Chiefs Training Camp: What's Real and What's Not?
Price Carter and Christian Ainsworth play News or Noise, separating legitimate Chiefs training camp developments from the annual camp overreactions. The guys debate Kahlil Benson's surprising rise on the offensive line, whether Cyrus Allen has earned Patrick Mahomes' trust, Peter Woods' impressive start, and if it's time to be concerned about first-round pick Mansoor Delane's lingering shoulder injury.
Video Transcript
Welcome in another edition of the Intangibles brought to you by Arrowhead Addict and the boys.
We're back together.
It's, it's been a hot minute since Christian and I have been back together.
I am Price Carter, as I mentioned, that is Christian Ainsworth on the other side, and we're back.
Uh, we, Christian, I think you took a week off for a vacation, and then I took a week off for a vacation.
And um it's been a little bit since we've been together and now we actually have like real things to talk about instead of just like hypotheticals and stuff as Chiefs training camp is well underway.
Did you , uh, what did you do for your vacation?
Oh, I went to Colorado.
We go up there every summer, cools down a lot and get us out.
You're a big, yeah, you're a big mountain guy.
You, you like climbing and, and doing stuff.
I, I've been out there quite a bit recently.
My sister lives out there, so I was out there for her wedding, and then.
Uh, one of my friends, um, a good friend to have, mind you, owns a condo out there.
Mind you, the condo he owns, Bobby Witts Junior's parents also own a condo out there.
His parents being, you know, former MLB pitcher Bob Bobby Witt, um, and he gives us a pretty good rate on his Verbo, so we go out there, but we like to go out there when it's like spring and the, like the, it's not so cold.
Um, but up in the mountains, it's, it's great.
And then I, I was at the lake this last week.
I, we get all, uh, Get all the kids together with some family and stuff.
So it was a great time.
Um, it was, it was great, but it, it's time to lock in.
I mean, we're 40 days from Chiefs football as we record this and even closer to the start of the NFL season.
So, it is crazy, it is rapidly increasing.
Yeah, dude, we, we are almost there, which I mean it sounds insane cause it feels like the last, I don't know, right after the draft, there's always this lull, and so if you can make it through the lull, you can get, get back in the swing of things, but it's been a minute.
July, July is particularly bad, especially if the Royals are what they are at this point, and there's just like nothing.
Thank God we have the, the World Cup to get us through, cause that was really about all I had.
Hey guys, before we get going today, I just wanna tell you about uh this new text messaging thing that we have for Arrowhead Addict.
Um, if you're someone, you know, I, not everyone likes to be as chronically online as I am.
Where if a single NFL move happens, your phone blows up.
Uh, get Chiefs text messages sent to your phone.
It's really easy, it's totally free, and you can respond.
Like, the other day we had someone text back and say like, hey, I'm going to training camp for the first time.
What are some of your tips?
And myself and several other people who have been up there, we're able to give out some tips.
So, all you gotta do is check the text the word Chiefs to 816-477-5421.
Uh, again, that's 816-477-5421.
We send out breaking news, we send out analysis, stats, things like that.
Um, you know, I know Patrick's been out there sending, you know, when the Cyrus Allen injury happened or whatever, or I sent my recap of what I saw when I was up at training camp.
So check that out, totally free, just another way to be plugged in here at Arrowhead Addict.
Um, and it's not super spammy.
Like, I think we've probably sent out like 5 or 6 since I've joined.
It's not something that you're gonna be blowing up your phone with.
Um, before we get going today, we're gonna, we're gonna talk news or noise, famous award winning segment that we have had for years here on the show about training camp.
But before we do that, I wanna broaden the scope a little bit.
This is the time that we really kind of started getting an idea of what these teams are, veterans are signing, injuries are happening.
And I like, we, we like talking a little bit of big picture NFL.
So, Christian and I have each picked 3 teams that we like the over or the under on their wins.
Um, I have selected 3 teams.
I've got 2 unders, 1 over, and just go into why we like them.
And then here in a week or two, we'll probably start doing our actual NFL predictions for the season long.
But Christian, let, let's hear your first over or under that you like and why.
So the first one I have here is the Baltimore Ravens, and right now they're sitting at 11.5.
I, I'm going under on that for a few specific reasons.
I mean, um, Lamar Jackson has kind of taken a step back, you know, as a passer and also as a runner over the past couple of years, and then they lose John Harbaugh because they don't make the Super Bowl.
I mean, I kind of get it, you know, they, they probably needed to change up, but usually when you, you know, shake the globe that much, it ends up resetting a lot and you have to take a few steps back before you can take a step forward.
Um.
In other news about the team, like they just signed their wide receiver, um, Zay Flowers to a big contract.
I think that's a little bit bloated as well.
It's not like he's a, an awful player, um, but I don't think he's worth the 35 million per year that he's getting.
And, you know, that, that takes a tax on the roster.
I mean, we've seen it here in Kansas City where, you know, you, you sign somebody for a few extra years for a little bit more money than they're worth, and then you start losing pieces elsewhere.
So I, I don't think they make it to 10 wins, if I had to guess.
The Ravens are a smart bet, uh, simply because they are the highest win total on the board.
