With the final week of training camp in the books, Head Coach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs head to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to play the Steelers in their second preseason game.
With roster cuts looming in the coming weeks, General Manager Brett Veach and Head Coach Andy Reid still have plenty of evaluating do.
Following Kansas City’s final practice in St. Joseph, Coach Reid told the local media he plans to allow the starters to play almost the entire first half on Saturday night.
Pat Mahomes and the starters only had one offensive drive last week where they marched down the field for a quick score. Now they get an entire half to show where they’re at in their progression heading into the season.
Reid also said the starters will be followed up by the second and third-string players who’ll compete for a roster spot in the second half.
Injury Report
Wideouts Gehrig Dieter (back) and Devon Grayson (knee), defensive back Michael Hunter (groin) and fullback/tight end John Lovett (shoulder) will not play tomorrow night.
“These guys won’t play,” said Coach Reid. “Everybody else will get a chance to play.”
Players to watch
Going up against the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Cameron Heyward, here are the top Chiefs players to key an eye on tomorrow night:
Damien Williams
Williams’ ability to be a starting NFL running back has been put into question ever since he suffered an injury that caused him to miss a week of practice and the team’s first preseason game. While Andy Reid has decided to go ‘running back by committee’, Williams is still listed as the starter.
Williams is a player to watch because if he can go the duration of the Preseason making plays and show signs of durability like he did late last season and during the playoffs, it may not only be enough to silence his critics but to keep his starting role on offense.
Darwin Thompson
Thompson made the most of his preseason debut where he showed his playmaking ability in the open field and in between the tackles. At just 5’8″ and 200lbs, Thompson’s ability to accelerate and make guys miss while also being able to run at the defense and earn the tough yards on the ground is something that isn’t usually seen in players of his size.
Thompson is a player to watch because if he can continue to develop and make plays against the Steelers and for the rest of the preseason, the Chiefs may have a special talent at running back.
Tanoh Kassagnon
Third-year defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon has been a headline for most of training camp and managed to register a sack and a hit on the QB against the Bengals last week.
At 6’7’’ and 289 lbs, Tanoh is a player to watch due to his size and strength and ability to conduct pressure coming off the edge of the defensive line. He’ll continue to get quality reps while Frank Clark, Alex Okafor, and Emmanuel Ogbah are eased back onto the field after injuries kept them from playing last week.
Breeland Speaks
Second-year player Breeland Speaks returns to his natural defensive end spot after failing to adjust to former DC Bob Sutton’s 3-4 defensive scheme as an outside linebacker.
Ever since the Chiefs made the switch to the 4-3 defense, however, Speaks seems to have regained his confidence.
Speaks had a solid training camp where he picked off a few passes as he was dropping into coverage and even got a sack during last week’s game against the Bengals.
Seeing how Speaks continues to progress in Spagnuolo’s defense will be something to watch on Saturday night.
Armani Watts
Last weekend was the first time the Chiefs saw Armani Watts since week 5 of last season before he sustained an injury that put him on IR. Since coming back, Watts finds himself buried deep on the depth chart but that hasn’t stopped him from fighting to stay on the roster. Watts made a nice play against the Bengals, batting down a pass at the line of scrimmage. He also didn’t seem afraid to take a hit or make a tackle. All qualities you’d want to see from a young safety, so while the odds of Watts making the team are bleak right now, the Chiefs secondary is still very murky which means anyone who takes the opportunity to emerge from the pack will get a spot on the roster.
Juan Thornhill
Juan Thornhill has been the top storyline of training camp, making big play after big play. Whether it’s showing off his deep coverage ability, going stride for stride with Tyreek Hill or picking off a pass from Pat Mahomes, Thornhill has turned a lot of heads while at St. Joseph. However, during his preseason debut, Thornhill finished with only two tackles. But that was with the backups, Thornhill has since been practicing with the starters and there’s a huge chance he plays the entire first half with them. If that’s the case, seeing what Thornhill does with this huge opportunity will be something to watch tomorrow night.
Players who need to step up
Charvarius Ward
Ward has potential but is still transitioning from being a press-man corner to Steve Spagnuolo’s zone-heavy defensive scheme. He’s able to consistently be in a position to defend against the pass, however, his coverage is soft enough to allow the man he’s covering to make a big play. Last week against the Bengals, he allowed three third-down conversions and a 26-yard pass to Bengals wideout Auden Tate on a first and ten to set Cincinnati up on the KC1 where the Bengals scored two plays later.
Kendall Fuller
Considering he’s the number one corner on the Chiefs’ depth chart (for now), Fuller’s play is expected to be better than what it’s been. His training camp performance was less than impressive and he didn’t contribute much against Cincinnati. The Chiefs hope to see better when he has to defend passes coming from Big Ben on Saturday.
Dorian O’Daniel
When the Chiefs drafted O’Daniel, many envisioned him eventually having a major role on defense. However that hasn’t been the case, instead, O’Daniel is currently on the third-team defense. He did see some playing time late in the fourth quarter, registering two tackles. However, he sits dangerously close to the team’s roster bubble unless he can show the coaches he can be the player many envisioned when he was drafted.
