Kahlil Benson continues his rise and 4 more takeaways from Kansas City Chiefs’ first padded training camp practice
The Kansas City Chiefs held their first padded training camp practice on Monday, Aug. 3. Kahlil Benson continued his rise, Peter Woods stood out in 1-on-1 drills, and the replacement wide receivers saw improvements.
The Kansas City Chiefs put on the pads at training camp for the first time on Monday after a four-day acclimation period last week.
They’ll hold six consecutive practice sessions leading into their next day off, marking the most grueling stretch of camp. The group of players absent from practice on Monday grew after WR Cyrus Allen suffered a shin bruise and WR Xavier Worthy suffered a shoulder injury. Coach Reid said it’d be a day or two before Allen would return to work. Worthy has a shoulder sprain and is also considered day to day.
Rashee Rice (knee) and L’Jarius Sneed (knee) remain in a ramp-up period as they work their way back from injury. Rice reportedly participated in some 7-on-7 work. Omarr Norman-Lott (knee) and Ashton Gillotte (hamstring) were spotted in the training tent during practice.
Mansoor Delane (shoulder) was not in pads and still wore the yellow non-contact jersey. He was replaced by CBs Kristian Fulton and Melvin Smith Jr., opposite Nohl Williams, during first-team defense 11-on-11 work.
There were two new faces out at practice on Monday. The team signed DE Ethan Hurkett and WR Jeff Weimer, bringing the roster back up to 90 players.
What else did we learn during the team’s first padded practice of camp?
Kahlil Benson remains with the starting group at right tackle
UDFA OT Kahlil Benson has been the story of training camp so far. He’s started at right tackle with the first-team offense more often than not. The Chiefs seem to be giving the rookie every opportunity to win the job over Jaylon Moore. That didn’t change when the pads came on Monday. While Benson and Moore split time during the install period at the start of practice, Benson ended up playing the majority of the first-team reps at right tackle.
“I think you let them compete and see where it goes,” Chiefs HC Andy Reid said of the competition between Moore and Benson after practice. “Both of them can play. We’ve just got a young guy that we haven’t seen too much, but he has some talent. Let’s see where that goes. And (Jaylon) Moore keeps battling. He’s had a couple of good days too. We’ll need all of them. That’s how it goes.”
What exactly is Reid looking for out of Benson that could possibly give him the edge over Moore moving forward? It all starts with how he handles his business. Making mistakes will happen as a rookie, but how you respond to that mistake is what matters the most.
“Not to make the same mistake twice,” Reid said of Benson. “That’s what I’m looking for. We’ll give a chance here to learn. But if we start making it consistently, we’ve got a problem. But he’s done a good job. There’s a hiccup here and there, but he fixes them normally.”
Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver depth is already being tested
Without three of the team’s top four wide receiver options on the field, the group was led by Tyquan Thornton. He told reporters early this week that he aimed to take more of a leadership role as the longest-tenured NFL receiver in the room. Thornton was joined by second-year WR Jalen Royals and reserve/future add Andrew Armstrong on the first-team offense.
“I think (Jalen) Royals has kind of gotten better, playing faster every day that he’s been here,” Reid said. “(Andrew) Armstrong likewise, he went through the rookie camp, and pushed through that. I thought he did a nice job there. Transferred that over. It looks like Pat (Mahomes) has got trust in him. So, I think that’s a plus. He’s getting better every day. A big target, strong, I like that part of it.”
There were some struggles with those three players on the field at times. Most notably, during hurry-up offense work, where timing and chemistry are everything. Mahomes targeted Thornton on a quick throw, and Chris Roland-Wallace recorded an interception. At the same time, you could see each player getting more comfortable as practice progressed. That’s the type of development this group will need if they don’t seek an outside addition.
Peter Woods dominates OL/DL 1-on-1 drills
Chiefs fans will be happy to learn that Peter Woods gave every single offensive lineman the work during 1-on-1 OL/DL drills on the first day of pads. His best repetitions came against third-year OL Hunter Nourzad, leaving the OL in the dust on the way to the quarterback. He also had some promising repetitions against Trey Smith.
“Peter’s really talented, man.” Smith said of Woods after practice. “Sky’s the limit for him in terms of his hand utilization, speed, power. He’s really sort of a full package type guy, and he’s young, and he’s figuring out the game. But he has a willingness to learn, you know. And I really, really enjoyed the way he stepped into this program, this organization, and how he’s trying to turn himself into a great player. But definitely has an outstanding future ahead of him. Just really excited to help him in his development where I can.”
I’m reminded of my friend, Terez Paylor, who always adored watching OL/DL 1-on-1 drills during the first padded practice session. He felt they were one of the most important drills in training camp because they really prepared the guys for what they’ll often face on gameday. Woods is getting valuable repetitions that will surely influence the player that he becomes in Kansas City.
Kansas City Chiefs linebackers came prepared for run drills, but so did Kenneth Walker
Andy Reid huddled up with the linebacker group before the start of practice, seemingly setting the tone for a strong day of work. The linebackers were ready for the first padded practice, particularly the 11-on-11 running game work. Jeff Bassa and Drue Tranquill both notched what would be tackles for loss, marking some big wins for the defense early in practice. Later, Kenneth Walker gave them a full taste of what he could do.
Walker followed his block to the right, but it was quickly apparent that the defense had that lane bottled up. He ended up reversing field entirely and having a big running play with Patrick Mahomes out as his lead blocker. At least until he zipped past Mahomes for a positive gain.
This is the type of elusiveness that we expect Walker to bring to the table. Even when it looks like there’s nothing there, he can make a play happen.
Jared Wiley, Jake Briningstool continue to flash with the pads coming on
Two players quietly having a strong training camp are third-year TE Jared Wiley and second-year TE Jake Briningstool.
For the second consecutive practice, Briningstool made a standout catch downfield. He seems to be a pretty big mismatch, working against the second- and third-team defense most frequently. We’ll see how long that lasts. Remember, Briningstool was running with the first-team offense last year at training camp before he got hurt.
Wiley has been a star in 7-on-7 drills, and a favorite target of Patrick Mahomes at that. He’s entering a make-or-break 2026 campaign, where he needs to take a step forward. Wiley is now two years removed from the ACL injury that robbed him of a portion of his rookie season. He’ll be relied upon as a core special teams player, but also as the team’s third option at tight end.
