What Chiefs-Rams Actually Told Us About This Team
The Chiefs' first preseason game was sloppy but there were plenty of reasons to be encouraged. Sterling Holmes and Josh Brisco break down what actually mattered against the Rams. Plus, which preseason performances should we actually buy and which ones should Chiefs fans avoid overreacting to?
Video Transcript
The Arrowhead Addict podcast on this Tuesday.
Sterling Holmes, Josh Briscoe.
Follow him on the X at JB Briscoe, myself at home stretch KC .
Let's get into it.
We actually have football to talk about.
Yeah, it was a game.
Sure, Chris Olodokin played in it.
So, you know, take that with a grain of salt, but yet here we are .
We have something to break down, something to glean, something to actually, Find some positives and negatives from Briscoe.
Always a positive with you.
How are you?
Uh, it's always a positive to have real football, as you've insinuated there, we have made it through many, many, many, many dark weeks without actual football games to look at.
And was it a regular season game?
No.
Was it a postseason game?
Even further, no.
But there were things to be gleaned from a whole bunch of Chiefs players, particularly the young ones, particularly a bunch of the rookies, who we've been wanting to see hit that next.
Next step, you know, we learned a little bit in the offseason, we learned a little bit from training camp.
We're learning a little bit from the preseason that will inform what this team looks like a few weeks down the road, plus, a little bit of news out of training camp.
I don't know how much time you wanna spend on the injury front there, but not, not a good day for the health in Saint Joe that has me a little spooked.
Uh, but all in all, happy to be here with you on a Tuesday.
Happy to be talking about an actual Chiefs game.
Yeah, let's talk about the final day of training camp is on Thursday, and that's a basic, basically a walkthrough day.
It's Military Appreciation Day, which is they go and Talk with the military.
It's a really cool thing they do.
But so the real big last practice will be tomorrow , uh, injuries, some positives, some negatives.
The positives, Lagerius Snead, Monso Delaine, hey, both had pads on in practice today, right?
Uh, let's actually start with a positive here just as we're going through the list so I don't forget.
I like both those guys out practicing.
I love what I see from Monsieur Elaine.
But I will also point out he is very handsy.
That guy Very.
I hope we don't get a Jawan Taylor situation.
Where he gets the early knock of, yeah, you know, he's a real physical cornerback, really handsy, gotta watch out and that becomes a focal point for, for refs.
Because if you watch a lot of those clips, it is a lot of, damn, he's right there, he's locking guys down.
But for some reason, especially against Rasheed Rice, a few times, it looks like he's really grabbing that jersey in college.
You get away with it.
That's never called.
NFL is different.
I wonder if, if there is a little bit of a learning curve for Monso with his handsiness, if you will, but we've heard Spags talk about it, but, you know, time and time again.
That's the cost of doing business as a cornerback.
That's what you do.
He likes the physicality.
That's right.
And I think we've seen a couple of teams in recent years.
I don't have a great example jumping to mind.
You might think of one while I'm talking, but of teams where it's not just one guy, it's also, in this case, Monso Delane and Noel Williams, who also is not exactly where an oven mitt.
Out there, he'll grab you, he'll get physical with you at the line.
They're both playing with perhaps Lagerius Snead or at least getting a little veteran mentorship from a very physical corner at his best.
Um, even Christian Fulton will put his hands on you, like I, I know we haven't seen as much of him in Kansas City, but the, the Chiefs just don't really employ.
Soft corners, and like, I don't even really say that as a pejorative, the finesse corners.
I, I've got a Marcus Peters cleat back here behind me, you know, I, I love a corner who will give you a little cushion and then try to play for the football and try to turn the ball over that way, but that's just not this version of the Chiefs secondary.
So I could see that being a storyline, where you go, OK, well, week one against the Broncos, the, the Chiefs' corners were, were flagged 6 times, and you go, OK, well, that's a problem.
I could also see it going the other way, in a way that I do think sometimes happens in the NFL where you kind of dare the refs to throw a flag on every passing play.
Because with Monso Delane and Noel Williams, as your presumed outside corners, and then whoever it is in the slot a few candidates that could, that could win that job still, you just say, OK, are, are you gonna Watch us every snap, Are you going to throw a flag every time there's a little bit of outside physicality, and you have a little wiggle room there.
It's not like, you know, your John Taylor example, where you can just kinda like draw a line and say, hey, letter of the law here, it's pretty straightforward that you are breaking it.
You just get a, you get a little bit of Uh, of cognitive dissonance, perhaps, as a corner that, that might give you a little bit of that gray area, uh, to, to operate as physically as they want to.
I do think it'll probably be a little bit of a story early on and it's something to help to, to figure out.
He hasn't been able to be physical with a Chiefs helmet on yet.
Like this is the first time they've, they've let the proverbial dogs out in any way whatsoever for Monso Delane cause he's been in that yellow jersey, um, just until these last couple of practices, so.
