‘Dominant’ receiver Frankie Hammond is making a Chiefs roster push

Wide receiver Frankie Hammond understands he still has a long way to go if he hopes to make the Chiefs’ 53-man roster this year, so — cliché or not — he’s certainly taking training camp one day, and one play, at a time.

But Hammond is a friendly sort, too, so when asked recently about his best play of training camp thus far — a long touchdown he scored Sunday by hauling in a deep pass from the slot, then cutting across the field and leaving a trail of defenders in his wake — he couldn’t help but get noticeably upbeat.

“It was a live period, so I just saw an angle, cut back and just went for it,” Hammond said. “I was just using my instincts, really.”

Hammond’s explosiveness on the play was evident, much as it has been all of training camp, were the 6-foot-1, 184-pounder has been turning heads.

“He’s been dominant,” quarterback Aaron Murray said. “I think he’s one of the top two or three guys so far this camp with the amount of catches he’s had. So, he’s had a fabulous camp. I don’t think he’s really dropped any balls, and he definitely looks good out there.”

Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson said Hammond, an undrafted free agent out of Florida in 2013 who spent last season on the Chiefs’ practice squad, has worked his tail off to get to this point.

“He’s sharp, he’s very athletic,” Pederson said. “One thing we noticed this offseason was he got bigger, he got more physical at the line of scrimmage.

“Again, he showed enough last year running the (scout team) to say, ‘Hey, there’s a guy we can develop and bring in a young, talented receiver that has an enough size.’”

Hammond is one of 13 receivers on the roster battling for five or six spots on the 53-man roster. If he doesn’t make it, he still will be eligible for the Chiefs’ practice squad, provided another team doesn’t snap him up.

But for now, Hammond is resolved to keep making plays and not rest on his laurels, no matter how exciting it all may be.

“Whether it’s in practice or a game, it makes you feel good (to make plays),” Hammond said. “But at the end of the day, it’s practice … it really counts when you do it in a game.

“When preseason comes around, I’ve gotta make it happen.”

This story was originally published July 30, 2014 at 4:19 PM with the headline "‘Dominant’ receiver Frankie Hammond is making a Chiefs roster push."