Three things to keep tabs on in mandatory mini camp
For the first time this year, most or all of the Chiefs 90-man roster should be together today. There is still no live contact, but there's plenty of developments in the works.
In some ways, the offseason ends today and the ramp-up to the regular season begins. With exactly 80 days until the Chiefs kick off their season in São Paulo, Brazil against the Los Angeles Chargers the final phase of Organized Team Activities is here and the “volunteer” piece of that is officially over.
Everyone under contract will have to report for a three-day mandatory mini-camp from today, June 17th through the 19th, or else the team can assess fines. The Franchise tagged Trey Smith would fall under that category since he has already signed the tag for $23.42 million.
There will still not be much to glean until the pads come on a little over a month from now when the team reports to St. Joe for training camp. Head coach Andy Reid has stated time and time again that this is a passing camp. While that may help you evaluate the reports on the wide receivers and defensive backs, you will not know much about the developments surrounding Joshua Simmons, Kingsley Suamataia, Jaylon Moore, Ashton Gillotte, Felix Anudike-Uzomah Omarr Norman-Lott, etc. three days from now.
That said, plenty of things remain to keep tabs on over the next few days.
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Will Trey Smith be in attendance and/or will he “hold in”?
We may have gotten the first hint to the answer to this question last night when the Chiefs released this video, which was presumably recorded during yesterday’s media production day. It does not take a fortune teller to deduce Kansas City’s franchise player, right guard Trey Smith appears to be in Kansas City to practice with his team and avoid being fined.
It may or may not be a pleasant surprise to Chiefs leadership if he does attend the mandatory mini-camp, but when asked at last week’s OTA media session Reid did not seem too optimistic Smith would be there.
“We’ll see,” Reid said. “I don’t know that to be honest with you. These things are – we’ll see where it goes.”
If Smith is, in fact, in attendance, the next question will be, how much does he participate? “Hold-ins” have become quite common in this day and age as they offer somewhat of a middle-ground while in the heat of contract negotiations. It allows a player to stay healthy and show support for the team while being slightly less of a distraction for the front office and coaching staff.
If he chooses to participate, he slots right in at right guard. If not, Mike Caliendo or Hunter Nourzad should be there to gain experience while the team and Smith work out a long-term deal. This would also allow Suamataia to get as many much-needed reps as possible at left guard.
How much will Rashee Rice and Joshua Simmons participate?
By all accounts, Rice has been a full participant throughout the entirety of the offseason program, much to the delight of Chiefs Kingdom. Before going down with a season-ending knee surgery and after week three of the 2024 season, Rice was leading the NFL in catches and was Mahomes' gotta-have-it first down target.
While he could be starring down the barrel of a suspension at some point, a healthy Rice would be a welcomed boost to this team as they figure out their 2025 identity. Nobody should be worried if Rice is not a full participant, but if he is, that is a great sign for the outlook of his third NFL season.
2025 first-round pick, left tackle Joshua Simmons is the story of the offseason thus far. There was plenty of chatter when he was drafted that he might not participate until the team was headed up to St. Joe or even as late as August. According to Reid, he is quite a bit ahead of his schedule.
“He’s (Josh Simmons) doing a nice job. We weren’t sure quite how much we were going to be able to get out of him, but he looks strong. He’s been jumping in and taking the team reps now – which he was just doing the individual stuff before, and you can definitely see the talent. He’s got to keep learning and learn the stuff that (Offensive Line Coach) Andy’s (Heck) teaching him fundamentally and technique-wise, but he sure has a good attitude about it.”
The Chiefs signed Jaylon Moore, who has been backing up Trent Williams in San Francisco over the last four years, to fill the giant void Kansas City had at left tackle. Simmons season-ending October injury was the only reason the Chiefs had the opportunity to take him at the end of round one, but they may now have a terrific problem on their hands.
Smmons' rehabilitation going well is great for both the short-term and the long-term. Moore is only signed for two years and this is likely Jawaan Taylor’s last as the teams' right tackle.
Who knows what the lineup will be come September, but the Chiefs are hoping they have three starting NFL bookends rather than Taylor and the revolving door at left tackle they had all of last season. It does appear Simmons is going to do everything in his power to make an impact in year one, even with the team asking him to leave some left in the tank while working his way back from a major injury.
“We’ve done that,” Reid said when asked if they had asked Simmons to slow down some. “We’ve done that with him (Simmons) and he’s asked for more and we’ve kind of kept backing him up here and easing him into it. You can tell that he rehabbed – (he) did a nice job with it. Obviously, the people that did the surgery did a nice job with it, so he looks like he – and he’s in good shape. He’s here quite a bit. He’s one of those guys that you have to kind of kick out of the building.”
The first look at the way-to-early depth chart
Anytime practice is not padded, you will not find out what sort of chops a new offensive or defensive lineman has, how a wide receiver deals with getting jammed at the line of scrimmage and things of that nature. What you will find out, however, is what the Chiefs brass pre-conceived notions are on a player.
When reports out of camp about where a guy is lining up or if they are rotating in with the first, second or third team, that can tell you a lot about how the Chiefs view a player at this stage. At the very least, they will use those types of scenarios to test a player's mental or physical acumen, especially for the non-veterans to see where they are before training camp.
Several areas of the team are giant unanswered questions right now. Offensively it is how much of a runway do running backs Elijah Mitchell and Brashard Smith get? Who is getting the majority of the wide receiver four through six snaps? How serious of a threat is Simmons to Moore and does Jawaan Taylor factor into that? Is Noah Gray looking at more tight end-one reps?
On defense, are Norman-Lott and Gillotte running with the twos or threes and does Anudike Uzomah firmly place himself in the top four of the edge rotation? Who is Mike Pennel’s backup nose guard? What is Jeffrey Bassa’s role and will Leo Chenal have a bigger one? Is it Joshua Williams or Nazeeh Johnson getting the first crack at cornerback-four? Will Chamarri Conner be a full-time safety and how does Jayden Hicks look in the Justin Reid role?
The Chiefs will not come close to scratching the surface when it comes to these questions, but this camp will give them an idea about where to start when training camp opens at the end of July.
