Kansas City Chiefs assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Dave Toub is thankful for a regular NFL offseason.
Last season, Toub was unable to evaluate players in the way he’d become accustomed to in 20 years as an NFL assistant. The lack of a preseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic hurt his traditional evaluation process. This year, he’s eager to get a look at all of his players on the field in the preseason.
“This is so good that we have preseason games now,” Toub told reporters on Friday. “Last year, it was horrible for us on special teams because we couldn’t evaluate. We had to release guys last year that we never really knew if they could play or not. It’s unfortunate. So, this year with the preseason games, that’s the only time that we really get to evaluate guys on teams. We don’t do anything live out here in practice, so we find out if guys can cover, if they can block, they can tackle out here during preseason games.”
While a number of young and new players will get their chance to make an impression on special teams, several positions atop the depth chart are already decided in Toub’s eyes. Starting with the kick and punt return specialists, Toub will continue using Byron Pringle on kicks and Mecole Hardman on punts.
“Yeah, we’re going to start off with the way we ended last year,” Toub explained. “I think both of those guys have improved because we had OTAs, we didn’t have that last year, and now we’re having camp and they’ve really developed on some of their weaknesses. They’re getting better seeing the ball and catching it coming forward, and I think both of them are going to take a good step forward.”
Beyond the return specialist position, Toub also named the top gunners on the punt coverage team.
“Right now it’s Marcus Kemp and (Byron) Pringle,” Toub said. “I’m trying to work BoPete Keyes into the mix. If he can step it up as a corner on defense as well as being a good gunner for us, he has a really good shot at being a player for us. So, it’s going to come down to the preseason games.”
Toub also mentioned both TE Jody Fortson and rookie DB Devon Key as players that he’s looking forward to seeing during the preseason. It’s clear that the preseason games and special teams contributions will be the deciding factor for a number of these players who are on the fringe of making the 53-man roster. A good performance there could be the difference between making the team and spending the season on the practice squad in Kansas City.
