The Chiefs time in St. Joseph has come to a close today with the final practice of the 2019 training camp. There were no pads today and therefore not a lot of action, but here are a few things that stood out and some reflection on camp as a whole.
Running back rotation is in full swing
The running back by committee approach seems to be the direction the Chiefs are heading, at least for the backup role. Damien Williams continued to play exclusively with the first-team offense today, but each of the running backs behind him looked to be on a constant rotation.
Across the board, with each offense that came out today, you could see Carlos Hyde, Darrell Williams and Darwin Thompson all taking repetitions. Even former cornerback turned running back Tremon Smith was able to see more time today with the second and third-string offense.
It will be interesting to see how the position group shakes outcome cut day, but right now it’s difficult to tell what the Chiefs’ thoughts are on that group beyond Damien, who has been named the starter.
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Clark and Watkins return to the field
Though it was a non-padded practice, seeing Sammy Watkins and Frank Clark return to full work with the ones was a good sign. Both had missed time over the last couple of days with an illness. The concern of injury was never really present with the two of them, though Clark did have some soreness in his wrist recently. The fact that both returned to a full workload even without pads shows that they should be ready come game time this Saturday. Andy Reid didn’t rule either player out of the upcoming preseason game following today’s practice.
With players not being able to hit each other, it is hard to see much from a defensive lineman like Clark, but Watkins was getting in his work on offense quite a bit. Watkins was featured in practice in multiple reverses as well as seeing a solid number of targets during 11-on-11.
The expectation should be that he will be playing in the second preseason game against the Steelers.
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Should Dustin Colquitt be concerned?
No. Colquitt’s job is not in jeopardy, but a lot of time was spent in front of the crowd today with Colquitt and rookie punter Jack Fox taking turns punting the ball to the opposite end zone. The common theme of the punting action was that Colquitt has a real knack for getting the football to bounce back when it lands, while Fox’s punts tended to bounce right into the endzone.
There were some bright spots to Fox’s punting game, however, like the power he is able to put into his punts. The hangtime he gets is noticeable, and in an actual game, this could be a very valuable trait allowing the gunners on the punting team to have more time to get downfield to the returner. The likelihood of Fox making the Kansas City roster is not high at all, but there is some talent to his game that could be appealing to one of the other 31 teams if they are looking to make a move at the position.
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Young talent appears to be taking a step in the right direction
The biggest takeaway from training camp this year is that there were some great strides made with some of the young talents on the team from recent draft classes. Whether that is players taking advantage of a new defensive scheme such as Tanoh Kpassagnon and Breeland Speaks, or high 2019 draft picks proving their worth in Mecole Hardman and Juan Thornhill.
Personally, I am a fan of the developing talent at the running back position with 2018 undrafted free agent Darrell Williams and 2019 sixth-round pick Darwin Thompson. Both running backs saw their role expand significantly during camp this year and they took full advantage of the opportunities they were given.
Each year there always seems to be camp standouts and fan favorites that either don’t make the final roster or never seem to put it together in the regular season. So far during training camp and one preseason game, Byron Pringle seems to be that guy this year. If he wants to make this roster, he will need to show us a little more over the remaining three preseason games.
Be sure to hit us up on Twitter and Facebook and let us know who your camp standout is.
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