I'm, I'm not worried about it yet, I'm actually just kind of excited by, by how good he has looked in some of those one on ones, but if he plays, and, and I don't, I don't know that he'll play any on Saturday, but if he plays.
The whole first half on Saturday, I wouldn't bother me if he's physically able to do that, because you, you do wanna get kind of the, maybe the Jalen Watson experience of a couple of years back where he just was out there late in the preseason game 3, and I was like, oh man, is he, like, has he really lost the coaching staff here and, and really, they're just kinda, kinda speed run that, that training camp ramp up that he didn't really get that year.
So, I, I'm, I'm just really, really glad to see Delane full cleared for contact that way, um, because the longer he was sidelined, the more I think his week one status could have been in question.
So speaking of guys who were out, Josh Simmons with a back injury, that scares me.
Not great, Bob.
So you have him with a back, Trey Smith with the hip, uh, Tyquan Thornton left in the front seat of the cart.
So front seats, hamstring for him, and then, um, Glati with a foot.
And you could see with the play that was, that happened was on camera and you can, you know, see the, the clip of him reaching for his heel.
Kind of spooks you, they said foot, so, um, and also we didn't mention Drew Tranquil was back today.
He's been dealing with his back issue for a couple of years.
Good to see him back as well.
I think Shamari Connor, um, we didn't mention also, he just knocked knees a couple of days ago, so he seems fine.
Um, but yeah, getting a little healthier on defense.
Glati has already missed a good chunk of camp and you need a lot from him.
Uh, Josh Simmons is like, I don't, this is, this is way too early for this to be like an actual panic, but if Josh Simmons isn't.
You know, 90% for week one.
He, he is one of the most important non-quarterbacks on this roster, and I don't know where he fits, but I think it's probably higher for me than it might be for a lot of people in terms of how much the season changes with or without him.
Not, not the season, I, I don't think his season's in danger, but a, a game to game basis, the impact of losing your franchise left tackle, um, even just maybe being limited up until the start of the season would would be a real bummer.
Hopefully, it's very minor.
He's on the sidelines, he wasn't like.
In the training room the whole time.
He's not getting surgery today, you know, um, but just, you don't wanna see back ever pop up, particularly for an offensive lineman or a hip.
It's always great.
The two things you're seeing on your left tackle and your right guard.
So the configuration for the ones, Jalen Moore at left tackle.
Kingsley at left guard, Creed at center, Caliendo at right guard, and then Khalil Benson at right tackle.
My main takeaway from that is, OK, we've seen enough of Khalil Benson inside.
They did the opposite yesterday where it was Kh Khalil Benson at right tackle with the ones, Jaylen Moore at right guard with the ones.
I think what we're looking at, and maybe you have a different viewpoint on this.
I think Cole Benson is the week 1 starting right tackle.
I think they're using Jaylen Moore as the super sub along the offensive line.
If you have your best 6 offensive linemen, I think your best 6 are obviously Josh, Kingsley, Creed.
Trey, Jalen, and Khalil, how do you get the best configuration?
Well, I think that they're gonna use in some situations, let, let, let, I don't know how you'd even describe it.
Um, like if left tackle goes down, let's say Josh Simmons misses.
I think Jaylen Moore is the first one up.
If Trey Smith misses.
I think it would be K Khalil Benson and then Jaylen Moore.
If those main four on the left side are healthy, I think Khalil Benson is your starting right tackle.
That's how I have it broken down.
I don't know if you feel the same or different, but that's my opinion of this thing.
I still, I have not quite flipped the switch.
If it's a binary, if it is a 1 or a 0, and you ask me who's the starting right tackle in week 1, I would have told you every single day this offseason and every single day this preseason, including today, I think it's Jalen Moore.
And just about every day, that's become less and less certain, right?
Like, I, I really say that with minimal confidence.
I just think from what we've seen, and Benson had good snaps at guard in the week in week one of the preseason, and that is a legitimate takeaway.
It is so confusing and interesting, not necessarily bad, but just like kind of, kind of baffling in a, I don't know what we're doing here, again, not necessarily in a negative way.
That you didn't put Khalil Benson at right tackle with the twos, to try to get him some hot reps at right tackle if he is in line to be your week one starter at right tackle.
I think clearly.
What we have learned is that they do not like their backup guards, and Norzad was also flipping in with the ones today along with Caliendo, and I think Norzad, I don't, I, I don't know, I don't want, we shouldn't spend any, any time talking about guard 45, and 6 right now.
They'll have to roster a couple of them, and I wish him the best.
Um, I've, I've had high hopes for Hunter Nozad for a while, and I just.
Too many penalties from anybody who's been around and, and on Saturday, it's just a really, a tough spot.
Clearly, the Chiefs think, you know what , there, there's a very good chance that Kh Khalil Benson is, uh, I, frankly, I think they've told you, Khalil Benson is one of our 6 best linemen, and they've told you that Jalen Moore is one of our 6 best linemen, and you have 4 starting spots that are all ready to go .
I think, I think.
If Trey Smith isn't ready week one, I think Khalil Benson is your right guard and Jalen Moore is your right tackle.
