Kansas City Chiefs Day 15 Training Camp Takeaways: Mansoor Delane is full go, Emmett Johnson moving up the depth chart
The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off their final week of training camp practice on Monday. What changed after preseason Week 1’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams?
The Kansas City Chiefs were back in St. Joe after preseason Week 1, marking the start of their final week at training camp.
There were plenty of injury developments to start the week of practice. WR Jimmy Holiday (undisclosed), LB Drue Tranquill (back), S Chamarri Conner (knee), CB Kader Kohou (knee), RG Trey Sith (hip), CB L’Jarius Sneed (knee), and DT Omarr Norman-Lott (knee) remained sidelined by injuries. WR Jeff Weimer (undisclosed) and OT Chu Godrick (ankle) were the lone new additions to the injury club.
DE Ashton Gillotte (hamstring) was back in pads and participating after preseason Week 1. CB Mansoor Delane (shoulder) was in pads, participating, and didn’t wear the yellow non-contact jersey. WR Xavier Worthy (shoulder) also appeared to be a full participant in practice.
DE Emmanuel Ogbah, wearing jersey No. 50, was also back in pads for Kansas City for the first time. He’ll be in a bit of a ramp-up period this week after missing OTAs, mandatory minicamp, and most of training camp.
What else can we take away from Day 15 of training camp?
Mansoor Delane a full participant at Chiefs training camp for the first time
When the team opened their first 11-on-11 team period, Delane was out there in the starting lineup sans a yellow non-contact jersey for the first time. This follows the timeline that Chiefs GM Brett Veach gave last week for Delane’s return from a shoulder blade injury.
During 1-on-1 drills, Delane was physical with the receivers. KSHB-TV’s Matt Foster provides a quick glimpse at his repetitions.
Delane joined Nohl Williams as the outside cornerbacks in 11-on-11. Now, will this be the case if L’Jarius Sneed were practicing? The team’s first “unofficial” depth chart suggests no. There will probably be some instances where all three players get on the field together.
“Yeah, so the doctors have done their studies,” Reid said of Delane after practice. “He had one done the other day, and it looks like he’s healing up pretty good enough to where he can get out here and do some things. And then we’ll just monitor and see how he does with the extended play. He hasn’t taken this many reps as he did today. So we’ll just see how he does.”
Will Delane be able to play in preseason Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? That ultimately remains to be seen. It likely comes down to whether he can get through practice week without reaggravating the shoulder issue, as Coach Reid suggested.
Has Emmett Johnson overtaken the RB2 role after a standout preseason performance?
Johnson’s preseason Week 1 performance against the Rams seems to have elevated him up the depth chart, or has it? He had a dozen carries for nearly 60 yards in the loss to the Rams. The rookie was described as one of the bright spots of preseason Week 1 by HC Andy Reid after the game. Naturally, that should lead to more opportunities, right?
“Yeah, he did a nice job,” Coach Reid said of Johnson on Monday. “He ran hard. Some of his footwork, he’s getting them going in the right direction early. I’m not saying he went the wrong way. Just we try to tie the footwork up at the back with the old line, and you’ve got to be able to set those guys up. And there’s got to be a certain amount of patience, and your angle becomes important on that that you take to the line of scrimmage. So he can work on that. But as far as the effort, ability to make people miss, I mean, you got a pretty good idea of his vision. All those things were positives.”
When the 9-on-7 run period began during Monday’s practice, Johnson was the second running back to get work behind Kenneth Walker. That was a positive sign. During individual work, he was still the No. 3 RB in the rotation behind Emari Demercado. During 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills, he saw some opportunities directly after Walker. However, it was mostly a three-headed rotation of Johnson, Smith, and Demercado coming in after Walker.
Week 2 of the preseason might tell us more, but I feel like Demercado’s lack of usage might’ve been planned. The Chiefs want to see what they have in Smith and Johnson, which is why they saw a high volume of snaps.
Second-year Chiefs defenders Jeffrey Bassa and Ashton Gillotte were inserted into the starting lineup
With Drue Tranquill out of the lineup due to a back injury, Jack Cochrane and Cooper McDonald had seen a lot of work with the starters. On Monday, it was Bassa getting his share of the workload with the first-team offense. This comes after a preseason Week 1 performance where Bassa played 23 snaps on defense, tying for the second-most total tackles on the team.
Ashton Gillotte, who has missed the majority of training camp with a hamstring injury, also found his way back to the starting lineup. Gillotte is listed opposite George Karlaftis as the team’s other defensive end starter. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to play in preseason Week 2, but getting the second-year defender back on the field this week is a promising sign.
A change on the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting offensive line
With Trey Smith out of practice, the Chiefs do have a non-starter in the lineup. Kahlil Benson filled in at right guard during preseason Week 1, while Jaylon Moore played the right tackle spot. That was the combo we had seen at training camp since Smith first injured his hip. However, on Monday, they changed things up.
Benson shifted back to the starting right tackle spot, with Moore shifting inside to play right guard. On the surface, it’s a bit confusing. Coach Reid confirmed after practice that it’s more about getting Benson some work at right tackle than anything else.
“Yeah, listen, (Jaylon) Moore has been doing a great job in there,” Reid said. “But with that, (Kahlil) Benson doesn’t get any reps at it, and we want him to go against the better players and have a chance to continue to grow there. So we just flopped him over and let Moore get some reps at guard, and then Benson get some reps at the tackle spot. But Benson held his own at the guard spot in the game. And listen, they need to be able to play both as we go through this thing, and it’s a good experience for. But it’s not one over the other. Like I said, Moore’s been he put together a lot of good days here, and played well the other night.”
Some of this also might be that the Chiefs are feeling the reality of their guard situation. They don’t have strong depth there. They know Mike Caliendo’s ceiling. Hunter Nourzad has proven better at the center position. Pete Nygra, C.J. Hansen, and Josh Thompson haven’t forced the issue yet.
Practice injuries could really test Chiefs’ depth at two positions
A pair of potential injuries could leave the Chiefs in a tough spot in terms of their depth at two positions. OT Esa Pole left the practice field, riding in the front of the cart, late in practice. Chu Godrick is already hurt. Matt Waletzko also suffered a knee injury during practice, which left starter Josh Simmons filling in as the third-team left tackle on Monday.
LB Jack Cochrane also left the practice field in the front of the cart late in practice, as first noted by Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick. He says the training staff examined Cochrane’s right knee before carting him up the hill.
The offensive tackle spot could be down three players, and the linebacker spot down two players moving forward. That could turn into a situation where the Chiefs have to make roster moves and bring in new faces.
