Speaker 1: Well, we're a little past halfway at training camp in
Speaker 1: Saint Joseph, Missouri.
Speaker 2: Is Kansas City.
Speaker 1: The Chiefs get ready for their sixty seventh season. But
Speaker 1: the pads are on again here at camp and in
Speaker 1: this episode of Defending the Kingdom. Even our own Matt
Speaker 1: McMullen is in pads for this episode. It's brought to
Speaker 1: you by Mosaic, the official presenting sponsor of Kansas City
Speaker 1: Chiefs training Camp. Here in Saint Joseph, the homes in
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Speaker 2: And how everyone.
Speaker 1: I Mitch hold this Voice of the Chiefs along with.
Speaker 2: Pad it up.
Speaker 1: It's Matt McMullen. Let's go, who's the director of editorial
Speaker 1: content as well as senior team reporter. That means you
Speaker 1: put the pads on, you got you look.
Speaker 2: Good in pads.
Speaker 3: I wonder how much ridicule kind of open myself up to.
Speaker 3: We're gonna find out two years in a row. Now
Speaker 3: the Social team has no faith in me. They think
Speaker 3: I can't go out there and like catch some balls
Speaker 3: in the jugs machine and do some pott return go
Speaker 3: through the gauntlet. So I'm up for the challenge. So
Speaker 3: after this I'm gonna do some drills. We'll see how
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 1: We know a lot of you, most of you just
Speaker 1: listen to Defending the Kingdom, but more and more you're
Speaker 1: going to want to watch and listen to Defending the Kingdom.
Speaker 1: And this episode is a perfect example why because if
Speaker 1: you're just listening, you may want to find the video
Speaker 1: portion of this because Matt is padded up for this episode.
Speaker 1: But yeah, the Chiefs went three straight days in pads,
Speaker 1: then at ten ten ten, right back to pads that
Speaker 1: we just finished that practice. Here we're on the practice
Speaker 1: field as we speak, your thought as a chart starts
Speaker 1: to feel like the dog days of camp.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's really kind of the groundhog day sort of vibe. Now,
Speaker 3: this is always difficult because you think about coach Read's process.
Speaker 3: It's all about pushing and pulling and really pushing the
Speaker 3: guys for three straight days in pads, which keep in mind,
Speaker 3: the guys had not been in pads all offseason. The
Speaker 3: league rules don't allow that, So first time in pads
Speaker 3: since last season ended. And then you do it three
Speaker 3: straight days. Kind of a lighter day yesterday, more of
Speaker 3: a mental day. But now you're backing pads today. How
Speaker 3: do you respond to that? And I mean it's hot
Speaker 3: out here. You could tell the guys are kind of
Speaker 3: going through it. Two hours and twenty five minutes we
Speaker 3: finished the ramp up. No more kind of easing into it.
Speaker 3: It's all about these long practices and the heat and
Speaker 3: in pads. But saw some good things overall. And this
Speaker 3: is when true football evaluation can take place, because guys
Speaker 3: can go out there and look good in shorts. They
Speaker 3: can look good on the first couple days of pads,
Speaker 3: but who really flashes on days like this? Those are
Speaker 3: the guys that are going to make your team and
Speaker 3: make a difference later on in the year.
Speaker 1: Matt and I've seen this syllabus. This is the fourteenth
Speaker 1: year that coach has been here. And it's a great
Speaker 1: point that you make of the ramp up, take a breath,
Speaker 1: and then ramp back up again. But it's all a
Speaker 1: series of like taking pop quizzes throughout the semester, and
Speaker 1: your point's a really good one. This is a pop
Speaker 1: quiz after a ten ten to ten nopad shells practice
Speaker 1: to come right back out after it. How do guys respond?
Speaker 1: The next one will be and we'll talk about it
Speaker 1: after the first preseason game because it's back here in
Speaker 1: Saint Joseph and back for time in Pats. So it's
Speaker 1: just a series of these tests physically, mentally and emotionally.
Speaker 1: And those of you watching are listening here the obligatory
Speaker 1: lawnmar in the background, which tells you we're not virtually
Speaker 1: doing this.
Speaker 3: Now we're here, we're on the field right now. You know,
Speaker 3: one thing that we were talking about before it started
Speaker 3: shooting is the amazing condition the field is in. It's
Speaker 3: incredible the condition they keep this field in. It's not easy.