And I, and I think that if it is Trey Smith, and if everybody's healthy, I think Khalil Benson is your first guy up for either side, either spot opening on the right side.
So if Jalen Moore gets hurt, Benson goes in, on your point, if Simmons gets hurt, Jalen Moore probably goes to left tackle and then Benson could play right tackle.
I, I think they very, very badly want to have 6 linemen that they can trust in a significant way, and then different configurations to make that work.
So I think that, that justifies the weird rep rotation of Benson and Moore.
I, I absolutely know that, and it, it, this is, this is a good counterargument to my opinion that it's still Jalen Moore week 1.
It's crazy that Cale Benson has gotten more first team reps at right tackle with the ones than Jalen Moore has throughout training camp.
I'm not, I'm not keeping track with the clicker, but I'm pretty sure it's, it's pretty close to a blowout as things stand right now.
I still think that's because they know who Jalen Moore is and they know they have 17 more regular season games with Jalen Moore, and then he's off to somewhere else.
Not like in the Jawan Taylor sense, but it's just like it's the end of his contract, and they're probably not paying him to stick around and do this all again.
So if Kila Benson is your starting right tackle in 2027, it is an absolute coup, because you got this dude in early May as an undrafted free agent, him being your sixth lineman is a win.
I still just have a hard time thinking for all the chatter we've had about, you know, protecting Patrick Mahomes and, and his return to the field, not that he's looking hampered by that knee by any means, but I have a really hard time thinking that you're going to entrust his front side to an undrafted rookie, rather than a guy who's not only been in the NFL for a little while, but a guy who has been in your system for a year and was, and was.
Decent last season, and I think at least trustworthy in terms of knowing, knowing his assignments and being a professional in all senses.
So, I, I still lean that it's gonna be Jalen Moore in week one, but that's, I'm at 60/40 at the, at the highest.
It, it might be a 55, 45 for me at this point.
I love a couple of mustache questions.
Uh, pigskin, love the mustache, Sterling.
If the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, would you shave it?
Sure.
Why not?
Normally it's my good luck charm, right?
I just kind of keep it.
Just why not?
Just big mustache guy.
And then if they go, if they lose like their first, if they lose both of those primetime games in the first two weeks, you might need to shave it for week 3 just as a mojo cleanse, you know.
Yeah, yeah, no, of course, uh, Alan goes, are Sterling and Adam sharing the same mustache, uh, possibly.
We send it back and forth for the podcasts.
We just, we, we ship it.
It, it's peel it off after the show, mail it off.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's expensive.
It's not cheap, but, uh, but yeah, we have to do it.
Uh, Weston, so tonight by dinner, Juju will be back with the Chiefs calling it right now.
Yeah, Juju was released by the Giants.
That would be the most.
Chiefs thing Of all time I don't think they do it though.
I think they've finally moved on.
I think The only, if they bring Juju back, that means Royals is probably not making the team.
I think that's probably right, and I, I, that being the case, I, I do, I think, I'll tell you what, we talked last week about, you know, I was like, I, I really think it'd be hard for, I think the Chiefs are probably keeping 6 receivers and all of the things we talked about even 2 weeks ago on the Jalen Royals front.
He's had a couple of good practices and a couple of.
Really tough reps, um.
I don't know how I feel about Juju at this point, because I do think he would instantly be their 5th best receiver.
Um, it, it, I think that there's.
Very little argument about that, probably, but he doesn't provide you anything on special teams, which is really the value of your 5 and your 6, and he doesn't provide you value for the years going forward.
And like, I, I still think it's outside looking in for Andrew Armstrong right now, but he shows some physicality in that preseason game, and the Chiefs don't have a lot of, a lot of excellent blocking wide receivers.
I think Nico is still probably on the right side of the bubble cause he's the most trusted returner.
So I, I think you're right.
I don't think they're bringing back Juju.
I think if anybody gets hurt or if Tyquan Thornton's deal is in any way serious, not that those guys are even similar players, they, they both play wide receiver, but that is the end of the similarity, uh, even, even calling both wide receivers is a little bit of a fraudulent, uh, way to look at it.
I think if anybody gets significantly hurt, I think if Rasheed Rice misses 4 weeks somewhere in there , I think Juju is probably the first call if they need to make an outside call, but I don't think they're gonna do it right now.
Yeah, I, I, I agree with Steven.
I'd rather have Armstrong .
I just at this point.
With what we've seen from Cyrus, which I'll get into in a little more detail with you, I, I think I'm comfortable enough to say we don't need to see Juju back in Casey.
You appreciate all he's done.
You appreciate his, his tenure, his time .
It's just time to get younger, faster, quicker, more explosive in that wide receiver room.
Take the training wheels off.
You have to at some point.
Um, but as we're talking about all of this, football is back.
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Might not be your worst option in the world because my dumb ass.
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And then I also go, the Giants, what does Harbaugh do in the preseason?
Harbaugh wins, baby.
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Um, Yeah, and I, and I, and I get it.
