Five players worth watching in preseason week one
Who to pay attention to, and what their usage can tell us.
The longer the Chiefs’ run continues, the more established the preseason process feels. Training Camp is going to have injections of talent and excitement every year (more on that), but rarely is it going to be about big things. This is an established team with established superstars who have come the closest in the history of the NFL to a threepeat.
The work in camp is the same every year, but the storylines are sometimes more subtle, considering this team’s season doesn’t feel like it starts until the AFC Championship Game.
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Not having a ton of camp stories can be a good thing. While others are figuring out their quarterback situation, hoping the big-ticket free agents can make an impact, or are squinting to find a competitive team, the Chiefs are just putting in the work in pursuit of climbing back to the top.
Outside of one big one, the storylines are more subtle. That doesn’t mean they aren’t still important to the long-term health of the organization.
With the Chiefs on the verge of their first preseason game, here are five players to watch heading into the Saturday matchup against the Cardinals.
Josh Simmons
There has been no player generating more buzz in the last several Training Camps than Josh Simmons. Combining the excitement around the daily clips with the Chiefs’ desperate need to solve the left tackle problem has led to a hype rarely seen.
The wave of excitement hit St. Joseph with the quiet nature of the offseason surrounding Simons. The Chiefs seemed to keep the hype at bay while Simmons just continued to work hard to beat the expectations of someone coming off a torn patellar.
We should get our first look at Simmons against opposition in Arizona with the first — a good test to see how the young tackle is progressing. Hopefully, the Chiefs give him ample snaps and don’t repeat the mistakes they made with Kingsley Suamataia.