Speaker 3: I mean, the guys are out here every single day,
Speaker 3: but the field looks great.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and our players love the surface. It's a rye
Speaker 1: bermuta mix. It's a tight surface, fast surface, natural grass
Speaker 1: and Travis Hogan does an incredible job with all of
Speaker 1: his guys and gals. In fact, we share the dorm
Speaker 1: with them. They get little crazy, sometimes a little steam off,
Speaker 1: but they're awesome in what they do. We're going to
Speaker 1: get in to in this episode some of the guys
Speaker 1: that we have seen kind of rise up in Pads
Speaker 1: and there have been a few surprises with this.
Speaker 2: I'm going to start with Chamary Connor.
Speaker 1: Chamarry Connor is now back in a safety position where
Speaker 1: he's facing the play. Last year he played a lot
Speaker 1: of slot kind of a hybrid safety slot corner position,
Speaker 1: but many times, depending on the coverage and depending on
Speaker 1: the scheme, he had to turn his back to the play,
Speaker 1: or turn his hips or turn his shoulders. Right now,
Speaker 1: for the most point, most time he's seeing the play
Speaker 1: in front of him with the shoulder square to the
Speaker 1: line of scrimmage. In pads, that turns him loose. We
Speaker 1: have seen him make physical plays, We've seen him make
Speaker 1: plays on the ball and skills. He's thrilled because this
Speaker 1: is the way he was two years ago. And remember
Speaker 1: his game defining play against the Cincinnati Bengals, essentially one
Speaker 1: net game.
Speaker 3: Yeah, think about early in Shamari's career, he was always
Speaker 3: around the football. That play against the Bengals comes to mind,
Speaker 3: but also the interception against Josh Allen against the Bills
Speaker 3: a couple of years ago, and then in the playoffs
Speaker 3: that year, I think Mike Edwards got hurt on the
Speaker 3: very first snap of the game and Chamari had to
Speaker 3: go in and played really well in lieu of Mike Edwards.
Speaker 3: We know Chamari can be a really effective safety in
Speaker 3: the NFL. He's been playing a lot of the slot
Speaker 3: position the last couple of years, and that's a really
Speaker 3: tough position to play. I think having more slot centric
Speaker 3: players in camp this year has been a major benefit
Speaker 3: for him. We have guys like Chris Rowland, Wallace Caterkoho,
Speaker 3: and Jaden Kennedy who can all go in the slot
Speaker 3: and play really effective football.
Speaker 2: That lets Chamorroi go back to playing more of a
Speaker 2: traditional safety role.
Speaker 3: And Yeah, like you said, he's talked about how much
Speaker 3: he loves playing just safety, and he's been around the
Speaker 3: football like we're used to seeing with him when he's
Speaker 3: playing safety. Throughout this camp, had multiple takeaways we mentioned
Speaker 3: on the live stream a few days ago when there
Speaker 3: was a tip ball line of scrimmage, he was the
Speaker 3: one that went down with the football.
Speaker 2: Some guys just find themselves.
Speaker 3: Around the b Mike Edwards was that way too, just
Speaker 3: kind of always around the football, and when Chamari is
Speaker 3: playing safety, kind of feels like he's always around the football.
Speaker 3: So I think, you know, with our secondary overall, we've
Speaker 3: talked about how it has the potential to be maybe
Speaker 3: even deeper this year if guys can reach their full potential.
Speaker 3: I think having players that can fill that slot role
Speaker 3: and a lot of Shamari go back and play traditional
Speaker 3: safety again just makes this group better and deeper.
Speaker 2: So I'm pretty excited about that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the play you mentioned the interception happ at the
Speaker 1: goal line. I also saw him in red zone fill
Speaker 1: a gap and physical against the run against Breshard Smith.
Speaker 1: So again with the pads on, Shamari Connor looks very good.
Speaker 1: Another guy, and I was curious how he would be
Speaker 1: because I just I think he's on a bit of
Speaker 1: a meteoric rise here. I guess that doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1: He's a meteoric rise. That's the left guard. Kingsley matia
Speaker 1: and with the pads on, he looks fast and he
Speaker 1: looks physical, whether he's pulling or doing a play side.
Speaker 1: I think we have an emerging story there because we
Speaker 1: know the other two guys to his right, Trey Smith
Speaker 1: and Creed Humphrey, are Pro Bowl level players, but Kingsley's
Speaker 1: playing like it could be a potential pro bowler.