Major Chip Hazard right here.
Juju does, Juju does the dirty work, blocking, tough catches across the middle.
I wouldn't mind having Juju back on the team.
I, I think Cyrus Allen can do the catches across the middle.
I think Rasheed Rice can do the catches across the middle.
I think Andrew Armstrong can do a little bit of the, Physicality at 6'4.
I think Jalen Royals, quite honestly, I, I, I know.
I know he hasn't been excellent, clearly, but I think he can use some of the physicality.
I mean, he's a Juju Smith Schuster sized guy.
Like, I think he can do some of that, that dirty work as well.
Um, I, I, I don't think you need Juju back.
That's just my personal opinion.
I, I was kind of surprised the Chiefs let him walk the first time.
I did think that it, it probably had a little bit to do with Jalen Royals, the fact that he's been struggling in Saint Joe, as as it appears at least from home.
Um, I, I do think that puts it into a little bit of doubt.
I, uh, but you would like to have a younger, cheaper player who could do the dirty work stuff, maybe that is Armstrong.
I just don't know that they have the roster math right now to keep 7 wide receivers.
And that's without Juju even in the picture, right?
Like I'm, I'm trying to get 7 to keep Armstrong.
And I don't know that they can do that right now.
So, uh, I'll, I'll be very curious to see how that, that final wide receiver spot gets determined.
So here's why I think it's interesting and why I think it comes down to 3 guys for 2 spots.
Uh, Armstrong's a little different situation, so I want to put him to the side for one moment here.
I think Bershard Smith.
Nico Ramijio.
And Amari DeMarcado are 3 guys fighting for 2 spots.
Because both are special teamers.
2 are running backs I don't have a great, like , you don't necessarily need to have Brochard and Amari DeMarcado.
And the fact that Richard played with the ones slash ones, 2s.
And DeMarcato was getting handoffs from Chris Olodokin.
Really confused me.
And I don't think the Chiefs are wrong.
But are we looking at an Elijah Mitchell situation with DeMarcado?
Are we looking at a situation where we're like, man, yeah, bring him in.
He, he's been explosive at points in his career.
And then we never get to really see him.
Is that a real possibility at this point, or is this just a case of, hey, we know who he is.
Let's give Breshard Smith the most run we could possibly can with the ones and the twos.
I, I do think it's the latter.
I, I do think they're gonna keep all four running backs, and I think they should.
I, I, I think Elijah Mitchell, even at camp last year, you started to get a little bit of the murmurings of like, uh oh.
I'm not sure this guy still has it, like, it's just unfortunate injury, kind of zapped his knee and it just, just didn't, uh best case didn't stand out, worst case, you kinda go, oh , he just doesn't have that explosion.
I, I think Amari DeMarcado is, is gonna be on this team as things stand right now, and I think he's gonna have a legitimate role.
I, I think Emmett Johnson showed you in that preseason game that he's also going to be ready for a role in a lot of ways.
He also still has some like young running back tendencies that aren't something you have to completely coach out of him.
But it's something that's a part of the package right now.
And I think that we've seen time and time again, not just in Kansas City, but throughout the entire NFL, you, you, you just basically never have enough competent running backs.
Cause we, you know, we can talk all we want about the like running backs don't matter side of things, which is really talking about how much you wanna pay a top 5, top 7, top 8 running back.
Uh, what's the difference between running back 8 and running back 15?
There is clearly a difference between having NFL caliber running backs and not, and that was obviously the Chiefs' problem last year.
With all due respect to Kareem Hunt, he did, he did a thing at an NFL caliber level, but overall, you saw him out there on the field not being one of the 75 best running backs in, in football or whatever number you you throw at him there.
I think there's room for all four of these guys.
I think Bershard Smith does have a return aspect to his game, especially in kickoff returns, that does make sense.
And I, I do think he was getting more work higher up because you are still trying to evaluate what can he do in a more traditional running back role.
Not that he's going to be pigeonholed into that, but just like that's where you still wanna see reps from him.
Amari DeMercado, I, again, I, I think right now, does still have the favor of the coaching staff.
I don't think he has tumbled down the depth chart in training camp.
I, I think it was weird to see him out there in the 4th quarter or as late as it was.
I was very surprised by that.
I, by the time I realized he wasn't out there early in the game, I thought, oh, OK, well, he and Kenneth Walker are both just basically getting the day off, and it'll be.
Brashard Smith and Emmett Johnson, and a little bit of EJ Smith and a little bit of Jaden Ott, and, and you kind of round out the room that way.
But then I think you might also say, hey, Amari, you're, you know, you're probably playing in week one, do you wanna go knock off the rust a little bit, even though you do not have a functional offensive line in front of you, you know, can you make anything happen that way?
Um, so I, I do think that they're gonna carry 4 running backs.
Thing is, right now, I, I kinda think they're gonna carry 4 tight ends, and I think they're gonna carry 3 quarterbacks, and so that's where the wide receiver numbers get squished, and so to your, to your larger point.