Um, their win total is every bit as high as the Rams.
I, they were a team I thought about.
It's tough because I, I, I heard someone bring this up that basically every time Lamar Jackson's offensive line has been solid, like he's been an MVP candidate or like the outright MVP.
They're bringing Ian.
They, they signed Ethan, Ethan Posi to just be a, a fine stopgap center.
Rosengarten goods on the right side, uh, as long as the left tackle Ronnie Stanley stays healthy, like it's coming together.
A lot of Ravens players are really talking up the offensive, uh, mind that they brought over Declan Doyle from the Bears.
And you know, the defense is going to be good because Minor has already proved that he can do more with less or.
The Chargers, and now he gets to play with Kyle Hamilton and Trey Hendrickson and, and all the guys over there.
So they were, they were a tough one.
And, you know, keep in mind too that they, I believe they have a 3rd or 4th place, a 3rd place schedule this year.
So they were a tough one for me.
I, I did consider them.
Yeah, the Say Flowers thing is just like, I, it doesn't surprise me that he got the next step for a contract, right?
Like that's kind of how this goes, is if you're the young guy and you're putting up the numbers.
Which he's mostly has done.
You're gonna get the next level contract, but particularly for Zay Flowers, I'm surprised that the Ravens pay that out.
But then again, you look at the wide receiver room , they have really, really struggled to find anything over the years.
I mean, that's just been a consistent theme for them.
Oh yeah, it's kind of crazy that that's the meta now.
Like you look at all the, the super, you know, the AFC powerhouse teams, and it's like, yeah, no wide receiver corps to speak of.
Yeah, that, that's kind of how it was for the Patriots a little bit, other than Diggs, and then you have, you know, the Bills, the Ravens, the Chiefs.
It just seems like that's the way the AFC is heading, which is quarterback.
It's the quarterback tax.
Like, it's really tough to have a top paid quarterback and then like, you know, some of the other most expensive positions, tackle, corner, uh, edge, wide receiver.
All right, my first team that I like here for the over or the under, and I'm taking the Panthers under 7.5.
Uh, this starts real easily with the injuries.
I mean, man, they have been ravaged by injuries.
Before the season even started, they lose Ikey Akwane late in the playoffs.
That's why they bring in the tackle from Georgia during the draft.
Nick Skorton, a guy that I really liked come out of the draft, a promising edge rusher, he is already done for the season.
Chris Brazil, uh, the Tennessee wide receiver injured as well too.
Taylor Moton, the right tackle is already injured.
They lost, uh, I almost said Dante Dowdell, that was a Nebraska running back, Rico Dowdell, um, who like had several 200 yard games for them, and I know Jonathan Brooks is coming on.
This is also Jonathan Brooks' like first time being healthy to start a season, and I, I, I think both the Saints and the Bucks will be better in that division this year, and keep in mind.
They won like 8 games last year, they made the playoffs and, and, you know, gave the Rams a, a nice little fight, but it's not, this isn't far off.
I think they're very injured.
I know, uh, Xavier Leggette left camp yesterday with injury.
It doesn't look super serious.
It's like spasms, but like this, the infrastructure there is pretty frail, and obviously I'm gonna continue to doubt Bryce Young a little bit, like I've just never been a huge believer in him.
So I think the 7 to 6 wins to them feels right about where they are, and I think the teams in their division will be better too.
Yeah, I mean, I don't think anybody expects the Carolina Panthers to win a bunch of games next year, but I, I mean, I don't know the Ikey Ewanu injury is devastating.
I think that was one of their, you know, core pieces of the roster and especially offensively.
But man, I don't know, man, Bryce Young, Chuba Hubbard, Ted McMillan, like that, that's a pretty good.
Yeah, and, and I, I do like Ted McMillan.
I just think like losing Brazil was a big deal.
Leggette at best is their 3rd.
Their tight ends are still Jatavion Sanders and Tommy Trumbull.
Like there's just, I, I struggle to see where this team is getting a lot better offensively.
And I think defensively, there's still a lot of questions to be answered.
Uh, they did bring in, uh, Devin Lloyd, uh, the linebacker from the Jags this year.
So I, I think that will help, uh, the linebacker position, which they had one of the worst linebacking quarters in the NFL last year.
All right, you're next team.
Uh, before we do that, I'm just happy you're high on Chris Brazil.
Like, I felt like I was pulling you along the entire draft.
I didn't say I was high on Chris Braswell.
I said he's hurt.
There's a difference.
Well, you said, but that's a big impact.
That's what you said.
It's a big impact.
You can only have a big impact if you're a good player.
You can only have a big impact if your wide receiver core is behind you is Xavier Legette and whoever else is on the Panthers, like Jimmy Horn, yeah, yeah, those things are not coral.
Those things are not corollary.
OK, well, my next one, I have the Jacksonville Jaguars.
I'm taking the over on their 8.5 wins.
I mean, I know they had a down year.
Um, two years ago, they bounced back with Liam Cohen as a new head coach, 13 wins in 2025, like, I just see that train keeping rolling now they lost Devin Lloyd, as you spoke about a second ago, and then Travis ETN.
But this is still a team that I feel like has what it takes to contend.
