Tremon Smith, D’Montre Wade and preseason experimentation

The early days of training camp for the Kansas City Chiefs is going to include a lot of experimentation that will boil down to nothing when all is said and done.

It’s a delicate balance watching training camp in the early going.

In the waning days of July, nary a single preseason game has been played. Players come up with hamstring injuries or cramps left and right as they acclimate once again to the physical demands of practice. Everyone is getting up to speed as they slowly but steadily raise their readiness level for the opening of the 2019 regular season. This includes coaches.

A significant part of these offseason training activities and even a portion of training camp is all about experimentation. That’s what makes it difficult to know how to read between the lines in practice. We ask questions that seem to matter.

• Who is getting first team reps?
• Who is playing at what position?
• Why is he behind this other guy?

In some cases, it does seem to matter. It feels important that Cam Erving is serving as the substitute for Mitchell Schwartz while Andrew Wylie has earned the starter’s reps at left guard. Across the offensive line, chemistry and continuity is important for a unit that’s coming together with a new interior core as Austin Reiter takes over center, Wylie settles in at left guard, and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif shakes off any rust from missed time at right guard.

In other cases, the experimentation likely shouldn’t matter as much. Take Tremon Smith. Earlier this week, the Chiefs shifted Smith to offense for a practice (or maybe more). Smith has served as a very good returner on special teams and comes with top-tier speed (he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds). Given the blazing nature of most of the Chiefs offensive weapons, including Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Sammy Watkins and Damien Williams, it makes sense for the team to try Smith out on the other side of the ball.

The move created a lot of talk on social media and a few headlines for a move that was nothing close to permanent. No one was changing uniform numbers or permanently shifting the team’s roster. Suddenly questions were being asked about the running backs in place and who might be released to make room for Smith at the spot, or whether this was a last gasp effort to keep Smith on the roster.

What’s interesting about it all is that Andy Reid himself said they were just experimenting. Smith has a nice history as an offensive player and even earned high marks as a former quarterback. The team no longer has De’Anthony Thomas in this gadget sort of role that could create serious mismatches on offense whether split out wide or out of the backfield. Imagine a defense seeing all the aforementioned speedsters along with the addition of Smith once per game. A defensive coordinator could only hope and pray at that point, wondering what in the world Reid and Patrick Mahomes might be dialing up.

Therein lies the nature of this time of year. It’s all about finding out what your roster is capable of. Can D’Montre Wade handle playing against the Chiefs best offensive weapons? There’s only one way to find out. Let him run with the ones. Does that suddenly mean that Wade is a breakthrough corner or the answer at the position? No. But it also means the Chiefs are committed to finding that out.

It’s easy to run with preseason news nuggets. Lots of guys look great in shorts and t-shirts. Other players excel in practice yet can’t turn the corner in games. Sometimes we’ll hear about a new starting cornerback or a defensive back heading for the offensive backfield. All of it should be taken with a grain of salt.

As the preseason creeps ever closer to Week 1, we will see whether or not this experimentation sticks. If Wade is still playing alongside Kendall Fuller and Bashaud Breeland in three weeks, let the headlines roll. If Darrel Williams fails to earn reps because Tremon Smith is hogging them up at running back in the third preseason game, write the stories about the new backfield.

Until then, it’s all about trying things out just because you can. It’s the nature of the preseason and it’s what makes things so fun this time of year.