Nick Jacobs’ training camp notebook: Friday practice; first in pads

SAINT JOSEPH, Mo. — The Chiefs were on the field for their first padded practice of the season Friday.

The players also participated in the first 9-on-7run drill of the season.

The Chiefs interior defensive tackles, Chris Jones and Mike Pennel, had A gaps and B gaps closed down during their time on the field.

The offense only found success on a couple of outside runs by Deneric Prince and Isiah Pacheco. Clyde Edwards-Helaire showed a good burst and quickness during the run drills and also catching the ball in the flats.

One of the few effective inside runs was with Edwards-Helaire on a quick trap with Creed Humphrey walling off Tershawn Wharton and Trey Smith getting a good reach on Pennel.

Edwards-Helaire was able to bounce that inside run for the distance quickly. Humphrey had a strong showing in one-on-one pass protection. He was able to stonewall arguably the Chiefs strongest defender, Pennel, on multiple reps.

Second-round offensive lineman pick, Kingsley Suamataia, got his first experience in one-on-one drills against Mike Danna. Danna was able to get him to lunge on a quick rip move. Next rep, Danna was able to get a left arm extension. Suamataia is working on getting comfortable with when to re-anchor. He showed promising reps and high end athleticism on his reach blocks.

Second year defensive end, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, had a strong day in one-on-one drills going against Wanya Morris. His club and swim moves are much quicker. He showcased a quick one-two punch with his combination pass rushing moves. He also held his ground better when setting the edge.

Undrafted free agent Fabien Lovett had a couple of quality rip moves against fellow rookie, Hunter Nourzad. Lovett was able to demonstrate quick feet and a strong push.

Nourzad bounced back with a quality rep shutting down Wharton’s combo move and putting him in the dirt.

The highlights reels
The four best plays during team drills were the following:

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was looking to get the offense clicking. He had a trademark roll out to his left after evading the pass rush. He spotted Travis Kelce back to his right and throws a dime back inside. Kelce proceeds to lateral the ball to Pacheco. That play in a game situation would have easily been a 45-yard plus touchdown.

Backup quarterback Carson Wentz had two back-to-back impressive touch throws. The first was a vertical route to Skyy Moore that he put perfectly over the corner and right into the bread basket off Moore’s extended arms.

The third was on the same drive when Wentz tossed a front pylon throw to Justyn Ross on the fade. Ross high pointed the football and made a fantastic grab. He was able to get his left knee and foot inbounds for the touchdown. Cornerback Kelvin Joseph had no chance against his height.

And the final play of the day was a check down pass from Patrick Mahomes to Prince in the flats. He was able to beat linebacker Nick Bolton’s pursuit angle. He then lowered his shoulder on safety Bryan Cook before the end zone. He throttled back to not lay his teammate out, but gave him a nice thud before crossing the end zone. In a game situation, it would have been a nice 20-yard plus touchdown.

Injury notes

Defensive back Nazeeh Johnson was back on the field in full pads today. Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy was also on the field today in full pads.

Wide receiver Justin Watson was able to walk down to the field without any issues. He was in shorts for the day. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid stated he was day-to-day.

Up next

The Chiefs will be back out on the practice field at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. It will be a family fun day where the entire team will sign autographs for fans after practice.