We are nearly done with Kansas City Chiefs training camp after three weeks up in St. Joe at Missouri Western State University. The final practice will be on Thursday, August 20th, ahead of the second preseason game of the season, on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Arrowhead time.
Throughout the first preseason game, the team hasn’t seen much of No. 6 overall pick, cornerback Mansoor Delane. He donned a yellow, non-contact jersey for the majority of practices leading
up to last weekend’s exhibition against the Los Angeles Rams.
However, this week, he has been participating completely in camp practices. Defensive backs coach Dave Merritt described what he has seen from Delane now that he can play at full speed with full contact.
“Seeing some of the things that we saw on tape coming out of LSU,” Merritt told local media after Wednesday’s practice. “He’s a guy who has sticky coverage, and getting him back in pads and seeing that you can actually tackle people now.”
“Hopefully, that’s going to show up this weekend,” Merritt said, alluding to Delane possibly taking the field and playing live snaps for the first time this preseason.
It would be a welcome update, one that defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has likely been waiting for. Earlier in camp, he admitted that there would be “a lot” for Delane to work on before Week 1 once he shed the non-contact label.
Now, Spagnuolo can really coach up the crowned jewel of this year’s draft class. He shared an example of that with local media after Wednesday’s practice.
“He’s definitely a competitor. We saw that on tape when we evaluated him,” Spagnuolo said about Delane. “But like a lot of these young guys… sometimes you’ve got to knock some practice habits out of them. I think Mansoor is learning that. I think he’s embracing it. I think the vets are pushing him toward that. It’s unfortunate that he’s missed all the time he’s missed, but we’ll try to get him caught up here.“
While Merritt was hopeful to see Delane playing on Saturday, Spagnuolo is really looking forward to the chance, but defers to head coach Andy Reid for the final say.
“I don’t know what will happen with the game. That’ll be on Coach Reid,” Spags said. “But I’m anxious to get him out there and see what we’ve got.”