Parker Washington, fantastic player, he's really developed there.
I don't think anybody expects Brian Thomas Junior to do what he did last year, um, which, you know, was played incredibly horribly, but he's definitely, I feel like he's up on, on the upswing as well, and then, uh, their quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, like takes another step forward in the Liam Cohen offense .
Um, this is a young, high flying offense.
I think they will continue to do well, and I think losing, what would that be, losing 8 games, losing 9 games.
Um, or, yeah, yeah, yeah, losing, losing 9 games.
I just don't see that.
I, I know they're gonna have a tougher schedule, but I, I like the coach, I like the quarterback, I like some of the weapons, like this, this team can't win or can't lose more than 6 games.
They were another team I considered.
I, I am a really big Liam Cohen believer.
Like I just think that his offense is very good.
I think he's got the juice.
Um, Bayal too and is a guy that I'm gonna like probably try to leave every fantasy draft I'm in with.
And I, I totally agree.
The weapons, Thomas, Jacoby Myers, Parker Washington, whatever they're gonna get from Travis Hunter, and even Brinton Strange.
My concern there is the offensive line, Cole Van Lennen, Ezra Cleveland, Robert Haynesy, Patrick McCay, Anton Harrison, like.
There's a lot of like OK there, but there's nothing there that says like, I think they overperformed last year, and they were a team that had a ton of turnovers last year, and usually turnovers equal turnaround when it comes to a good, a bad team becoming good.
Defensive line, I worry about the interior.
They've got Rukarororo, who's already on the 2nd team, Albert Reidis out of Texas A&M, a guy I kind of liked it in the draft, um, Devon Hamilton, and then it's Trayvon Walker, Josh Josh Hines Allen, Eric Armstead, but You know, this is year 12 for Eric Armstead.
Like, I'm not sure he's a needle mover.
If, if you could tell me that Travis Hunter comes in and it's just a very good corner, and that's where he spends 90% of his time or more, I feel better.
Monterre Brown was pretty good, Jordan Lewis was fine.
The safeties are OK, but I, I would, that's, that's something that's really big for me.
Like I, I, Travis Hunter's gotta be a good corner and He's gotta stay healthy too, but yeah, they were a team I thought about too, cause I do really like what they've got there.
Uh, Texans, over 9.5 for me.
Uh, I'm really big on the Texans this year.
First off, the best defense in the NFL got better this last year.
Added Logan Hall, added Kamari Ramsey, added Reed Blankenship, just signed Jadeveon Clowney.
Offensive line was a concern.
They had Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller, and Keyan Rutledge of the first round pick.
They still have uh What's his name?
Brown, Trent Brown uh there as well too, like Arianta Ery came along, uh, they're getting Tank Dell back year two of Noel and Jaden Higgins.
They added David Montgomery, who will just be able to bring like a nice consistent presence on early downs and allow Woody Marks to be the change of pace guy.
And like, you know, I think we all have this image of CJ Stroud from the playoffs.
He's also 12th in EPA per a dropback during the regular season.
They still got a number 1 in Nico Collins.
They have the 10th hardest schedule this year, so like not insanely hard schedule.
I have a hard time not like, I, why can they not be the Seahawks?
Why can't he be Sam Darnold?
Um, I, I completely think that that's possible.
The only thing that I will say is like, Their defense plays the most like FU defense imaginable.
Like they're just gonna sit in 2 high, rush with 4, and stunt and gain.
Like the McDonald defense was very cerebral, we're changing the picture, we're, we're adjusting the image to the quarterback post snap, versus their defense is just like, hey, here it is, our dudes are better than yours.
So, maybe they can start to unlock some more of that, where like they do have dudes better than you, but also they're challenging you mentally .
But I, I think Stroud can, can be what Sam Darnold was last year, and I think that defense is every bit of what the Seahawks were last year.
I I, I really wish I could get behind you cause I really do like CJ Stroud.
He was my favorite quarterback coming out of that draft.
And there's just something about him and giving the ball away that he, he just cannot part with.
And, and I don't know why that is, it seemed like he had, I mean, he had one of the greatest rookie quarterback seasons of all time, if not the greatest.
Um, but they, I don't know what has clicked, maybe it's the football guys just taking their penance on, uh , out on him.
I mean, I, and then the defense-wise, I, I, I, here's the thing, CJ Stroud, I might be able to buy.
I think defense coming back and being the top defense again, even if they get better, is just so statistically unlikely that it, it, it's hard to project.
Like, there are a lot of times you'll have a good defense, that's a great defense one year and then drops back to the mean, just, you know, based off of matchups and, and how they're playing throughout the season.
Um, other than that though, I like the , I like the take.
David Montgomery is great, like Nico Collins, Jaden Higgins, Jalen Noel, like take Dell, this is a legitimate, like this, they've got weapons now, like they, they can get after you offensively.
CJ Stroud just has to be that guy.
I, I don't know if he could be that guy again.
Yeah, it remains to be seen if he can just learn to take care of the ball, check it down to Dalton Schultz, Woody marks.
I think, I think it's enough.
Like they need to score 16 points in most games and they'll probably be OK. Um, OK, your next team.
So my last one here is the LA Chargers.
