Eric Bieniemy: Darwin Thompson needs work on the ‘little things’
By Matt Conner
Eric Bieniemy talked about Darwin Thompson’s growth curve with the media this week and said the rookie needs to learn the little things to improve.
It’s a testament to Darwin Thompson’s natural abilities and hard work that Eric Bieniemy is already picking on him about the little things.
A few months ago, the Kansas City Chiefs made Thompson one of their two sixth round choices in the 2019 NFL Draft. Now just days after completing his first ever NFL training camp, Thompson has already turned so many heads that he’s climbing the depth chart and generating significant buzz for his all-around ability to impact the game.
Thompson came to the Chiefs as a one-year wonder at Utah State. In a single season of work for the Aggies, Thompson rushed for 1,044 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging 6.8 yards/carry. Given his impressive body of work at the JuCo level as well (second-team All-American), Thompson has showed his ability to rise to the level of competition in college and now he’s doing it again in the pros.
While given only limited work in two preseason games, Thompson is making the most of his opportunities. He rushed for 22 yards on 5 carries in his opening game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was his 29-yard touchdown reception that really turned heads. In the team’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2, he reeled off a 14-yard run and put together 30 rushing yards on only 4 carries. It’s a very small sample size, but Thompson is averaging 5.8 yards/carry for the Chiefs in the preseason.
What’s even more impressive is that Thompson has been turning heads away from the lights as well. Reporters stopping by St. Joseph to check out Chiefs training camp praised Thompson for his work and said the rookie looks the part. Nate Taylor of The Athletic says, “He has been the rare player who looks more explosive at the pro level than he did in college.” Taylor also believes he will upend Carlos Hyde for his place on the roster. He writes:
"“The mark of a good running back is one who can create through quickness, vision or balance through contact when the offense doesn’t create for him. Thompson appears to have all three … It’s unlikely that he’ll able to supplant Williams, but he has shown enough that he should see plenty of snaps.”"
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was asked about Thompson this week and the Chiefs coach turned his attention to “the little things”.
“We want to see continual, gradual improvement. He’ll tell you, there’s a lot of little things he needs to clean up. It’s always the little minute things that can keep you from feeling as good as you want to. He’s a competitive kid. He comes out and grinds every day. He grinds in the classroom. He wants to be the best that he can possibly be.
“Coach Deland [McCullough] is doing a heckuva job that he’s staying humble and staying focused. At the end of the day, we want him to make the most of any opportunity being presented, whether that’s in the backfield or being out there on special teams.”
Next. Looking closely at the Chiefs roster bubble. dark
Reading between the lines a bit, it’s a testament to Thompson that Bieniemy is forced to say what he says here. Thompson has looked very good. He’s making good decisions on the field with and without the ball in his hands. He’s not embarrassing himself in pass protection. He’s turning heads and earning reps, which leaves a coach to simply remind him to pay close attention to the details to keep him humble.