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Patrick Mahomes praises rookie Cyrus Allen’s contested catches
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- Patrick Mahomes praises rookie Cyrus Allen’s contested catches
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Amid injuries at wide receiver, the Kansas City Chiefs asked unproven players to step up in the Week 6 win over the Los Angeles Chargers . Rookie Cyrus Allen was one of them, catching two passes for 27 yards in a season-high five-snap appearance.
On both catches, Allen was met with contact soon after, but the receiver, listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 180 pounds, impressed his quarterback by playing through it. When asked about Allen at the podium on Wednesday, Patrick Mahomes pointed to Allen's ability at the catch point.
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"I thought he did a great job of making contested catches," Mahomes reflected.
"Obviously, the one-on-one man coverage on third down didn't get the first down," Mahomes said. "But got himself open and almost got it."
Allen was barely forced out of bounds, nearly tiptoeing his way past the chains.
"And then the one down the middle was a big time catch in between a lot of traffic."
"So that's stuff we saw from him in training camp," Mahomes continued. "I think now that he's getting more and more comfortable within the offense, we'll continue to give him more and more of a role within the offense."
Mahomes threw a third pass Allen's way against the Chargers, and it helped move the chains. On second-and-6, a downfield, back-shoulder fade attempt to the rookie drew a defensive pass interference flag.
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Allen appears to have the route-running chops to win quickly out of the slot, but as Mahomes said, the throws into tight windows are what got Chiefs Kingdom excited in training camp.
He has company in the young receiving corps, whether it's second-year wideout Jalen Royals or practice-squad elevation candidate Andrew Armstrong, but Allen can build on the flashes we saw against the Chargers and earn more throws his way moving forward.
"He's got a lot of talent, and he plays fast, and he plays hard," Mahomes said. "Now it's about just continuing to give him confidence to go out there and make plays happen. And so, I'm sure that we'll continue to get him more and more involved as the year goes on."
