Kansas City Chiefs: Four Training Camp Takeaways

Nov 30, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey laughs with friends before the game against the Denver Broncos during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Peters certainly looks like he may be up for the challenge. Unlike Fisher and Ford, Peters appears to be physically strong enough to compete at the NFL level right from the get go. The player I watched on the field was big enough, strong enough, and fast enough to start in the NFL right now. He also is not short on confidence. He plays aggressive and attacks the ball. While this leads to creating big plays for the defense it can also lead to giving up big plays as well. That has happened in camp thus far.

However, the Chiefs have great secondary coaches and I am confident that with their help and a little more experience, the mistakes will decrease. Peters’ teammates have consistently praised him and talked about his potential. While Phillip Gaines has also looked good at corner, if Peters continues to improve his starting role may extend beyond Smith’s suspension. Regardless, it appears that the Chiefs’ first-round selection will be an important player and will hopefully help them create more turnovers this season.

Next up we have the Chiefs’ new No. 1 wideout, Jeremy Maclin. When KC inked Maclin to a five-year, $55-million contract it was clear that he was brought there to be a true number one wide receiver. The Chiefs had previous paid Dwayne Bowe very well to fill that same role, and he never really produced at a level to warrant his paycheck.

Now, we could debate what percentage of that was on Bowe and what percentage was on the passing offense in general (including Alex Smith, the pass protection, and a lack of a second wideout to draw coverage away) but the bottom line is Bowe didn’t put up big numbers and you have to think that the Chiefs are wanting Maclin to do more with the money they gave him this offseason.

Like Peters, Maclin has consistently been talked about as one of the players that stands out (in a good way) when watching practice. I couldn’t agree more after watching him in person. Maclin is very smooth and fluid as he runs his routes. Not that he can’t put a sudden move on a defender, but I was impressed with how easy it looked for him running routes. That’s not something I ever remember thinking about Bowe. What is even more encouraging is that it appears that Alex Smith is already becoming comfortable with his new weapon.

I was curious if the often-cautious Smith would favor his tight end Travis Kelce over Maclin since Smith was more familiar with him (not to mention that tight end routes tend to typically be “safer” than those of outside wide receivers). The day I was at camp that wasn’t the case at all. Maclin clearly seemed to be the number one target and that appears to match up with other reports I have seen from camp.

If the Chiefs really did get a true number one wide receiver and an above-average (and potentially better) starting cornerback with their top free agent signing and first-round pick that is a HUGE win for this team and a reason for Chiefs fans to be hopeful that the team could be improved this coming season.

Next up, observation number two.

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