Nico Armijio, if he is on the 53.
It will be 98% because of his special teams ability, it'll, and that's probably 90% because of his punt return ability, and he's not a super high-end punt returner, but he's a high floor punt returner, I suppose.
He's not going to be a disaster back there.
So it's like, it's no fun to like root against him, to not make the team, but I, I do think that if you could find more.
From Broshard Smith or Emmett Johnson, for that matter, or Marty Mercado, if you wanna figure out a way to any of those running backs not named Kenneth Walker, if anybody can help you round out that return game as reliably as Nico, but with more explosion, with more speed, I think that would be a a welcome upgrade.
I just, it, it feels like it's Nico's job.
It, it just, it felt like it all offseason.
It doesn't feel like there's been a real competition, it, it feels like it's Nico's to lose.
Yeah, and that's where I, I find also myself in this weird conundrum of, I think they keep 3 quarterbacks.
I do think they keep 4 running backs.
I do think they keep 4 tight ends.
They might only keep 5.
Wide receivers And that wouldn't shock me.
I, I, I think 7, there's 0 shot.
Like I, I really don't think there's a chance they keep 7.
I, I don't think there's even a chance.
Um, offensive lines intriguing.
Maybe they're trying Khalil Benson out so they can also move on from a guard that they don't think would have any sort of room on this team.
But we know Andy loves to stack the trenches with guys.
So it, it's just, There's a lot going on in these final few roster spots.
I don't mind Nico back there.
I think it's fine.
Just if you look back 3 years ago, all we wanted was a guy who made sure they caught the ball and didn't make mistakes.
Nico does that.
He does a really good job of that.
But if you get more juice with Brouchard, great.
New kickoff.
rules.
You do need two guys back there.
Will you have 4 running backs active on game day, which would then would be Brashard Smith and Amari DeMarcado.
DeMarcado has been a kick returner at times, uh, earlier on in his career or even last year.
So Healy's has, uh, some.
Experience doing that.
I, I'm just intrigued, I guess, at how the offense and the weapon room really breaks down because again, that extra quarterback spot is making things a little more, uh, intriguing because I, I, I think you have to keep, you don't have to, but I'd be surprised if they don't keep Garrett Nussmeyer.
It, the, the crazy thing about all of this, and like to go back to the Elijah Mitchell prompt from a minute ago, I've said, I know I've said this a few times already this offseason, but I think if anybody has an Elijah Mitchell case, it might be Kater Cohu, just another guy coming back from an ACL and you wonder, like, I just think Chris Roland Wallace, it sounds like he's ahead of him.
Seems like Ladarius Sneads making the team, Jaden Kennedy is clearly making the team.
I, if Kater Cohu isn't the best slot on your, on your roster, is he on there at all?
I don't know, but like, he could, or he could start week one.
I think there's something similar with Mike Caliendo, where I really think the Chiefs could look around and say, hey, we can cut you, no one's gonna claim you, and you'll be on our practice squad, and we'll call you up if we need to.
And I think Mike Caliendo could be their sixth lineman again, which he basically was last year.
Not the, not in the way that Khalil Benson would be of the first man up everywhere, but in the, hey, we're going to heavy packages, we need another guy to come in here and basically be a heavy tight end.
That was Caliendo quite a bit last year, and then obviously, he ends up playing more as the injury start rolling along.
There are just, there are a handful of those players, and this is exclusively our domain here, not a, not a whole lot of the rest of the world is gonna feel this way.
But I'd love to give Brett Veach and Andy Reid truth serum and ask about Kater Cohu and Mike Caliendo and Emmett Johnson, uh, oh, to you, as you mentioned.
I think Emmett Johnson could have a 100 yard rushing game this year at some point, if, if Kenneth Walker misses his time, and they, and, and Emmett Johnson continues to improve.
I think you could see a real standout performance from him at some point, or I could see him being a healthy scratch week one, because Breshard Smith has to be active in the return game and Amari DiMarcado can pass block , and you just, I don't think you can ask, to the Calip Benson point from earlier, I don't think you can put Patrick Mahomes's life in Emmett Johnson's hands right now.
I just think that's a bad idea.
So there is, there is a, a huge amount of, of wiggle room on like 5 or 6 players, um, which I, I think is going to make this one of the most interesting cutdown days the Chiefs have had in a very long time, and obviously, it's going to give you something to look for in week 2 of the preseason, but as we've done today.
It's still very hard to tell, is this guy playing here because they want him to start week one, or is he playing here because he's on the roster bubble, and they wanna see him get reps against the other team's best in a preseason sense.
Uh, I think right now with your kid or Khu talk, I think, uh, CRW would be my leader in the clubhouse to get the most snaps at slot week one.
That, that'd be my.
If I was placing money, that is where I would place, it would be on CRW to have the majority of his, of the, of just of the slots snaps in general.
He'd be the leader.
I agree.
And then if that happens, does Xavier Nwankpa make the roster as your 4th, 5th safety because Chris Roland Wallace is a safety corner?
