The Kansas City Chiefs have a healthy mix of veterans and young talent at every position at Missouri Western State University for training camp. Another Super Bowl title is the only goal for the team, and Friday marked the first day of padded practice where they honed their skills for the new season.
One of the Chiefs’ young talents in the secondary is safety Bryan Cook who has shown signs of taking the next step in his development as training camp has gotten underway. During Friday’s post-practice press conference, Cook took time to acknowledge the mentorship and support he’s received from veteran teammate Justin Reid.
“There’s so much to learn from him,” Reid explained. “Outside of football, I will say, let’s just start off [with] life… Coming in as a rookie, you don’t know anything, so to learn from him – he actually got to stay here, which is beautiful – but like off the field, learn about how to manage through life, how to manage through becoming in this situation, you know this wasn’t always a thing for me. Just being comfortable in front of the camera, and things like that.
“On the field, just being ready, being a pro. I think this goes for everything, as you can see, he’s playing at a high level, which I definitely enjoy, but just learn from him because he’s a vet so whatever he knows, I like to try to pick his brain about certain things but it’s about everything. I can’t just pinpoint one thing, it’s more about from the way I wake up, to off the field, and the way I come back in here if I’m on the field, it’s constant learning from him trying to figure it out and pick his brain about things.”
Cook is entering his second season in the NFL and has already shown more maturity and leadership qualities at the early stages of training camp compared to where he was a year ago as a rookie. Reid has been viewed by many of the young defensive backs as a leader since joining the team last year, and he will continue to work on improving his game and lifting up his teammates, including Cook, during the Chiefs’ upcoming 2023 campaign.
