The Kansas City Chiefs were back on the field Monday morning in pads after a shortened practice in shells on Sunday. It was the fifth of six-straight days of practice.
Here are five observations from Monday:
- Travis Kelce, Bennie Logan and Eric Berry miss practice again on Monday
Tight end Travis Kelce (knee), defensive lineman Bennie Logan (knee) and safety Eric Berry (heel) did not practice for the Chiefs on Monday.
Cornerback De'Vante Bausby left early with an ankle injury, while kicker Cairo Santos left early with a groin issue, and new cornerback Jacoby Glenn has a concussion.
The Monday morning session did see the return of cornerback Steven Nelson (hamstring), and linebacker Derrick Johnson (Achilles).
Nelson, who had missed a few previous practices with a hamstring injury, was back out on the field for both individual and team periods.
Johnson was given the day off on Sunday and returned to form on Monday. He didn't appear to be limited at all.
Defensive lineman Chris Jones, linebackers Tamba Hali and Dadi Nicolas, and offensive lineman Parker Ehinger once again didn't practice and remain on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list.
- Berry didn't practice, but still found a way to make an impact
Berry is not only one of the best players in the NFL, but he's also one of the best dudes out there.
For those who don't know about Berry, or haven't had the pleasure of being around him, these two tweets might sum him up.
Overall, Berry was out there signing autographs and taking pictures with fans for more than an hour. He could have hung out in the indoor facility during practice and nobody would have known, but he didn't. He used his free time to hang and meet members of Chiefs Kingdom who took the time to come to practice with the hopes of meeting one of their favorite players.
They met one of their favorite players, who may have just become one of their favorite people after Monday.
- A new young receiver steps up on Monday
There's been plenty made about the camp performance thus far of second-year standout Tyreek Hill, and also how the receivers group will shape up this year as a whole without the presence of veteran Jeremy Maclin, who was released earlier this offseason.
Obviously, Chris Conley and Albert Wilson are names that get thrown out there because of their experience and familiarity with the system, and they each had great days on Monday. It was arguably Conley's best day of camp to this point, and it should be noted that it was also a great day for second-year receiver Demarcus Robinson.
But another young guy stood out Monday morning as well.
It was perhaps the best day of camp for rookie undrafted free agent receiver Gehrig Dieter.
Dieter, who played at Alabama last year as a graduate transfer from Bowling Green, had multiple standout plays and has shown a knack recently for catching everything thrown in his direction.
"I think it's just day by day I just feel like I get more comfortable in the offense, more comfortable playing slot," Dieter said after practice Monday. "Last year at Bama was the first year I played in the slot, so that was kind of a new system for me and this system is completely different.
"So, just getting used to that and building a relationship with Pat [Mahomes], I think that's one of the bigger things because whenever me and him are in we click pretty well."
Dieter is Mahomes' closest friend on the team, and the two have been on the same page dating back to when they were staying after practices together during rookie minicamp to go over what they had just learned.
Monday after practice, Chiefs' offensive coordinator Matt Nagy spoke about what he's seen from Dieter over the past couple of weeks of training camp.
"For me, I think right now what you see is there's growth," Nagy explained. "He's had growth from where he was day one, and that's the biggest thing you ask from these guys, 'Can they grab the system?'
"We've had 10 installs and a lot of plays, so mentally right now we start putting a lot at them and if they can handle that, then they can start physically playing."
If that's a test, then Dieter seems to be passing if his performance Monday is any indication. He credits Chiefs' receivers coach Greg Lewis for helping him understand the system.
"[Lewis] has been great for all the receivers," Dieter added. "He has done an awesome job at teaching all the rookies the offense and making sure we know everything by the concept and not just one position, so I just think it's a great room to be in."
- Lot of red zone work for the Chiefs' offense and defense
Much of the focus during team drills at practice on Monday were inside the red zone.
There were multiple 1-on-1, 9-on-7 and 7-on-7 drills that took place near the end zone, which made the windows tighter for quarterbacks and the competition seemed to jump up another notch.
A few of the standout plays during the 1-on-1 portion came early-on from the defense, highlighted by passes being knocked down by cornerbacks Terrance Mitchell, D.J. White and Bausby, who made a couple of nice plays before he left with an ankle injury.
- New faces impressing along the offensive line
There has been a lot of coverage surrounding the battle at left guard between Bryan Witzmann and Zach Fulton, plus whatever happens when Parker Ehinger eventually returns at some point.
All three are vying for the starting spot along the line.
The other four starting spots seem pretty secure between Eric Fisher at left tackle, Mitch Morse at center, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif at right guard, and Mitch Schwartz at right tackle.
The continuity angle has been discussed plenty this offseason.
So, who else has been stepping up along the offensive line? Obviously, veteran Jah Reid is in the mix at a couple of different spots, but there were two new guys who were particularly impressive during the OL-DL 1-on-1 portion of practice.
Isiah Battle and Andrew Tiller both showed a little something Monday morning.
Battle initially came into the league as a fifth-round pick of the Rams in the 2015 supplemental draft, while Tiller has played in 28 games with 14 starts over the past couple of years with the 49ers.
It doesn't seem that brute strength is a problem for either one of them, and while the functionality of how that strength is used is built upon the techniques they work on every day, there's a noticeable jolt to the defenders every time they punch in pass protection.
When watching the preseason game Friday against the 49ers, these are two offensive linemen to keep an eye on (Battle-No. 62, Tiller-No. 60).
The game kicks off at 8pm on KCTV5.
