Chiefs rookie report, Week 6: Creed Humphrey continues to excel
By Matt Conner
Joshua Kaindoh
The jury is still out on Joshua Kaindoh at this point, which is exactly what anyone should have expected coming into the regular season. In some ways, given the way the line has worked out overall, that much is actually a surprise.
When Kaindoh was first drafted, the Chiefs knew it would be a while before they were going to see anything on the level of consistent production from the fourth-round pick out of Florida State—if they got any at all. Kaindoh slipped to day three of the draft because, despite having all of the measurables a team would want from a long, lean, athletic pass rusher, he’d never really put it all together at the college level. In fact, his production was worse as time went on—although coaching changes and injuries played into some of that.
The Chiefs took a risk in the fourth round hoping to strike gold, but it takes time to mine for such things. But the Chiefs line this year has been hurt by inconsistency and injury. Frank Clark and Chris Jones have both missed multiple weeks. Jarran Reed hasn’t made the sort of expected impact, and Alex Okafor has a lower ceiling than ever. In short, if Kaindoh had something to offer, there’s been room for someone to step up.
Somehow in the midst of it all, Kaindoh is still barely playing. He’s been inactive for three games and has only 46 total snaps in the three games he has played (with one pressure to show for it). Maybe something will start to click in terms of the team’s trust in him after a few more games, but Kaindoh is going to need a year or two.