Speaker 3: I think he looks comfortable and confident. Think about last year,
Speaker 3: he was kind of learning the position on the fly,
Speaker 3: did a little bit of it at the end of
Speaker 3: the season a couple of years ago. And remember Zach
Speaker 3: Allen in that Week eighteen game didn't have a single
Speaker 3: pressure on. Carson wentzon that one and told Kingsley afterward, hey,
Speaker 3: you're pretty good at this. At Kingsley's first ever start
Speaker 3: at guard. Then last year was kind of an experiment.
Speaker 3: Can he do that throughout the entire year? And the
Speaker 3: answer is yes. I think he showed us some really
Speaker 3: good things throughout the season, but it was still new
Speaker 3: to him. I think he's coming into this camp. You
Speaker 3: can tell he's comfortable and confident in his ability. He
Speaker 3: knows what he's doing. And one thing we always talk
Speaker 3: about is the importance of guys being able to go
Speaker 3: out there and play fast. You're not thinking too much.
Speaker 3: And I don't think Kingsley has to think too much
Speaker 3: right now. He knows how to play the position. He
Speaker 3: can go out there and play fast, and we're seeing
Speaker 3: it so far, and we had high hopes. But again,
Speaker 3: before the pads come on, it's just impossible to evaluate
Speaker 3: these guys. Since the pads came on earlier this week,
Speaker 3: we've been pretty impressed.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we got something going on there with the offensive line.
Speaker 1: Another one is tied in Noah Gray. Really good camp
Speaker 1: and arguably his best camp yet. But once the pads
Speaker 1: came on, he just looks physically different. You just talk
Speaker 1: to him, and we're going to feature him on a
Speaker 1: live stream. You can find that too. But the fact
Speaker 1: that Noah looks more physical, he's made better plays. Two
Speaker 1: wonderful catches in the red zone a couple days ago.
Speaker 1: But Noah looks like he's poised. Remember that spurt he
Speaker 1: had a couple of years ago. And if he can
Speaker 1: take the heat off and he and Walker both take
Speaker 1: the heat off Kelsey in the red zone especially, then
Speaker 1: you're not gonna have guys like biting, pinching and just
Speaker 1: driving three guys into the ground with kelse If, Noah
Speaker 1: grays a threat on a consistent basis and to be physical.
Speaker 1: Keep in mind he has to do a lot of things.
Speaker 1: I just talked to him about the fact that he
Speaker 1: has to play in line tight in, he has to
Speaker 1: play slot. But people go, what if you have to
Speaker 1: use a fullback. He's the fallback. He's the h back
Speaker 1: of this team. Yeah, but he's better suited to do
Speaker 1: it because I think he looks better physically, especially the
Speaker 1: upper body, and when the pads came on, he's played
Speaker 1: really really well.
Speaker 3: That practice a few days ago that you're talking about
Speaker 3: was reminiscent of when he had four touchdowns in two weeks,
Speaker 3: two against the Bills and then two against the Panthers.
Speaker 3: It looked a lot like that Bill's game because all
Speaker 3: of his touchdowns were red zone touchdowns. I think he
Speaker 3: had four total if you include seven on seven. He
Speaker 3: was just everywhere in the red zone a couple of
Speaker 3: days ago, and that's the kind of player he can be.
Speaker 3: His numbers dipped a little bit last year, but rewind
Speaker 3: the clock two years ago. Just a really effective weapon
Speaker 3: for this team, especially in the red zone and I
Speaker 3: think this is where having an effective running game is
Speaker 3: going to help everybody, because if you have an effective
Speaker 3: running game in goal to go or red zone situations,
Speaker 3: it's going to open up situations and opportunities. I think
Speaker 3: for players like Noah Jared Wiley has looked really good
Speaker 3: throughout this camp as well. Looks strong, looks physical. Keep
Speaker 3: in mind, all of last year he was kind of
Speaker 3: rehabbing that knee injury. His rookie season was wiped out
Speaker 3: by that, and last year didn't appear until halfway through
Speaker 3: the season, and even then still kind of getting your
Speaker 3: confidence back. He looks strong, he looks physical, and he
Speaker 3: looked good throughout this camp. And Jake Brenningstool is another
Speaker 3: one where you kind of put him on the shelf.
Speaker 3: Last year got hurt in training camp. We were so
Speaker 3: excited about what he could do, but got hurt in
Speaker 3: mid August. But he's back now and looked great. We
Speaker 3: made a lot of highlight reel kind of catches up
Speaker 3: the middle. So the whole tight end room in general,
Speaker 3: we don't have a lot of bodies right now, not
Speaker 3: a super deep room in terms of personnel, but the
Speaker 3: players that we do have behind Travis Kelcey obviously have
Speaker 3: been pretty impressive, and I'm excited about those guys. Let's
Speaker 3: keep it going now into the preseason.
