The Kansas City Chiefs got back into pads on Friday after a padless 10-10-10 practice on Thursday.

WR Xavier Worthy (shoulder), LB Drue Tranquill (back), LB Jeff Bassa (groin), CB Kristian Fulton (hip), CB L’Jarius Sneed (knee) and DE Ashton Gillotte (hamstring) remained absent from practice. CB Mansoor Delane (shoulder) remained in the yellow non-contact jersey. WR Rashee Rice (knee) participated intermittently.

RG Trey Smith was the new addition, with Chiefs HC Andy Reid providing a post-practice update.

“One positive about these injuries is that there’s nothing that the guys aren’t coming back from,” Reid said. “So we’ve got a couple little nicks and bruises. (Jeff) Bassa has a groin strain. (Ashton) Gillotte is still working on the hamstring. Trey (Smith) his hip was bothering him. Sent him to a specialist, just to have it checked out. Precautionary. He’s going to be OK. L’Jarius (Sneed), just like we did when he was here before, we’re managing his knee. And then Drue (Tranquill), like last year, he gets low back tightness. There’s some soreness and spasms there, so we’re just calming him down. And then Xavier’s (Worthy) making progress with the shoulder. (Mansoor) Delane got good work today. Rashee (Rice) got good work today.”

The good news is that rookie WR Cyrus Allen got his first padded practice session in after injuring his shin during practice. He left practice early as part of a planned ramp-up, according to Coach Reid.

“Yeah, just kind of easing him back in,” Reid said. “Yeah, he did a good job when he was out there, so that was positive.”

Kahlil Benson moves inside

With RG Trey Smith out of practice on Friday, the Chiefs shifted their starting personnel around a bit. Jaylon Moore drew the start at right tackle, while Benson moved inside to replace Smith at right guard. This seemed to mimic more of a game-time injury scenario.

It was interesting to see that they wouldn’t simply have one of the team’s backup interior offensive linemen come in for Smith. Guys like Hunter Nourzad or C.J. Hanson, heck even Mike Caliendo. This tells me they specifically wanted to see how Benson would do playing on the inside. It was a challenging test for the rookie, who had to matchup with No. 29 overall pick Peter Woods.

“I thought he did OK,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said after practice. “There were a couple of hiccups in there. Things move a little faster when you’re inside there. Everything jumps on you quickly, and so when you go against bags, you’re going to get a lot of different flavors, and you’ve got to be able to make those decisions like right now, in an area that’s faster than a tackle position, so. But I thought, you know, I thought he held his own physically for sure. And then there are a couple things he’s got to pick up, you know, from there.”

Peter Woods is doing Peter Woods things

Woods has undoubtedly been the defensive standout of training camp. That didn’t change on Friday, with a number of standout individual plays.

Woods chased down a flushed-from-the-pocket Patrick Mahomes in team drills, who ended up making a poor play as a result. He took full advantage of his matchups against Kahlil Benson at right guard, including one standout repetition where he tossed Benson into the backfield. As much as he offers rushing the passer, he looks to be very stout in the run game.

This came a day after Steve Spagnuolo said the rookie had a ways to go.

“Now, (DL Peter) Pete’s (Woods) one thick good-looking dude. He looks the way D linemen are supposed to look, right? But I think he’s got a ways to go,” Spagnuolo said. “I mean, some of these younger guys aren’t really used to the way that we do things. I’m talking about all the little things, running in and out of the huddle, all that stuff, and that’s for all the rookies, and Pete’s right in there with that crew. But when he does get his feet right, he does keep his pad level low; he’s a pretty good football player. So, it’s our job to get him to do that every down, and he’s a willing guy. I like him; he’s a smart football player.”

I partially think Spagnuolo’s comments here are just meant to keep challenging a young player so he doesn’t get a big head. The last thing you want is for a talent of this caliber to think he’s got it all figured out just a week into training camp.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs have a standout day of practice

The defensive side of the ball had a very good day overall. However, it felt like the defensive backs really came together to have a solid practice. This was a day after Steve Spagnuolo said he wanted to see more physicality from the defense.

“If I’m assessing the three days in pads, I would say we’ve got a long way to go with our physicality and our violent play,” Spagnuolo said. “And yet you’re going against your own team. So, you’ve got to play that game, but hopefully we can get enough of those snaps in the preseason games to see what we have.”

Chris Roland-Wallace had a strong day working in the slot, including a pass breakup against Travis Kelce in 7-on-7 drills.

Rookie CB Jadon Canady had a diving pass breakup in 7-on-7 drills. He was also the No. 6 defensive back on the field in 11-on-11 dime defense looks with L’Jarius Sneed and Mansoor Delane sidelined.

Melvin Smith Jr. peeled off flat coverage, came back, and broke up a pass intended for TE Travis Kelce with a very physical hit.

The deep ball continues to work for the Kansas City Chiefs

While it felt like the defense mostly had their way on Friday, the deep ball started clicking toward the end of practice. Patrick Mahomes got Tyquan Thornton matched up against S Chamarri Conner. It resulted in a wide-open Thornton, who caught the ball walking backward into the end zone. Those are the types of plays that it feels like the Chiefs have been better at taking advantage of this season.

Happy Birthday, Tyquan Thornton

Speaking of Thornton. Friday, Aug. 7 is his birthday. Fans sang him Happy Birthday as he walked down to the practice fields at training camp. A really fun moment to witness for a player who has found his NFL home in Chiefs Kingdom.