Three underrated performances Chiefs fans might have missed in preseason Week 1 vs. Jaguars
The Kansas City Chiefs didn't quite get the results they wanted in preseason Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they did manage some good performances. They'll go back to the drawing board for preseason Week 2 against the Detroit Lions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. They'll look to build on some of those good […]
The Kansas City Chiefs didn't quite get the results they wanted in preseason Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they did manage some good performances.
They'll go back to the drawing board for preseason Week 2 against the Detroit Lions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. They'll look to build on some of those good performances and come out on the other side of it with a win.
Everyone knows about the star of the show from preseason Week 1 in UDFA RB Carson Steele, but there are plenty of performances that flew under the radar that are worth talking about as well.
Here's a quick look at three players who had underrated performances on Saturday:
LG Mike Caliendo
Caliendo took a whopping 20 pass-blocking snaps on Sunday, with repetitions at first-team left guard and second-team center. He graded out as the team's best pass-blocker over at PFF with an 82.0 grade. I was perhaps most impressed by his pulling block, which helped spring RB Isiah Pacheco for a 16-yard carry. The area that he does need more improvement? His snapping. He had a few bad snaps during training camp practices and he had one that went over a 6-foot-5 Carson Wentz for a 21-yard loss. That was a regrettable blemish on what was otherwise a really solid day for the third-year interior offensive lineman.
S Christian Roland-Wallace
Roland-Wallace had one of the better performances on defense and special teams from a Chiefs defender. The undrafted free agent out of USC is making a transition from playing primarily cornerback in college to playing safety in the NFL. He had three combined tackles on the day, earning the fourth-highest tackle grade among Chiefs players per PFF. He also had a quarterback hit on a blitz from the safety position, which looked very natural to him. One of his tackles potentially saved a much larger gain and he had to come across the entire formation and take a good angle to make it. On special teams, he graded out with the fourth-highest grade among Chiefs players per PFF.
RB Deneric Prince
Of the four running backs to get snaps in the first half of the game on Sunday, Prince was the one to excel in pass protection. He had the highest pass-blocking grade (64.2 per PFF) on his lone pass-blocking snap. He said himself that he was looking to show his ability in pass protection during the preseason. He also caught a pair of passes, with one going for a 10-yard gain on a Texas route out of the backfield. Finally, in the run game, he managed four carries for 16 yards, tying Isiah Pacheco for the second-most rushing yards on the day. With the emergence of Carson Steele, suddenly the backfield depth in Kansas City is looking like a strength. Prince's one error on the day came on the goofy special teams play, where Mecole Hardman was credited with a safety.
Chiefs coordinator has WR Xavier Worthy eager to model his game after a Hall of Famer
Kansas City Chiefs rookie WR Xavier Worthy got his first taste of NFL action in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL preseason against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The rookie played just five snaps on offense on Saturday, and he wasn't targeted during the game. He revealed that he was the No. 1 read on the first snap […]
