Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid pleased with ‘nice nucleus’ after first set of OTAs
Three days of on-field work down, seven more to go.
The Chiefs on Thursday wrapped up their first set of voluntary organized team activities, leaving head coach Andy Reid impressed with the energy.
“The guys have been working hard,” Reid said. “I appreciate their effort in wanting to get better and get familiar with some of the new stuff we’re putting out there.”
The Chiefs spent the past three days installing plays in their offensive and defensive schemes.
And unlike the 2020 offseason, the NFL went to a virtual environment because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills are being conducted under the watchful eyes of Reid and his coaching staff.
Having the players on the field allows the members of the Chiefs coaching staff to do what they do best: teach.
“We love having the guys back on grass — that’s a good thing,” Reid said. “It’s just hard to teach the fundamentals of the game virtually. It’s great that we have the tool … but it’s tough to teach the fundamentals that way.”
Veteran linebacker Anthony Hitchens agreed.
“In order to practice football, you have to practice football, and we got a lot of guys on our team that love practicing, love doing the dirty work and getting in the weight room and being a team,” Hitchens said. “So it’s going to work out for us to our benefit.”
Practicing and learning the basics from the coaching staff will especially help the team’s rookies, such as center Creed Humphrey and linebacker Nick Bolton, as they work alongside the veterans.
While the Chiefs are not in pads, which won’t come on until training camp in late July, OTAs are an essential piece of the team’s evaluation process before the start of the regular season.
Reid believes the Chiefs are in good shape.
“We’ve got a nice nucleus,” Reid said. “There’s going to be great competition and that’s going to make us better.”
The Chiefs return for more voluntary OTA workouts June 1-3 and June 8-11 before holding a mandatory three-day minicamp June 15-17.
PARTICIPATION REPORT
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was among eight players not spotted on the field Thursday. Mahomes is in Hawaii hosting a charity golf tournament.
Tight end Travis Kelce, defensive end Frank Clark, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, cornerback Charvarius Ward, linebacker Kamalei Correa and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders round out the list of players who were missing this week.
Reid didn’t address reasons for any of the missing players — OTAs are voluntary, after all — but the coach did suggest one possible reason.
“We’ve been lucky where we’ve had most of our team here,” Reid said. “We’ve had a little bit of the cold bug going around, so there’s some guys missing.
“But for the most part, we’ve had everybody here and we haven’t had any injuries, which is — knock on wood — also good.”
Safety Juan Thornhill, cornerback Deandre Baker, safety Rodney Clemons and defensive lineman Malik Herring were present but did not practice.
MORE OBSERVATIONS ...
The Chiefs’ media rules during OTAs prohibit the reporting of personnel groupings (first- or second- or third-team units), specific formations/alignments, trick plays, situational plays and statistics.
Allowed, however, are general observations about head-turning and notable plays, such as:
• With Mahomes not on the field, the Chiefs got a good look at the three quarterbacks behind him: Chad Henne, Anthony Gordon and rookie Shane Buechele.
• During team drills, Henne threw a dart to rookie wide receiver Cornell Powell on the left sideline. Powell reached over a cornerback to snare the pass and got both feet down before sprawling out of bounds.
• Gordon showed quick release throughout the morning practice and a knack for completing passes in tight windows. Arguably Gordon’s most impressive pass came during team drills, when he connected with wide receiver Daurice Fountain, whom the Chiefs signed after a successful rookie minicamp tryout, across the middle of the field over two defenders.
• Wide receiver Antonio Callaway, who joined the Chiefs in January on a reserve/futures deal, secured a nice catch down the right sideline during team drills.
This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 4:48 PM.
