safety Christian Roland-Wallace stayed as the slot defender, the same role he mans in Nickel formations, and L’Jarius Sneed was substituted in the place of second linebacker Drue Tranquill coming off the field.
Through the first three days of camp, it appeared Sneed — who still leaves practice early for planned rehabilitation — was preparing to play on the outside. However, this suggests defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is, at the very least, considering using Sneed as the Dime safety.
Against a balanced set, this would set up Sneed and Roland-Wallace as the two slot defenders to take on slot receivers, tight ends and running backs on pass downs.
Up front, the Chiefs teased a pass-rush front that had defensive ends George Karlaftis and rookie R Mason Thomas on the edge; Chris Jones and Anudike-Uzomah were rushing from inside for a look.
As the practice moved forward, the Chiefs’ defense showed off multiple fronts in team periods. To start one full-team period against the starting offense, nose tackle Khyiris Tonga was joined by rookie Peter Woods on the interior instead of starter Chris Jones.
Later in the period, Spagnuolo deployed a three-man front that used Tranquill as the fourth “on-ball” player along with Jones, Woods and Karlaftis. Behind them, linebackers Nick Bolton and Jeffrey Bassa played the second level in the 3-3 formation.
It’s also worth pointing out that veteran linebacker Jack Cochrane appeared to rotate in with Cooper McDonald as the SAM linebacker in base formations.
Offensive lineup notes
The starting right tackle position continues to be manned by rookie Kahlil Benson, who appeared to be the exclusive first-team right tackle in Saturday’s practice for the third consecutive day. The second-team offensive line has featured Jaylon Moore and Esa Pole switching back and forth from right and left tackle every day.
Throughout practices on Friday and Saturday, it has been clear that running back Brashard Smith has a stronger place in the Chiefs’ starting offense than rookie Emmett Johnson does. Smith played with the first-team offense during team periods early and often, catching multiple passes as an outlet in the flat for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
With Rice absent in team periods and the injury to rookie standout Cyrus Allen, the Chiefs’ starting offense featured more plays, including Nikko Remigio and Andrew Armstrong lined up at receiver.
Tight ends Travis Kelce, Noah Gray and Jared Wiley are all playing a good number of snaps with Mahomes, whether the formation calls for one, two or three of them at a time.
Notes from practice
The Chiefs’ pass defense has not made anything easy on Mahomes during team periods or seven-on-seven work. On Friday, his receivers found more open space than previous days, but Saturday appeared to go back to closing every throwing window and making Kansas City’s pass catchers earn big plays.
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy has been a prime example. We have yet to see him get easy separation in camp, aside from running past slot cornerback Kader Kohou on an all-out blitz that featured no safety help. On Saturday, Worthy overcame the tight coverage to make two finishes on two incredibly tough catches.
- On the first play of the initial 11-on-11 period, the Chiefs’ defense deployed a one-high safety look with man coverage. Worthy ran across the formation and looked over his shoulder for a pass with a cornerback trailing him closely and safety Alohi Gilman over the top. The pass somehow got through, and Worthy secured it in traffic.
- On another opening play of a full-team period, Mahomes lobbed it up for Worthy running away from man coverage to the pylon. Worthy laid out for it and secured the deep ball through the ground.
On another seven-on-seven play, Gilman finished the close coverage he had over the top of a deep route by wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, burying the ball at the catch point.
Gilman has given little to Mahomes over the middle, but it was Tranquill who baited him into a pick during seven-on-seven Saturday. Kelce worked a route to come open over the middle, but Tranquill read Mahomes’ eyes the whole way and jumped the pass from the backside for a highlight-reel pick.
It’s clear that cornerback Mansoor Delane is playing with intensity and fire, especially after learning that he is playing one-handed during camp, potentially against the wishes of the staff.
After one run play in a full-team period, he and wide receiver Nikko Remigio stayed face to face, getting into it enough for a crowd of teammates to come over and break them up to keep practice rolling.
Closer to the end of practice, Delane kept his head on a swivel in zone coverage and snagged a pass off the outstretched hands of Kelce. Purposefully or not, Delane tossed the ball in Mahomes’ direction at the end of the play, symbolizing the confident mentality he has come to camp with despite donning the non-contact jersey.