So they're set right now at 9.5 wins.
And I mean, y'all know how I feel about the Chargers.
I, I gotta take the over.
9, 9.5 is just not enough for me.
You, you look at the core of their team, Rashaw Slater, Joe Walt, like if that offensive line is healthy, they have a legitimate offensive line.
Interior is a little shaky, but you know, they get Jake Slaughter, they have, uh, Tyler Battier, Cole Strange, like, those aren't fantastic players or prospects, but absolutely medium level players.
Um, and then offensively, I mean, me and you, nobody was higher on Amarion Hampton coming out in the draft than we were.
I mean, there were Ashton Gent, he's better than Ashton Gent he takes on the table from both of us.
Um, he gets injured, doesn't, uh, doesn't live up to what we thought he could be in his first year, but, you know, coming back, you, you get the injuries right.
I think he's a fantastic player.
He showed it on the field when he was actually available.
Um, and then Justin Herbert, Ladd McConkie.
Quentin Johnson , Trey Harris, I'm, I'm a little bit higher on Trey Harris than you are.
Um, I was as a prospect coming out of Ole Miss, but I, I think that's a legit offensive core, and you look defensively and yeah, there are some holes and you're relying on Khalil Mack, who's 55 years old, um, to play legitimate snaps for you, but You know, this is still a defense that I feel like can get after it, and play competitively.
Now, I mean, they've got to play the Chiefs twice, so you can knock two losses off there, but other than that, I mean, I feel like they can win just about any game that they get into.
Charger, uh, me and you will have to, uh, measure the Chargers this year cause they're the team I almost consider taking the under.
Um, I, so I, I do think like the interior offensive line is a concern.
Uh, the tackle health is always a concern with them.
Um, also like, I have some concerns about a Marion Hampton fitting into the wide zone.
Kyle Krabs, one of the OG draft guys that I listened to, he also covers the Dolphins.
And he has real concerns about Hampton ability to fit into the stretch outside zone.
Like he, uh, Keaton, uh, Mitchell might be the other guy that I like to leave every draft with cause I think there's a chance that he just becomes the splash play guy.
And, you know, the wide receiver room, they're banking on Trey Harris taking another step.
I think Quentin Johnson at this point is underrated as a player.
McConkiey's had health issues.
It's very clear that they want to ground and pound the ball.
They bring in, uh, they bring in Charlie Koehler, they've got Njoku, who's an underrated block or two.
Gatson's kind of their move slot.
My thing is the defense.
Like, you know, you knew Minor was gonna get more out of that defense than it is, but Jamari Caldwell, Tierre Tart.
Dalvin Tomlinson, Tui Tulo is good.
Khleo Mackey, year 13, played 44% of the snaps last year.
Denzel Perryman, year 12, Deon Henley, Tarieb still camp, like there's just other than Derwin James and Tuli Tuoppolotu and Khhalil Mack, I don't see a ton of needle movers there.
And then the other thing is their schedule.
The Chargers got a Hard schedule.
And it's not just who they play, it's when they play them.
They travel a lot, they have a lot of short short weeks.
They have one of the largest rest differentials of any team in the league, like where the team's playing on, where they're playing on a short week, the other team's playing off a long week.
Like they've got, they play the Cardinals and the Raiders for the first two weeks.
So, pre-plan.
The Chargers crowning after week two, where they look really good and everyone's excited about McDaniel, but then it goes, Bills, Seahawks, Broncos, Chiefs, early by Rams, Texans, Ravens.
Then the Jets, Patriots, Bucks , Raiders again, 49ers, Dolphins, Chiefs, Broncos.
Uh, that's a , that's a tough, tough schedule.
So I, I, they're a team that like they are probably one of the more volatile teams this year.
Um, my, my last under is the, the Giants, 7.5.
Neighbors coming off the injury.
Second receiver is still a real question.
It's Darius Slayton, Juju Smith-Schuster, Odell Beckham's getting real wide, uh, first team snaps, Malachii Fields the rookie.
Oh, offensive line still got a question.
Andrew Thomas is always a question if he's gonna be healthy.
They're banking on some young guys, they take Mauinoa in the top 10.
Dart has obviously lots of injury concerns, needs to take care of himself better.
Scatterbo coming off the injury, Tyrone Tracy's been injured.
They didn't really upgrade that running back room in any way.
The secondary is still very rough.
They've been noisy this offseason.
The Jim Harbaugh videos have not been great coming out.
Like I just, I don't know, man.
I think I might sell this team.
Which is surprising because this is everybody's like dark horse pick to make the playoffs or to go far in the playoffs.
Like it was, I mean, to me it was crazy, especially after the Malik Neighbors stuff was coming out and he's like, he can't put pressure on his leg after this injury, and it's like, it was like 2 or 3 weeks.
Before camp started, you're like, well, that's probably not good.
OK, Cam Scattibo is gonna lead with his helmet for 90% of his reps. You wonder how long he can stay healthy.
Tyrone Tracy, kind of a slender running back that you can't really rely on, um , especially between the tackles, but it's like, man, and Jackson Dark has to take a step forward too.
Like that's a lot to ask.
I know they just got a new head coach, but My God, there's only so much you can do in one offseason.
