The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their first padded practice of 2016.
Kansas City is through its first practice with contact, and the main takeaway is that nobody got hurt. Let’s be real, that’s the big thing every day during camp. Don’t believe me? Ask the San Diego Chargers and Stevie Johnson.
In any event, what did we learn? We learned that Alex Smith came out of the gate firing, hitting Chris Conley and Albert Wilson with multiple deep balls. We also learned that while Tyler Bray has a cannon, he also throws interceptions. Speaking of interceptions, Marcus Cooper picked off two passes during team drills.
Justin March also had a nice day from all accounts. He might be the second-best coverage linebacker on the team next to Derrick Johnson, and earned a pass breakup on Smith. Dee Ford also flashed some skills in coverage. nabbing an interception in 7-on-7 drills.
The first-team offensive line appears to be locked in for the moment. Eric Fisher and Mitch Schwartz are the left and right tackles, respectively. Then we have Parker Ehinger, Mitch Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif from left guard to right guard. It’s a young, athletic, large group.
On defense, the big moment was when rookie Eric Murray laid out Rod Streater going across the middle. Love to see the rookie showcasing timing and physicality.
Basically, the Chiefs sounded like they were clicking early and often on Monday. Let’s keep hoping that they can develop a second receiver while also finding some studs in the secondary.