Chiefs vs. Bengals: 3 under-the-radar performers for Kansas City

Several players stood out the Kansas City Chiefs in their victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.

The Kansas City Chiefs evened their preseason record to 1-1 with a decisive 30-12 road victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday. The offense looked strong, the running game got into good shape and the defense continued to make plays on the ball.

Given the strong performance, there are far more winners than losers for the Chiefs, but we wanted to focus on a few under-the-radar performers for Kansas City who deserve a mention of their own, apart from the obvious players who will be talked about. And the best place to start comes at the tight end position.

Demetrius Harris

It might be weird to call a player who had two touchdown catches under-the-radar, but the reality is that many of us in Chiefs Kingdom had kinda, sorta written off Demetrius Harris. Last year, he was plagued with a serious case of the drops and when the Chiefs signed Gavin Escobar in free agency, it was thought that maybe Harris’s days may be numbered. It also didn’t help that Harris was arrested for felony possession of marijuana this offseason.

However, we should reverse course on that thinking. John Dorsey preached patience, and Brett Veach hasn’t made a change himself. That’s because they likely are in lock-step on the same idea: that Harris’s talent is worth keeping around.

On Saturday, Harris proved himself capable as a red-zone target and if he can do so consistently, the Chiefs red zone offense is going to be much more dangerous. Harris, if able, provides a big, strong target capable of creating mismatches in two tight end sets with All-Pro Travis Kelce. Add in the presence of Escobar and defensive coordinators will be scratching their heads.