Kansas City Chiefs stock report: Rookies shine against Bengals
The Kansas City Chiefs looked good in their 38-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals but which players helped and hurt themselves the most?
The Kansas City Chiefs took to the field for the first time on Saturday as they kicked off the 2019 preseason at Arrowhead Stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. Overall it was a good night for the Chiefs as they rolled to a 38-17 win.
For a team with real Super Bowl aspirations it was a good way to start the year. While ultimately preseason wins and losses don’t matter what does matter is how players perform. Preseason games are the ultimate chance for players to earn or lose roster spots or playing time in the coming season.
How a player performs in practice is obviously important but showing the coaches and personnel guys that you can step up and do it in a game situation is vital. Obviously one game isn’t everything, but with a limited amount of full contact practices and only so many snaps to go around, every chance a player gets in the preseason is important.
I took several pages of notes on the game and narrowing it down to the following list of players that helped or hurt their stock was a bit challenging. Before we get started I want to mention a couple of honorable mentions for the “stock up” list (it’s a good sign that there were more candidates for that list than for the down one). I will also note that despite playing great, Patrick Mahomes isn’t on this list for having his stock up because his stock is already the NFL’s highest.
Honorable Mentions:
Chad Henne – Henne didn’t get much playing time on Saturday but in the little bit of action he saw he looked comfortable and accurate. He even surprised me with how well he moved on one scramble he had. Obviously there would be a huge drop off if Patrick Mahomes missed time, but Henne looks like a reliable number two who now feels comfortable in Andy Reid‘s offense.
Mark Fields – Out of the quartet of young corners (D’Montre Wade, Rashad Fenton, Herb Miller, and Fields) competing for the final spots on the roster, I thought Fields looked the best. Miller had an interception, but it was on an end-of-the-half Hail Mary ball. Fields looks like the most natural in coverage to me. He was close to making the Stock Up list, but his one pass deflection could have easily been flagged for interference.
Josh Caldwell – Caldwell was the guy I most wanted to put on the Stock Up list, but ultimately I’m not sure his great game last night will make much of a difference. With Damien Williams, Carlos Hyde, Darrel Williams, and Darwin Thompson all clearly ahead of him I think his best hope is for a practice squad invite or to get picked up by another club. It was still good to see the Kansas City native lead the team in rushing yards and get into the end zone.
Let’s get to the actual list now. Fair warning: some of these naturally pair well together and others not so much.