Like, and, and I, I don't know about you, but Malachi Fields was not super high up on my list either of wide receivers.
So this is a team that has a lot to do, to take forward.
I, I don't mind you taking the under there at all.
In fact, I probably would have done the same.
Yeah, I, there's just a lot of moving parts there, and I think everyone's just like relying on the, oh, Harbaugh will raise the floor thing, but we've seen that fall through before.
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All right, well, we've, we've talked a little league wide here.
Let's, let's focus in on the Chiefs.
There's been a lot going on at camp.
Camp just wrapped for the day, and we're gonna talk a little news or noise.
News means this is significant, it actually means something.
Noise means this is just a classic training camp storyline that gets brought up, and things that you think are important, and then by week 5, you're like, oh my gosh, why did we ever even care about that?
Um, Christian, let's, let's start right at the talk at the top, and probably one of the bigger talking points, and it is Kh Khalil Benson, just consistently starting at right tackle.
He, it started without pads, now it's with pads.
As far as I've seen today, he was the starting right tackle again.
Um, this is certainly a surprise for a guy who wasn't even a priority UDFA signed out a rookie camp.
And is now taking snaps over Jaylen Moore and Isa Pole at right tackle.
News or noise?
I almost want you to go first.
I wanna hear what you have to say about it because I, I, part of me really wants it to be something and part of me in the back of my heart is like, And, you, you just don't love again.
You, you can't invest this much in a, uh, a primary or a very, very important position with a guy who is a UDFA and like you said, not even a priority UDFA.
So, uh, uh, what do you have it as?
I think it's news, but I think it's for a different reason.
This isn't a Kh Khalil Benson highlight, it's a Chiefs right tackle low light, because if this guy, like, you know, if you go read the write-ups and stuff on Benson, like most of it is like probably gonna kick inside, spend time at guard.
Um, now he does have nice length, over 34 inch arms, but body built like a tackle, and, you know, as pads have come on and we've watched them more and more.
I've not been super moved.
Like, I think he's more of a guy who's getting in the way, rather than winning reps, right?
Like it, it's the difference between winning the rep and, and feeling solid or or hanging on.
And obviously like this also kind of goes into like, what edge rusher do you feel super great about the Chiefs right now?
Uh, Karl Loftus maybe, right?
But like the Chiefs' edge rushing group isn't exactly a dynamic group either.
To me, this is news because it's an indictment on Jalen Moore, and it's an indictment on Isapole and the position as a whole.
I'll wait to see if this is actually a thing.
Like if he runs out there in the first preseason game, I'll be moved, and then when they get back to Saint Joe after the first preseason game, if he's still there, then I think we really start talking about like, OK, this guy looks like he's going to start.
We've seen the the Chiefs mix guys in before, but he's been very consistently there, and You know, it just goes back to like what a debacle the free agency group was last year between Fulton and Moore.
If Moore is never the starting tackle for this team, like breaking camp for $15 million a year, like that's a heavy price to pay for tackle depth.
Oh yeah, well, I mean, kind of, you know, not bad swing tackle.
I know everybody, the expectations were super high for Jalen Moore, but it's not like he had proven anything coming in on that contract.
I, I think a lot of people said at worst, he's right tackle depth or he comes in and at best, he's the starting left tackle for the Chiefs and he's the next Trent Williams.
So I, I do think that there's a little bit of like play with how we view the Jalen Moore contract, but Uh, when you talk about Khalil Benson coming in and being the star, I, I like the point that you made specifically about it highlighting the deficiency rather than it being a Khalil Benson highlight reel, like.
Uh, we love Isapole.
We were talking about Isapole after he got picked up, um, by the Chiefs, and then even in the preseason last year, I remember us having conversations about him.
Um, Isapole is very, very new to football.
Like he, he played, I think it was either 2 or 3 years at, uh, oh, what college did he go to?
Um, but anyway, he had started playing Washington State.
He was, um, uh, uh, who are you talking, Pole.
Yeah, yeah, he's a P, I thought you're talking about Benson.
Yeah, he was.
Benson's Indiana, Indiana and Colorado for a year, yeah, yeah, but, uh, uh, we did not expect him to come in and be the starter.
I know the offseason talk has been Isapola, oh my God, the Chiefs drafted a left tackle and got a right tackle in the same draft.
Like that's insane.
There's no, how did Brett, how did they let the Chiefs do this?
This is by no means, uh, a sure thing with Isapole.
Um, that does give me a little worried.
I'm, I'm gonna side with you here.
I, I do think this is a little bit of noise, but, but not for the, the reason that is, you know, most apparent when you look at the situation.
Um, it will make me very sad though if Khalil Benson gets the nod at right tackle over Isapole, especially because he's had a year in the system.
But also like you were talking about Jalen Moore not starting at right tackle after he's been paid to be the swing tackle, and then we let our right tackle go, like this is, he's gotta be that dude.
Yeah, yeah, I, the whole thing is kind of weird, like second team has been consistently more at left , Pole at right.
So we'll see.
It still won't shock me if Jale Morris just like runs out there week one, and that was kind of like, oh, this is to push him or something.
