Kansas City Chiefs training camp is officially underway, with Day 1 of practice at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri. It wasn’t quite as hot as previous practice sessions, with temperatures around 85 degrees, 73% humidity, and showers in the area.

As far as the injuries and absences go, the Chiefs were only down second-year DT Omarr Norman-Lott. He remains on the Active/PUP list and worked off to the side in the training tent during practice. He looked pretty good, going through solo drills on the sidelines. I wouldn’t anticipate his stay on the PUP list being overly long. Perhaps he could be back out there after the first preseason game. The team was down two players on the 90-man offseason roster after losing Ethan Downs and John Michael Gyllenborg to injured reserve.

What else did we learn from the Chiefs’ first practice at training camp?

No restrictions for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

As Andy Reid said when he was fully cleared, No. 15 had no restrictions in the first full-team practice. The only thing Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes didn’t do in OTAs and mandatory minicamp was 11-on-11 team drills. When the team opened their first-team 11-on-11 team drills at training camp, Mahomes was out there and participating in full. The one thing that stood out most to me is that he was able to move and roll out without restriction. There was also a moment after a play where Mahomes was jumping up and down, reacting to the play. He did protect the knee a little bit, but it felt like he didn’t have to think about it so much.

Rebuilt running back room looks strong for Kansas City Chiefs

We won’t get a full taste of the running back room until the pads come on later in training camp. Then we’ll get 9-on-7 thud periods and so on. However, it still feels like this group is much improved, even if they’re not working on the bread & butter quite yet.

• Kenneth Walker looked as advertised, showing off some elusivity between the tackles.
• Emari Demercado flashed some speed and elusivity himself.
• Emmett Johnson continued his strong showing from the rookie head start.
• Brashard Smith continues to be one of the team’s top return specialists for both kick and punt return.

Veterans still have the inside track to starting jobs under Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo

Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo have a reputation for favoring veteran players for starting jobs, at least early on during training camp practices. That’s why it was no shock to see players like L’Jarius Sneed (outside CB), Chris Roland-Wallace (slot), Rashee Rice (slot WR), and Jaylon Moore (RT) lining up with starters during walkthroughs.

When 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work came, Sneed was replaced by rookie CB Mansoor Delane. This is believed to be part of Sneed’s ramp-up with the team after rejoining just before the end of mandatory minicamp. Rashee Rice was replaced by Jalen Royals, also believed to be a part of his ramp-up after missing OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Both players left practice and went up the hill under their own power.

Andy Reid confirmed after practice that the absences were planned.

Some younger Kansas City Chiefs players did get early work with starters

A few younger players who got work with the first-team defense and offense.

Second-year LB Jeff Bassa took first-team snaps in base personnel with three linebackers. He also took some snaps in first-team sub-packages. Rookie defenders Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas both rotated into the starting lineup on defense during 11-on-11 team drills.

Rookie WR Cyrus Allen also saw plenty of repetitions with the first-team offense in both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work. He was an early standout, through and through. Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke about Allen after practice.

“Yeah, so Cyrus (Allen) had a good day today,” Reid said. “And I think Pat’s (Mahomes) got some trust there. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ve just got to keep going, keep growing.”

A tough day for second-year WR Jalen Royals

Second-year WR Jalen Royals seemed to have a bit of the yips during his first day. He had a few drops. He also didn’t secure a ball that ultimately would’ve been called a fumble. It seemed like he simply wasn’t on the same page with his quarterback to start off.

“He’s got a good feel for the game,” Reid said. “He’s just got to keep on with the reps and make sure he has a good relationship with Pat (Mahomes) and keep developing that.”

Chemistry isn’t built overnight, and Royals missed this work a season ago due to injury. This training camp could be make-or-break for the wide receiver.

A solid day for third-year TE Jared Wiley

Chiefs third-year TE Jared Wiley is off to a great start at training camp. Wiley caught multiple passes on the day, with some notable grabs from Patrick Mahomes during 7-on-7 team drills. He also showed some juice after the catch on a few plays. Right now, Wiley seems to be the clear No. 3 option behind Travis Kelce and Noah Gray, which was expected heading into training camp. A few more practices like the one he had on Wednesday, and he might cement himself as a big part of the team’s future plans.

Garrett Nussmeier loves his tight ends

Phrasing!

Chiefs rookie QB Garrett Nussmeier had a really nice day at practice today. The big thing that stood out is how much success he found targeting tight ends. He had a deep pass to Jake Briningstool that drew praise from team reporter Matt McMullen. He also had completions to Mason Pline and Tre Watson where he was flushed from the pocket, evaded the pressure, and found each player for a positive gain.

It’s very early, but if Nussmeier keeps stacking days like this, it’s going to be hard to keep him out of that No. 2 QB spot.