I, I, I don't know.
Uh, it's really.
If you're a dork, it's really interesting, and the good news is we are.
Yeah , good, good, good news is that we are dorks, at least for this.
Jane Hicks looked really good.
Any takeaways or is just another situation where, hey, we've seen.
We've seen Jaden Hicks have really good games in the NFL.
We've also seen zero consistency from Jaden Hicks in the NFL.
We've seen the highs, we've seen the lows, and we know Spags, if the lows are that often, you just won't play, which is what the majority of last year was.
I liked him being out there a lot.
I like him continuously.
They keep putting him in situations to almost say, hey, prove us that you won't make any mistakes.
I hope they do that the next two preseason games too, because you have to see consistency from him.
But that was a great start, right?
Yes, absolutely.
I, I think that he accomplished something that there's a maybe a little damning with faint praise, but it's just the reality of a preseason game.
If you are a guy that is a starting slash rotational starter piece, you know, 3rd safety, you're, you're a fringe starter.
If you're a guy that's a starting caliber player in the NFL and you're out there going up against someone's twos and threes in the preseason, do you look like the best player on the field or not?
And he did, at times he did, and for like, not that he ever was exposed in that game, I really don't think he was, but you had several plays, you're like, oh man, if, if I didn't know the stakes of this game, or the names on the jerseys, that guy is, that guy might be a superstar, you know, he's he's flying all over the place.
I do think that some of the, the ways that the game went kind of played to his strengths.
I think he's best when he can go downhill, when he can see things in front of him and, and be able to kind of watch things unfold and then meet the, meet the the the, the, the moment at the point of attack.
That's always been a strong suit of his, that's something we saw late in his rookie season.
Does that mean that you can execute all of the rotations and sort of the hidden coverages of the Sags defense?
No, it doesn't, and I think that's probably where some of that friction comes.
I, it's stuff that we don't really get to see on the field very often, or at least we don't know when we see it, because you don't know the play call, you don't know the responsibility, but sometimes you go, whoop, this play went right behind Jaden Hicks, and if I had to guess, that was probably a miscommunication on his side.
But there's no reason to be anything other than encouraged by all of that.
He passed the test yet again, a test that, you know, I'm sure Willie Gay passed in several preseasons of like, do you look like a superstar out here, going up against this other team's twos and threes?
That's great.
Will your.
And this is like, this is also, this sounds insulting, and so I don't, we don't know this is all true , but like, will your mind catch up to your body?
Will your football IQ develop as much as your instincts have?
I think Jaden Hicks has really good instincts, and he has really good athleticism.
I just, I assume.
You know, that it goes back to what Spag has talked about a couple of times now, which is just making mistakes that Spaggs didn't think he'd be making again in year 2.
Now we're going into year 3.
I think he's clearly on the roster, certainly.
Um, I'll be very curious though, like, if Chris Rowland Wallace is your predominant slot corner, I think it kind of makes Jaden Hicks your de facto 4th safety, because Shamari Connor and Aloi Gilman are your 1 and 2 or 2 and 1.
And then it's Chris Roland Wallace in the slot in your nickel package.
If he's your nickel defender, maybe Hicks is just your 4, and I don't, I don't hate that even because that you suddenly have some pretty good safety depth and, and maybe he can start to, to stack good days that way.
Aloy Gilman getting shook by Travis Kelsey was a good thing for Kelsey or a bad thing for Gilman because that was like a thirty-yard shake.
That was not like, uh, oh, he got me a little bit.
That was like, oh my gosh, did Allen Iverson just cross over some 4 year old child?
It was NBA street levels of like disrespectful.
Yeah, I, I think our, our, our dear boy, Tucker D. Franklin has been doing this bit throughout all of training camp, where anytime there's a highlight, he tweets the path, the meme of like two paths and diverging, and I think this one was like, Travis Kelsey isn't washed, and that's the best we have at safety, and, you know, you can, you choose your path, and it's all a matter of perspective.
Uh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ride the Unk still got it train for as long as I possibly can with Travis Kelsey.
I, I love seeing him be able to do that, um, in this case to a former Charger who, uh, you know, has, has a little bit of that.
I, I, I just assume if you've ever played for the Chargers, Travis Kelsey has the ability to put you on skates a little bit, cause like some of his best little shimmies have, have been against that team, so, um, I.
Here's the good news.
Here, here's why, here's why I'll take Kelsey's side on this one.
Travis Kelsey is going to play a lot of safeties who are about as good as Eloy Gilman.
Eloi Gilman is never gonna have to cover Travis Kelsey, so I'll, I'll take the positive side of that one.
Uh, super chat from Can I pet that dog?
Uh, always appreciate you.
He says, uh, reminding everyone, Tyquan will lead wide receivers and yards.
I, again, I think you are such a bold person and I love it.
I don't agree, but I love it because right now I don't think Tyquan will get more yards than.
Cyrus Allen I am buying so much stock in Cyrus Allen.
This is weird for me.
