Five Kansas City Chiefs who need early training camp buzz
By Matt Conner
Roster competition is already starting to heat up which means some players are getting overlooked. Here are five who need to generate early buzz in training camp.
The Kansas City Chiefs will soon see all 90 players currently on the offseason roster show up for training camp in just about a month for a three-day late spring event. After a few opportunities this spring of offseason workouts, drills, film work, and team meetings, camp is where the competition really gets fierce with actual games and padded practices in the summer heat.
Some players have already made considerable waves during voluntary workouts in OTAs (organized team activities) throughout the spring. Justyn Ross has turned heads as an undrafted wide receiver, while Justin Watson has drawn praise as another surprising receiver from Patrick Mahomes. That’s just at a single position.
Every spot on the roster is starting to see key positional battles heat up. As players begin to impress in various areas, that means others are getting lost in the shuffle. For a player trying to make his NFL dream come true (or extend his career), this is the worst time of year to suddenly find himself getting overlooked in brief competitive windows. Here are a few names who already seem they’re running behind the pack. For their sake, we hope they find a way to generate buzz and turn heads in the early part of training camp.
Matt Bushman, tight end
Already this offseason, we’ve seen the return of Jody Fortson from injury while hearing good things about longshot prospects like Jordan Franks in OTAs. Given that Travis Kelce is a roster lock, Noah Gray is likely the same, and Blake Bell has returned as the veteran blocker, it’s an overcrowded scenario where something (or someone has to give).
Matt Bushman certainly hopes that’s not him—at least not anytime soon. He’s got several things working against him already as a prospect, including his age (26) after a career at BYU that included time off for mission work. That said, he led the Cougars in receiving yards for two years and hung on with the Raiders practice squad all last year before Brett Veach added him to the Chiefs’ P.S. late in the year.
There are likely three players fighting for a future practice squad spot between Bushman, Franks, and Mark Vital. If Bushman is going to be able to break away from the crowded group that will be in St. Joseph, he’s going to need to turn heads early before opinions start to settle in.