The Kansas City Chiefs were without pads for the first time in several practice sessions on Friday.
Andy Reid busted out his signature 10-10-10 practice, which is typically a lighter day. Throughout practice, the team will cycle through 10 offensive plays, 10 defensive plays and a 10-minute special teams period. The play periods on offense and defense are designed so that the team can successfully execute those 10 plays. You’ll notice the defense go half-speed during the offensive period and vice versa. With that said, there are still some things that we can take away from today’s practice.
Here are five things that we’re taking away from the ninth day of Chiefs’ training camp:
Don’t count out Demarcus Robinson for WR2
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Andy Reid has already mentioned that the team might rely on more of a committee situation at the receiver position this season. That said, veteran Demarcus Robinson has made a strong case to earn the WR2 job in Kansas City. He’s not the most exciting guy out on the field, but you know exactly what you’re going to get with him. “We know what he can do, he knows all the spots,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said on Thursday. “He’s competing like crazy for that particular position, but he also knows we rotate and move guys all around.” Obviously, the team is looking to replace some of those minutes lost with Sammy Watkins’ departure. Robinson has taken it upon himself this training camp to make sure he puts himself squarely in the position to play that spot. “Yeah I mean just being able to move into his spot, get some of his catches, try to gain that confidence with Pat (Patrick Mahomes) through training camp,” Robinson said on Thursday. “Kind of up my tempo a little bit.” He’s done just that during training camp, playing with urgency and vigor, even on what is considered a light practice day. https://twitter.com/EddieHigh/status/1423666953256947716 https://twitter.com/KCSportsNetwork/status/1423657624415916033
Yasir Durant gets action in place of Larry
AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman
The Chiefs kept Yasir Durant on the 53-man roster all season in 2020, something you typically don’t do with a player you don’t have a plan for. That tends to be forgotten because the team did a ton of work to add bodies on the offensive line this offseason. Now, with right guard Kyle Long and Laurent-Duvernay-Tardif sidelined with injuries, Durant is getting his chance to get some work with the second-team offense. KSHB-TV’s Nick Jacobs spotted him working in there with Andrew Wylie getting a considerable amount of work at right tackle. Will Durant make the 53-man roster? It’s hard to say right now, but if he continues to see action with the second-team offense in training camp, he could put himself in a position to do so. https://twitter.com/Jacobs71/status/1423656501126778884
Rashad Fenton earning work with the first team
AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
DeAndre Baker was back out at practice this morning. While he and Mike Hughes continue to get repetitions with the first-team defense, veteran Rashad Fenton has thrown his name into the hat too. Fenton earned some opportunities on the outside opposite Ward during practice on Friday. This was the third consecutive practice that he’s earned some action with the first team. Steve Spagnuolo recently mentioned that Fenton is one of the corners who can also play some nickel. That added versatility means he should see plenty of action for Kansas City during the upcoming season. https://twitter.com/tuckerdfranklin/status/1423662631282425866
Nick Bolton getting some action ahead of Ben Niemann?
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Ben Niemann is on his second day of full work after missing some practice time with an injury. In his return to action, the veteran is yielding some snaps to a new player. It seems that rookie LB Nick Bolton did enough while Niemann was absent to earn some repetitions ahead of him during certain looks at practice. Bolton was in there with the first-team defense on the big nickel sub-package. He also got some action on the weak side in base ahead of Niemann. When Niemann wasn’t injured he was getting first-team looks in several sub-packages and the base defense on the weak side. We’ll see if this persists through the remainder of training camp or if Niemann is merely working back up to full strength. https://twitter.com/tuckerdfranklin/status/1423650826569064451
Honey badger don’t care
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Today might have been considered a lighter day with the 10-10-10 practice, but there was at least one player on defense going full speed. Tyrann Mathieu ran down a run play by Jerick McKinnon on the opposite side of the field, after starting all the way on the far right hash. He’s a true competitor and he’s not going to let the offense get any freebies. https://twitter.com/KCSportsNetwork/status/1423663893457559557
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