Chiefs Training Camp Takeaways, Day 10: Pass rush shows some juice, Patrick Mahomes in regular season form
Our top takeaways from Day 10 of Kansas City Chiefs training camp.
The Chiefs hit the field for Day 10 of training camp on Saturday, which was Family Fun Day for the fans in attendance.
Kansas City will be back at it on Sunday, then will get a day off on Monday. Those who did not participate in Saturday’s practice were wide receivers Hollywood Brown and Skyy Moore, tight ends Jake Briningstool and Jared Wiley, linebacker Drue Tanquill, and defensive backs Deon Bush and Kristian Fulton.
Chiefs’ pass rush stands out
Improving the pass rush is a major goal for the Chiefs’ defense this season after falling to 18th in sacks in 2024 from second in 2023. On Saturday several defenders broke through for would-be sacks. Remember, there’s no touching the quarterback during practice, so although it may seem like the QB got the throw off, it could have been a sack in a game situation.
One thing that will give K.C.’s pass rush a boost is cornerback Trent McDuffie playing in the slot more often. He has been deadly when blitzing from the slot throughout his three-year career, and he got to QB Patrick Mahomes today (H/T Nick Jacobs).
Another player who racked up a would-be sack was defensive end Ashton Gillotte. The rookie has had a solid camp thus far, as the Chiefs are hoping he will give their pass rush some extra juice off the bench this season (H/T Caleb James).
Then there’s the Chiefs’ top pass rushers — Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. The dynamic duo each made their presence felt on Saturday.
Patrick Mahomes is in regular season form
We don’t often talk about Mahomes during training camp because it’s a given that he’s going to be great. However, he deserves some praise as he spread the ball around to multiple different receivers on Saturday, and hit on some big throws down the field. Mahomes has done this all throughout camp, and could be in line to get back to putting up gaudy statistics this season if his WR corps can stay healthy.
Our friends at The Kingdom Queens got this video of Mahomes hitting WR Tyquan Thornton deep.
Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star observed these two throws from Mahomes.
OT Josh Simmons continues to be tested
The Chiefs are throwing a lot at the rookie to prepare him for the regular season. Simmons has been impressive throughout camp, and Saturday was no different. Here you can see Simmons holding his own against Chris Jones, which as former Chiefs OT Mitchell Schwartz pointed out, is very difficult.
Jones may have slightly gotten the best of Simmons there, but Simmons held up pretty well. He also showed good technique here against DL Charles Omenihu.
Simmons has also displayed throughout camp that he plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. After getting into a dust-up with Ashton Gillotte a few days ago, Simmons got a little chippy with linebacker Leo Chenal today.
P Matt Araiza showing improvement
Araiza fended off Eddie Czaplicki for the Chiefs’ punter job in 2025. We know Araiza has a big leg, but needs to learn how to contain it when trying to pin opponents deep in their own territory. It appears he is on his way to doing that.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said Araiza was clearly the better of the two between him and Czaplicki. If Araiza can combine touch with his power, he could develop into one of the best punters in the league.
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‘It’s the best resource any rookie can have’ – Chiefs OT Josh Simmons on what he’s been coached up on during training camp
Josh Simmons discusses working with coaches Andy Heck and Juan Castillo.