Speaker 1: They're asked to do so much in the tight end
Speaker 1: position and tons of blocking. That's what we don't Rewy's pinpoint,
Speaker 1: because we want to see the catches in the yards
Speaker 1: and the touchdowns, but they must block. And in the
Speaker 1: case of both Noah Gray and Jared Wiley, Matt they've
Speaker 1: got to be impact special teams players. They have to become,
Speaker 1: if not four cores, three cores, two cores, special teams players,
Speaker 1: and we've seen Noah do it, if Jared Wiley can
Speaker 1: do it on a consistent basis, all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: that tight end room can have more impact than fans think.
Speaker 1: But to me, it's not a luxury. It's a necessity
Speaker 1: from those guys to make the jump.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so too, And really with Wiley and
Speaker 3: with Brenning Stool, I think they were kind of wild
Speaker 3: cards coming into this camp, like what do we have there,
Speaker 3: just because we haven't seen them a lot on the field,
Speaker 3: and I've come away pleasantly surprised by both of them,
Speaker 3: where I think we might have something in both those guys.
Speaker 3: I was really excited about Wiley a couple of years
Speaker 3: ago because at TCU he led all FBS tight ends
Speaker 3: and touchdown grabs. I was like, this guy can be
Speaker 3: a redzin weapon for us. Well, the injury happens, he's
Speaker 3: a rookie and then, like I said, wipes out most
Speaker 3: of last season as well. We just haven't had a
Speaker 3: chance to really see what he can do. And really
Speaker 3: in this camp he looks healthy, looks strong, getting a
Speaker 3: lot of looks. So we'll see if that continues now
Speaker 3: into the preseason.
Speaker 1: Another one, This may not be a surprise, but once
Speaker 1: the pads went on here, George Karloff just took off.
Speaker 1: There was Tuesday practice with short yardage. It did some
Speaker 1: goal line and the offense did a really good job
Speaker 1: and or Noah Gray had a touchdown catch in short yardage,
Speaker 1: but the defense kind of felt some pressure to respond
Speaker 1: with the next day and a lot of red zone work,
Speaker 1: long drive drill and George Karloff just was spectacular. And
Speaker 1: the fact that he can play physically, we know that
Speaker 1: what he can do. There's a lot of sacks, pass
Speaker 1: just tipped. He's makes some big plays in the playoffs
Speaker 1: in the regular season, but I talked to him offline
Speaker 1: a bit about just him being more physical. He's kind
Speaker 1: of the defensive version of Noah Gray in a way.
Speaker 1: In the fact, when the Pads came on, though, George
Speaker 1: has really shown up. He's showing quickness and strength.
Speaker 3: You think George likes having a player like Peter Woods,
Speaker 3: Oh in the middle.
Speaker 2: He's another one.
Speaker 1: When the Pads came on, Oh and I were both
Speaker 1: won And what Yeah, Peter Wow looks like Aaron Donald.
Speaker 1: What about the Pads betteran Pets.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Peter Woods is legit.
Speaker 3: Spags will say that he has a long way to
Speaker 3: go and there's a lot of little things he needs
Speaker 3: to clean up, but the talent is obviously there, and
Speaker 3: Peter Woods is going to be a good player for
Speaker 3: us kiros Toga as well and Omar Norman lot when
Speaker 3: he's back healthy.
Speaker 2: But all those guys helped George.
Speaker 3: Carl loftis because last year, outside of Chris Jones, we
Speaker 3: just didn't have a lot of push on the interior
Speaker 3: of our defensive line, and that puts a lot of
Speaker 3: pressure on players like George where they're being double teamed.
Speaker 3: You just don't have a chance to really get to
Speaker 3: the quarterback. I think looking at this year, with the
Speaker 3: talent we have on the interior, in addition to Chris Jones,
Speaker 3: it's going to open up so many opportunities for players
Speaker 3: like George Ashon Galotti and r Mason Thomas.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and so we continue to look too for special
Speaker 1: teams players and again that those are played in space, right,
Speaker 1: You've got to play in space. But when you put
Speaker 1: the pads on, you know, I always get stune when
Speaker 1: when fans will try to put on pads like you've
Speaker 1: gone on today.
Speaker 3: I got them on and just try to I've got
Speaker 3: a helmet here too. I think MIT should put on
Speaker 3: the helmet. Unfortunately we have a head to headset.