And hey, the Cle Benson story is already a success cause I, I mean, I would say that he's certainly a, a favorite to make the roster, in which case, you got a, a quality tackle, a quality depth out of like rookie camp.
Like that's.
That's awesome to have, but I, I certainly think that there's some questions.
I'm not super worried about the Chiefs' offensive line as a whole.
They just can't have right tackle be a flaming tire fire, right?
Like if it's just OK, the rest of it is good enough that it should still be a solid unit.
All right, next, news or noise.
We've got to talk about Cyrus Allen.
Obviously, you were a big fan.
You wrote a very good in-depth article about Cyrus Allen's game.
Um, obviously he's dinged up with a shin bruise right now, but part of the reason why this is a news or a noise segment is because up until then he had been Patrick Mahomes's favorite target in training camp, making planes routinely with the first team offense.
Cyrus Allen, does he have a real impact here one.
I think he has to.
I, I think that speaks to the lack of depth at wide receiver, but I also think it speaks to Cyrus Allen.
I'm gonna take a little bit of a victory lap here, Price , so just, just hold on for a second.
I mean, we called this, right, months ago.
As soon as he was taken in the draft.
I mean this, this was.
Yeah, I, I, I think with him, like the, the thing was is that we liked is that he was, though he does resemble a lot of the size things that the Chiefs have done at wide receiver, his skill set was something different than they had.
And I think, you know, to give you credit, his production in the red zone, and like how good he is at tracking the ball and actually winning the ball despite his size.
It's something that you pointed out that I think is a fair, like a fair call out, because like that, that's the thing that's been surprising.
And you know, I've heard people compare this to Justin Ross or Dereese Fountain or whoever.
But there's a big difference between catching passes from Patrick Mahomes over Noel Williams in contested catches situations, and then making plays with Carson Wentz or whoever the Chiefs' backup was at the time.
And those are the things we're seeing from Fountain and from Justin Ross, whereas like, Allen's running with the ones consistently.
I'm gonna sell it as noise just a little bit though, because the injuries for the Chiefs wide receivers have been quite a bit right now with Rice and Worthy both being like limited to out.
I just worry, I, I feel like what it will be is we will see good things from Cyrus Allen this year, and I think the fan base will constantly be asking more, more, more Cyrus Allen, because he does make good plays on the field.
I just feel like the Chiefs will view him as wide receiver 4, and his playing time will reflect that.
And then there's the obvious caveat of, of like, hey, like, he's a slot best guy.
Well, the Chiefs have 2 or 3 guys like that, right?
So, I, that's, that's something that I think we'll just continually want more, but it does make you feel a little bit better that the wide receiver room isn't just 3 people deep, which we'll, we'll hit on the wide receiver depth.
But right now it's a little noisy for me, like , I don't think this is a guy that you need to add in fantasy.
I know, um, the, the content creators are going crazy on that, but like I I would take probably the under on like 25 or 30 catches for him this year.
Oh yeah, but that doesn't mean he can't have an impact.
My biggest thing with Cyrus Allen is that he's, you know, he's coming into a situation where we need a man beater and he's a man beater.
Yeah, and I, and I think the, the most glowing endorsement that you can have of him is like he's earned Patrick Mahomes' trust quickly.
There's been guys on the roster for years who haven't earned Patrick Mahomes' trust, whether it be a Sky Moore or whoever, and Mahomes will, will zip things to him that he may not normally.
So that, that certainly speaks something to him as a player, and hopefully he's back on the field soon.
Uh, this is something that I want to talk about.
Ken Walker, we know what he is as a player.
Every single highlight I see from camp is him bouncing a run to the outside.
I've not seen anything of him working inside.
Is this like newsworthy or is it just like, oh, it's camp and he's avoiding contact?
Like, what do you think about this?
Uh, part of it is just the reads, like, I've looked at the linebackers and how they were flowing on some of those highlights, and I, I can't remember who wears number 44 for our team.
There is one play in particular where Mahomes hands it off, it's like a stretch right play, and he just full sprints to the middle of the field.
He's playing outside linebacker, you have contained, you got force stuff back, and Kenneth Walker's like, well, if you're just gonna give me the outside, like, I'm gonna take it.
Are you, are you kidding?
I'm, I'm one of the fastest players on this team.
And so part of it is just they're not giving him good enough looks for it to be like, hey, uh, you know, you have to cut this one back, you have to stay within the tackles.
Part of it is just our linebacker depth is, is not fantastic, and he's getting looks against guys who probably have no business playing.
Cooper McDonald, by the way, uh, but I like, my thing with Walker is, and again, I'm gonna say that this is slightly newsworthy, but I think it's a different context.
Like, we know that Walker is going to generate explosive runs, cause that's kind of his specialty.
I think something that the offense and the Chiefs will have to get used to a little bit, and Chiefs fans is the fact that there is the duality of Kenneth Walker.
And like the Chiefs run game last year, we know it was completely unexplosive.
However, it was fairly efficient.
You were going to get 2 yards, you weren't going to get 10, but you were going to get 2, right?
And I think with Walker, people might get frustrated sometimes because there will be a negative 4 sometimes.
There will be things that he misses, but also like he's gonna turn nothing into something.