I was the dude that pushed back on Justin Ross for 2.5 years.
I was the dude that pushed back on Josh Gordon.
I was the dude that pushed back on the 1st-round draft pick of Xavier Worthy.
I am not pushing back on the Cyrus Allen hype.
I am all the way bought in.
All the way.
Um I think Cyrus Allen is going to be, and maybe it's not the first few weeks.
Like I, I don't want to panic if the first few weeks, he's getting like a smattering of snaps here and there, because I do think by week 7.
He'll be playing at least the 3rd most snaps at wide receiver on this team.
I think I'd take that bet from you.
I, I, but here, I have, I have 2, I, I don't, I don't.
Heartily disagree .
I, I also have my Cyrus Allen optimism, but I'm curious with that preamble from you.
Two-part question.
What does that look like for Cyrus Allen, you being totally bought in for his rookie year, and you you hinted at it there at the end, but what is being totally bought in on Cyrus Allen look like to you, and why do you think it's different for you than those other guys that you mentioned?
Um, I don't know, something simple like 1300 yards, 2, no, I'm kidding.
Like I. I, I'd say like wide receiver, 3 snaps .
5.
100 yards maybe.
Right, that price seems about fair.
I, I think Tyquan starts off at wide receiver 3.
I do.
I think Cyrus Allen though, gets a lot of snaps.
I think he's gonna find himself pushing time and time again to get on the field and eventually they'll have to say, yeah, we, we have to put him on the field.
Um, And why do I think it's different between him and other guys?
I, I, I'll say I was wrong on this one too.
Sky Moore, I was wrong on him.
The reason why I like Sky Moore was because I love route runners.
I love guys who have really good hands, who are really good route runners who can get open.
Sky Moore got in his head and there was a, I think it was a multitude of factors why Sky Moore couldn't do it.
I think there was a lot of reasons.
We saw Cyrus Allen do it, at least in the, in the Big 12.
It's not the SEC or the Big 10, but the Big 12 is still a, a good power, power 4 conference.
Still weird seeing a Power 4.
But, What we've seen from Cyrus.
has shown me he's not just a slot guy.
He's not just a slot-only guy.
He can play on the outside.
How he wins wasn't like Rashid in college where it was a lot of contested catches.
Which, how translatable is that?
This dude gets open while not being the most athletic guy in the world.
I'm not saying he's slow, but I love this is where the Stefon Diggs comparisons come from.
Yes, and I just, I keep finding myself going, yeah, I, I know he's smaller, but 13, Allen, I'm like, yeah, I see a little Keenan Allen here and there.
I'm like, yeah, I, I, I can, I can squint as Keenan Allen signed with the Colts.
I'm like, why sign Keenan when you have Allen at home?
I I don't normally do this with Chiefs wide receivers.
I really don't.
So this is new for me And I, I could be wrong But I'm hitching my , my wagon to Cyrus Allen because everything I've seen from him looks and feels sustainable.
I, and I, I wouldn't, again, I wouldn't refute any of that.
I do think it's interesting, like, rookie season, Xavier Worthy had a little over 600 yards, 6 touchdowns.
I think putting a number on Cyrus Allen can be helpful because it, it does kind of straighten out, like, he's gonna be, he's gonna have more receptions than Rasheed Rice by the end of the year, which I just don't think is reasonable.
He's going to have a role, and the Chiefs need him to be successful in that role.
I think that's one of the reasons to be optimistic, is to say, well, there's a need and he has shown so far an aptitude in every one of these opportunities.
He, he's shown this a couple of times in camp and, and once in the preseason, I think Nussmeyer just didn't put enough under the ball, which it could have been a touchdown.
He is finding the open space.
He, he is a very good route runner, to your point.
And it seems like he has a pretty good feel for defense, in terms of, hey, if, if there's a patch of grass over in this corner, and the play's gone on long enough to break down a little bit, I'm gonna go find open space and then trust that the quarterback is gonna see that space and get me the ball.
I think Cyrus Allen probably has, I, I was gonna say a touchdown, let's just say a, a big first down, he moves the chains at some point.
In the first quarter of the year, maybe, I'm gonna play like that, where it just goes on a little longer, and then that is the thing that you're able to hang your hat on for the next 6 weeks, is, hey, he, he's on the same page as Mahomes.
He doesn't seem overwhelmed by anything, which is.
Too early to call, cause I don't think Sky Moore seemed overwhelmed until he started going up against starting NFL defensive backs and the physicality overwhelmed them.
He just, the, the, the details that you saw from him at a lower level in college, he just wasn't able to put together at the NFL level.
He still had some success.
In fact, if we compare Sky Moore's stats to what we're talking about for uh for, for Cyrus Allen, we might all get a little scared, I'm not sure.
Um, his rookie year was 250, 244, yeah, I mean, I, I. I take the over on on year 1 and year 2 from Sky Moore.
I'll I'll take the Cyrus Allen over for sure.
I also do see it.
I do feel like it's gonna be there.
