Assessing the Chiefs after Week 1 of the preseason

One week into the NFL preseason and the Kansas City Chiefs’ 53-man roster is already beginning to come into focus.

The smoke won’t clear for another 3.5 weeks, but there were a few things worth noting from the team’s preseason opener with the Seattle Seahawks last Saturday. Kansas City’s younger players took center stage and acquitted themselves well — many for the first time in their NFL careers. A significant contribution from the Chiefs’ rookie class could help them take another step forward in 2016. As optimistic as I sound, it wasn’t all roses. Other young players revealed warts, and with them, the possibility for offensive and defensive limitations.

Before we get started, I’ll issue a disclaimer. I won’t be making any big predictions about the Chiefs’ 2016 campaign. One preseason game isn’t a large enough sample size to inform a prediction about the regular season. Though, I do think it’s enough to justify suspicion. There’s no concrete way to establish set expectations for any player on this roster, who isn’t already a proven commodity, but there are indications of how a player’s talent may translate at the next level and how much (or little) a player’s progressed year-over-year.

Let’s dive right into my observations from last weekend’s game.

Next: An improved receiver group and the future at OLB...