And I, it's just something to, to keep in mind , and this is obviously a bigger narrative about the entire offense, but there have been times where it was a Juwan Taylor penalty, and it's like 2nd and 15, you're like, might as well just punt now.
Like it just, it, it felt that way, right?
Cause their inability to generate explosive plays.
And, you know, that's one of the things too is like, hey.
There's a, a really good, one of the best games of the year, the Rams Seahawks game, the regular season one late in the year where the, you know, Zach Charbonnet picks up that ball and ends up being a two point conversion.
But there's a play in that game where it's like 3rd and 15, and the Seahawks just run a surrender draw play and Walker gets it.
Like no one expected him to get it, and he gets it.
Like you're going to get that from him.
People are just going to need to familiarize themselves with the lack of efficiency sometimes cause it is a real thing and You know, I, hopefully some of the other backs are able to take advantage of a little bit more efficiency there.
Uh, Peter Woods, the Lise on Agaib, is he the prince who has promised?
I, news or noise, Peter Woods looking good since the pads have come on.
Uh, it's gotta be news, man.
I mean, like I, I liked Peter Woods.
I didn't love Peter Woods coming out of the draft, but you're watching some of these highlights, and that Kenneth Walker one specifically, the one I was just talking about where he's stretched right, running right towards the camera, and Peter Woods is beating our right guard, that's one of the highest paid in the league, Trey Smith, across his face to go and make a play.
That is something that not every player, like, we're only human beings out here.
Peter Woods might not be a human being.
I, I don't wanna be too, uh too optimistic about it, but that is not something a lot of players can do in this league.
There's a reason Trey Smith got paid as much money as he did, um.
If Peter Woods can do that and it's day one, I like the odds of him panning out in the long run.
Yeah, I, I can't unsee the, the Peter Woods movement skills.
Um , very few videos on the internet move, like, you know, there's like templates.
There's very few internet videos that I won't like scroll past.
And the Alex Jones, like patriot, patriot, Moses, vampire.
Like I, I will watch every single one of those, like whether it be fast food restaurants, uh, colors, uh, energy drinks, whatever.
Um, I won't quote the full video cause some of it is not necessarily appropriate, but, uh, like.
Every time, every, every time I see Peter Woods like shimmy and, and get under a guy in like half a second, I just think Moses.
Like, I, dude, I, he might be it.
Like I, I had the intrusive thought that I think Peter Woods will actually be the better first round pick than Delane, which we'll talk about in a second, but Man, shout out to Clemson, shout out to Peter Woods , like in his testing, cause I think there's gonna be a lot of people who are looking at themselves, like, how did we, how did we miss on Woods?
Like how did we let Woods slide this far because of a bad year at Clemson and a bad pre-draft process.
But you look at what he was athletically and stuff, and it's just like, it didn't match up with what he's putting on the field, and I think, I think it's got a real chance to be special.
Let's, let's talk about Peter Mansor Delaine now.
Uh, noteworthy Nate Taylor of ESPN mentioned on the radio a couple days ago that if the Chiefs had a game this week, Mansor Delane would not play.
If the, he also said if the Chiefs had a game in a month, he's not sure Mansor Delane would play.
Delayne is in a yellow non-contact injury jersey, he's got a shoulder injury.
He is looking all right, but also with the caveat of the man can't get contact at the line of scrimmage and is being limited on how far he can run downfield, like that's a pretty tough way to play corner for a guy who is really great in press coverage.
At what point do we start getting worried?
Are, are you, is this news or noise, the, the man delaying concern?
I mean, to me, it really kind of feels like, do you feel like the Chiefs have a legit shot of contending this year?
Cause if you do, then you say, well, it's gonna be a tough slate, um, they probably gotta get as many wins as they possibly can, if you're expecting the Bills and the Ravens to take a step back, it's like, well, we need man sort of laying on the field as soon as possible.
Um, me, I, I like the idea that that could be a possibility, but I'm not gonna put all my eggs in that basket, like, Mansor Delane coming in and, and not starting maybe the first or second game of the season, I don't think is a world ender.
Uh, it , this is not a situation where you have a player who's been injury prone his entire career.
Um, this is a, you know, frequent point of injury for the player.
This is a shoulder injury he got in, what was it, OTAs, um.
And so it's like, yeah, it's not fantastic, I don't love it, but to me, this is not, you know, the end of the world for Mansor Delane as a prospect or as a player this season.
I think that it'll probably slow his progression a little bit, but, you know, he's a fantastic prospect coming out.
He's coming into a system where, you know, we highlight good cornerback play, we're able to evaluate it, we're able to build it up.
Like Manslaught of land being gone for the first part of uh mandatory mini camp or or training camp is, is not a huge deal to me.
Yeah, I, I worry about the delay thing, but not quite the same reasons.
Like I still am pretty confident in the player and the talent.
Um, I think he will be a good player.
I worry a little bit about things starting to spiral for him.
I think the, the narrative around, you know, this is just not a team that's used to really picking players this high.
Um, and I think he's commented on the pressure of being a top pick that was traded up for.
The fan base is going to have a lot of expectations for him, and unfortunately, first impressions really matter .
