The Kansas City Chiefs took the field for the fourth practice of training camp on Wednesday morning as the back-to-back defending Super Bowl champions continued their preparation for the upcoming season.
Here's a quick rundown of what took place during Wednesday's practice, and for reference, all previous practice reports are available below:
1. Our first livestream from camp was on Wednesday.
We aired portions of Wednesday's training camp practice live along with commentary throughout the session. The full stream is below.
The tentative schedule (as of now) is for us to host three more livestreams on July 27, July 31 and August 5.
2. Cornerback Trent McDuffie made one of the plays of the day.
McDuffie, who enters this season as one of the top corners in the league, was responsible for one of the standout plays of Wednesday's practice with an interception over the middle of the field. The play, which took place during an 11-on-11 segment of practice, featured McDuffie jumping a short route just inside the numbers and hauling it in for the takeaway.
Another noteworthy defensive play was courtesy of safety Chamarri Conner, who recorded a pass-breakup on a short pass over the middle during 7-on-7 drills. Rookie defensive back D.J. Miller also made an impressive defensive play with a leaping interception during an 11-on-11 segment.
3. The Chiefs continued to experiment with the versatility of their offensive line.
Offensive Line Coach Andy Heck has moved players around to different positions essentially every day of camp so far, and Wednesday's practice was no different. In fact, a day after Lucas Niang – who has almost exclusively played tackle during his time with the Chiefs – lined up at left guard next to Creed Humphrey, rookie Hunter Nourzad took over that responsibility on Wednesday.
It's important to note that these positional groupings, particularly early in camp, are not necessarily indicative of a depth chart. It's more about testing the depth and versatility of this group as the season inches closer, which is something Head Coach Andy Reid explained on Tuesday.
"You know how Andy Heck does it. He mixes everybody in, and we did a little bit of that in the [offseason practices]," said Coach Reid. "Listen, we're just going to play the five best, it doesn't really matter what position [it is], so we're going to give you a chance at all of them. This is a good time to do that – during this ramp up period – when they're not in pads to just get them familiar with those areas."
4. The screen game and run fits were areas of emphasis for the offense on Wednesday.
Kansas City appeared to work on both the screen game and running the football during much of Wednesday's practice in preparation for the first padded session on Friday.
There's only so much the Chiefs can actually work on in those areas without wearing pads, but Wednesday's practice served as a final mental tune-up before things get a little more real on Friday.
Still, despite those points of emphasis, the offense was sure to tally a few highlight-worthy plays on Wednesday. At the top of that list was a no-look pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who flipped the ball to wide receiver Skyy Moore while on the run during 11-on-11 drills. Wide receiver Nikko Remigio also made a noteworthy play when he made a diving catch near the sideline after Mahomes fired the ball his way while on the run.
Lastly, wide receiver Montrell Washington was responsible for one of the biggest plays of the day when he hauled in a deep pass from quarterback Carson Wentz during an 11-on-11 segment. Washington then celebrated the catch with a backflip.
5. Here's a look at Wednesday's injury report.
Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy (illness) missed his third-straight practice on Wednesday. Additionally, wide receiver Justin Watson (foot) and cornerback Nazeeh Johnson (knee) left Wednesday's practice early. In some good news, cornerback Kelvin Joseph – who missed the last two practices due to personal reasons – was back on the field for Wednesday's practice.
As for the players who have yet to practice in St. Joseph, safety Justin Reid (quad) and defensive end BJ Thompson (who suffered a medical emergency last month) remain on the "Non-Football Injury/Illness" list.
Cornerback Jaylen Watson, defensive end Charles Omenihu, defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and offensive guard Joe Thuney are still on the "Physically Unable to Perform," or "PUP," list and also didn't take the field on Wednesday.
Next up, the Chiefs will have a day off from practice on Thursday before returning to the field on Friday for the fifth practice (and first padded session) of training camp. The practice will be open to the general public, but even though most days are free to attend, tickets must be reserved online ahead of time.
For a look at the training camp schedule or for more information on how to reserve tickets, click here.
