Patrick Mahomes says these two position groups stood out at KC Chiefs training camp
Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ 19th — and final — full-squad training camp practice Thursday, Patrick Mahomes was asked who had caught his eye most over the previous month.
The Chiefs quarterback singled out a pair of position groups, starting with the offense.
“I thought the offensive line did a great job throughout camp, just battling,” Mahomes said. “I mean, there’s some long days, a lot of plays. I thought they did a good job of keeping that mentality throughout practice.”
The vote of confidence could be considered encouraging, given the circumstances.
Though the Chiefs return their three interior O-line players, they are working in two new guys at tackle: free-agent signings Donovan Smith (left) and Jawaan Taylor (right).
Mahomes also gave a shoutout to a specific part of the Chiefs defense.
“I thought the DBs — a lot of these young DBs — were moving around everywhere,” Mahomes said. “Spags (Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo) is really testing them to see what they can really do. And I thought they did a great job of responding to that.”
KC could have the opportunity to be more creative with coverages in 2023. Cornerbacks Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson and safety Bryan Cook all had extensive playing time as rookies last season, and their added experience in the system could allow Spagnuolo to expand what they’re asked to do this season.
McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed project as two of the starting corners, while Williams and Watson are still competing for the third defensive-back spot.
Overall, Mahomes said he was pleased with the back-and-forth between the offense and defense these past few weeks.
“There (were) days where the offense got the defense and days the defense got the offense,” Mahomes said. “And that’s what you want in a camp, is you want it competitive, and every day guys going out there and competing.”
This story was originally published August 17, 2023 at 11:50 AM.