Speaker 2: It's not going to work. But yeah, I got the
Speaker 2: helmet ready to go. Yeah, I think I sleep. I
Speaker 2: told twelve.
Speaker 3: Year old me that I could put one of these on.
Speaker 3: Do you know what I would say? But here we are,
Speaker 3: uh got adviser even how about that?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, that's.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's so cool. But we've watched then on special
Speaker 1: teams too, some guys that could potentially and these are
Speaker 1: some sleeper guys. But Kevin Knowles, who now we'res thirty five.
Speaker 1: He wore thirty eight, but now la Jerry Sneed's back
Speaker 1: on the roster, so he had to yield the number.
Speaker 1: But a guy like Melvin Smith and people don't know
Speaker 1: who he is, he's you know, he's been a round
Speaker 1: a while practice squad. But guys like that that show
Speaker 1: up physically on special teams when the pads are on
Speaker 1: our guys that end up making plays throughout the season.
Speaker 3: Big time speed from Melvin Smith, Southern Arkansas grad.
Speaker 2: I think he had too.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think he had a lot of production in
Speaker 3: terms of like pick sixes and big time returns because
Speaker 3: of his explosive ability.
Speaker 2: He's a great athlete.
Speaker 3: And I feel like I mentioned this every episode now,
Speaker 3: but one of your trademark terms is crock pot guy. Well,
Speaker 3: Melvin Smith is a great example of that because spent
Speaker 3: all of last season on the practice squad, undrafted free
Speaker 3: agent before that. You bring him in, bring him into
Speaker 3: the system, gets to be around this defense, be around
Speaker 3: Stees Bagnello, see how the whole thing works. And now
Speaker 3: he has a chance to maybe make the team. We'll
Speaker 3: see how he does throughout the rest of training camp
Speaker 3: in the preseason. But Yeah, Melvin Smith is turning heads
Speaker 3: up here, I'd say, and let's see if he can
Speaker 3: keep it going.
Speaker 1: I've always wandered to do this always throughout my life.
Speaker 2: Is this, Let's go.
Speaker 1: Let's go go baby, like we're getting ready to run
Speaker 1: on the field. I always tell you that I wish
Speaker 1: he's back in Smith's Center with me. We ran on
Speaker 1: the field to take on the heathen Phillipsburg Anthers. But
Speaker 1: I kind of feel that way today.
Speaker 3: I always thought it could be like a Danny Woodhead
Speaker 3: type of player, you know, a little scat back.
Speaker 2: Sure, yeah, I can do it.
Speaker 1: You can do that. That's perfect fit. Just on our team,
Speaker 1: not the you know, on the other team, not on
Speaker 1: the Chargers. No, no, no, I hated Dawson with him,
Speaker 1: but I'm on any other team except our teams in
Speaker 1: their division. But anyway, there you go. We want to
Speaker 1: have a special defending the Kingdom. To talk about pads
Speaker 1: and if you follow me at all on x slash Twitter,
Speaker 1: you know the day before pads. It's tradition, right and
Speaker 1: I've done it for years. The day before pads. Always
Speaker 1: put tomorrow dot dot dot pads and look at the field.
Speaker 1: If you've played football at any level. The day before
Speaker 1: you start practicing pads, your stomach churns. But once you
Speaker 1: put them on, man, there's nothing like it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're ready to go and you find out, well,
Speaker 3: once again, who is going to be a player for us?
Speaker 3: You know, OTAs are one thing. The first week or
Speaker 3: sell training camp is one thing. But these days, particularly
Speaker 3: after you've put the pads on and taken them off
Speaker 3: and I'll put them back on, you find out who's
Speaker 3: going to help us win.
Speaker 2: It's exciting. So we'll close this way.
Speaker 1: For your spouse for an anniversary gift, go buy them
Speaker 1: a full set of NFL pads. Do it and put
Speaker 1: it on and walk around the block and go, how's
Speaker 1: that feels?
Speaker 2: How you doing?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: Yeah, tackleing?
Speaker 1: Uh? The Amazon driver comes up? Where am I tackle them?
Speaker 1: And uh yeah? And bring out the doughnut and do
Speaker 1: some practice tackling. Invite the neighbors over. Nothing like it
Speaker 1: because it's life. And thanks to the folks at Mosaic
Speaker 1: that make this possible here at training camp. They're spectacular.
Speaker 1: They've been great help to you and me as well.
Speaker 1: But Mosaic is the official presenting sponsor of Chiefs Training Camp.
Speaker 1: But go get the pads on, and turn the neighborhood
Speaker 1: upside down.