I think back to, uh, like Frank Clark, like his first couple of games in Kansas City, he didn't really move the needle after getting that big deal, and people really turned on him quickly.
Same with like Jawan Taylor and some of those guys, and it's really hard to rewrite those narratives.
And I'm afraid because of the lack of contact, the lack of practice, even if he is out there week one that he's gonna struggle a little bit and feel that pressure.
And this is a position.
That confidence really matters.
Like you've, as a cornerback, you gotta put the sword in the sheath, even if the quarterback throws the ball 10 yards over the heads of the receiver.
Like, you know, it's a, it's a swagger position.
And I worry about that for him a little bit just because I'm afraid things could spiral.
Not that I think he's gonna be a mess, not that I think he's gonna be terrible, but I do think like there's a situation that We don't see Delane's best and towards the back half of the year, whether it be just like getting up to speed or reminding himself like, hey, I, you know, I can do this.
I think a bright spot is Noel Williams looks every bit the part this year and has been consistently one of the best defenders in camp, and that's very exciting.
But man, this is, like you said, like if you want the Chiefs to be a contender, like you need Delane to be who he was drafted to be.
And It's just, it's frustrating cause there was like no reporting around this.
Like we see this all the time, right?
Like a guy gets hurt, so and so is going to be sidelined for X amount of weeks, like Man Sir Delaine, like we never got that, which is odd and kind of makes me wonder about the context of the entry at this point.
It doesn't really matter, but like, I, the timetable there is concerning, and then like also like, you want him to knock off the rust, he probably won't play in preseason game number 1.
Are they gonna stick him out there in the final game that's a glorified like tryout for other teams?
I'm not sure.
Yeah, yeah, it's a tough situation for him for sure.
I, I just trust his coaching staff so much with their defensive backs, where it's like, man, if, if any player was gonna have an initial problem to the start of their career, I'm happy it was a player in the defensive back room.
I'm kind of happy that it happened to, to one of the best defensive backs that we've drafted, at least, you know, one of the most highly touted prospects.
So, I, I see that transition going pretty smooth.
Last one, we, we've talked a little bit of the wide receivers.
There was a really viral video of Rasheed Rice that, uh, went around of him running a post route and looked like it was me, uh, in the parking lot at Perre Field.
Uh, is, are you selling, or are you buying?
Is it news or noise, Rasheed Rice and his rehab and how he looks?
I, I mean if you've watched or heard the Rashi Rice offseason saga happen, it's been absurd, I getting a cleanup procedure and then going to prison, um, or jail, excuse me, not necessarily prison, um.
A complete debacle, complete, you know, just idiocy, stupid behavior.
But anyway, um, him running that, I feel like it's kind of anticipated.
It's not like we want it to be the case, but it is something that I think a lot of people were like, well, yeah, you know, you, you got yourself in a dumb situation, and now, you know, you have to, you, you made your bed, you gotta lie in a type of situation now.
Does that mean he's gonna be bad the whole season or to start the season?
I don't think so.
Like this is a According to all reports, like his rehab went great, he's, you know, just working back up and, you know, if you have a soft tissue injury, it takes a while to sort of trust it.
Um, that goes for athletes specifically, um, the major part of the rehab is the mental hurdles you gotta get over.
Um, you do wonder if there, there's a little bit of struggle there just based off of being a little ginger with it, but Um, a lot of players are put in that situation, they show the same type of, uh, regression, if you wanna call it that, and then they end up being fined for the season.
I'm not too worried about it.
Rice participated in 11 on 11 for the first time today at camp, so, Points of the trend that it's getting better.
Um, I would say like, he's probably not in football shape, right?
Like he didn't participate in OTAs, um, he's been training a little bit, but he's got to get his body back in shape, and yeah, trusting the injury, and it's been a slow play, and also we don't know the context of that video, like, We've got a different wide receiver coach here in Kansas City right now.
They might have told him like, hey, Do this at 70%, or whatever.
Uh, I, I mean, I'm not super concerned about rice.
Injury wise, like as long as there's not a new injury or new news on it, I think it'll be OK.
I mean , I think we know what he is as a player and know his limitations.
I think, obviously, it's still a really valuable piece to the offense because of the volume that they filter through him, and, and that's gonna be the big thing.
But I, I don't see that video and think like, OK, like Rice is cooked, this injury is just really killing him.
Um, and he's not gonna be able to come back from it.
I just think, you know, he's just a player right now that's probably out of shape and, and needs to get in better football shape, and he's not been consistently practicing throughout.
And you hear how physically challenging Andy Reid's camps are.
So, well, and how hot was it that we've been out of a few of those camps, and it's been 1.5 degrees outside.
And let me play full pads running through drills.
If that was close to the end of practice, man, you can't ask him to do much more than what he did on that rep, man.
It get, it gets bad out there.
For sure.
That's gonna do it for us today here on the show.
Make sure to check out the text messages like I mentioned at the top of the show.
Um, check out all the great written work at Arrowhead Addict, and you know, we've got a show every single day of the week here.
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So make sure you're staying locked in here.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Thank you to producer Joanne and thank you to Hunter, thank you, Christian, and thank you guys for watching.
We will be back next Wednesday.
Until then, go Chiefs.