I think I'm just gonna be a little bit slower to adopt, not that Cyrus Allen is going to work, but that they are going to ask him to do all of that so early.
That, that I think is my, my brake pumping, but also all four of the top receivers in camp, including Cyrus Allen, have now missed some time, assuming that Tyquan Thornton doesn't practice tomorrow, I guess.
He left today, you know, so he missed some time today.
All of your top 4 receivers have missed some time.
Cyrus Allen will have to start at some point this year, because that's the nature of the sport he plays.
Yeah.
Uh, super chat from Phantom.
Appreciate you, Phantom, says, uh, will the starters, specifically Mahomes, get any work in the remaining preseason games?
And is that an indication of how confident the staff is?
Um, I thought the Chris Jones one was funny.
After Chris Jones said he wanted to play in the preseason, so Spaggs goes, all right, you get one snap.
Kenneth Walker got one snap, then was pulled.
Um, I would like to see Patrick play.
It didn't, Andy didn't sound too confident in him playing in the preseason.
It, it almost more or less sounded like he didn't want to play him, but that was about a week ago when he had that conversation.
I still have a feeling that the starters will play that 3rd game, like a quarter.
Maybe you differ, Briscoe, but.
And I was just done that.
That that last game, the, the Seahawks game on Friday, is on August twenty-eighth.
The season debut is on September 14th.
Yeah.
The idea that you can give Patrick Mahomes 1617 extra days to just not get hit, to continue practicing and work through his knee stuff in whatever way he needs to right now.
Ideally, I'd love for him to play.
Uh, none of the situation is ideal.
None of, none of this is the way that you would wanna do it in a normal year.
I don't really think it reflects on the staff.
Andy Reid already pretty much said Trey Smith, don't, don't keep an eye out for him.
He said, he said, I'm not sure you'll see him this week , which probably could have meant practice or the, the game on Saturday, but either way, like, I just don't think you're seeing Trey Smith again.
You know, if, if you don't need to see Trey Smith, you don't need to see Patrick Mahomes, and I do think there would be a benefit to him being out there, but there's also a benefit to him having more than 2 weeks to to continue getting ready without having to worry about contact from a defender on another team.
It's a different speed when the Broncos come to town, than it would be having the Seahawks 2 stringers.
But we would just all feel terrible if there's just some collision, even if it's not a horrendous setback, but something that maybe costs Mahomes a week or two, or he's playing Gimpie in week one.
It, it would be so hard to stomach that, that I certainly wouldn't begrudge them for being especially cautious with Mahomes.
Yeah, I, I just, I think my personal opinion is, I think you should get the first hit out of the way before the regular season since it's been so long for him.
Kelsey, Chris Jones, don't need to see him.
I get it.
They're good to go.
Quarterback, I, I, make sure you go, you get the ball out quick.
I'm not saying try and, and do what you do in the regular season, even if just handoffs in a game to Emma Johnson.
I'm cool with it just getting real live reps against a different team.
They don't do these joint practices, which again, you know my thoughts.
I love they don't do joint practices because every time you look at a joint practice, it's always like, this fight broke out and dudes were throwing helmets at each other.
You're like, OK, that's, that's always a good sign.
Uh, again, at some point, maybe not game 2, but game 3, let them have a couple of drives.
Just, that's my opinion.
I'm always team.
Get the first hit out of the way before it's the regular season game one.
That's always been my traditional opinion.
Again, unless you are Travis Kelsey, who's gonna be 37 or Chris Jones, who we've seen enough from them, we know, we understand, and I don't need to see that.
On a normal circumstance, I, I think I'd be right there with you.
This is such an exceptional circumstance.
I, I think Patrick Holmes, how about this?
Who, whose super chat was that?
Was that Phantom?
Yeah.
I think, I think Patrick Mahomes will play in the preseason of 2027.
I do not think that this will be a multi-year thing.
I think it is just exceptional circumstances, and perhaps an exceptional caution that again, I, I would not begrudge them for just saying, hey, let's not get too cute, let's give our guy another two weeks to get ready for the game that counts.
But if he's out there, I'd be happy to see him, I really would.
I won't mind if I, if we don't.
And we don't begrudge anyone for giving us 5-star reviews or likes wherever you get your podcast.
Wow, what a transition.
Appreciate everyone hanging out with us.
It is so fun having football actually back the preseason.
I don't care.
I'm excited.
Yeah, sure, I'll go and watch it at a bar versus sitting down and taking thousands of notes, but that's part of the fun, watching Chiefs games at a bar, throwing darts, playing pool.
Sorry about it.
I'm gonna do it.
That's what preseason football is for.
I'm getting into form and taking notes on my phone versus paper.
That's what we're doing, OK?
Arrowhead addict, dart addict, multiple things.
That's just who I am as a person.
Appreciate everyone hanging out with us and excited to have everyone back for the season.
Briscoe, check them out.
Only weird games coming your way in just a little bit in about an hour-ish.
Uh, only weird games.
Uh, appreciate everyone, yet again.
Until next time, we are out.
