On Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs participated in their second training camp practice of the week at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.
It was a wet and rainy practice session as the team got to work outdoors in the elements. It was a bit refreshing for players during what is considered to be the dog days of training camp to not have the oppressive heat they dealt with earlier. The wet conditions didn’t lead to the best day of work for the offense, but it helped the defense bounce back from what was a poor start to the week.
Here are some of the things that we’re taking away from the latest training camp practice:
Rainy practice makes for good experience
Every year, Chiefs HC Andy Reid hopes for a practice day with rain, but with no thunderstorms in the area. That’s what the team got on Tuesday and it allowed players to stay outside and practice in the elements. Reid likes that because it gives his team some real-life practice in a situation that might come up during the course of the regular season or postseason.
The rain did have an effect on some players. Fox 4 Kansas City’s PJ Green spotted Derrick Gore dropping some passes, noting the wet conditions. Patrick Mahomes didn’t have his sharpest practice session, with a few interceptions, including one that was tipped up by a receiver. Again, the wet conditions allow players to mentally prepare and better understand how they can be successful in those conditions.
Patrick Mahomes' trust in MVS on display
Without JuJu Smith-Schuster at practice on Tuesday, Patrick Mahomes had a new trusted target at the receiver position. Marquez Valdes-Scantling had been that guy all throughout OTAs and mandatory minicamp, but Smith-Schuster emerged as a top option during the course of training camp. The chemistry between Mahomes and Valdes-Scantling flashed in preseason Week 1 on a play where there was some improvisation from the star quarterback.
That chemistry was on display again during Tuesday’s traffic, with Mahomes giving Valdes-Scantling a chance to go up and get a jump ball in double coverage in the endzone.
Into traffic 😮💨@PatrickMahomes x @MVS__11 pic.twitter.com/OQNlDOb0Gs
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 16, 2022
Earlier in practice, the two connected for another touchdown after Valdes-Scantling’s first target of the day fell incomplete.
Justin Reid ball-hawking the offense in team drills
The defense seemed to benefit from the rainy, wet practice session more than anyone else on Tuesday. That was good news according to Steve Spagnuolo, who says the defense challenged themselves in team meetings on Monday night after a lackluster practice. They rose to the occasion and had a better day of work in the rain on Tuesday.
Justin Reid, specifically, saw a pair of interceptions come his way during practice. One came on a bobbled pass from TE Travis Kelce captured by our friends at KC Sports Network:
Justin Reid’s second INT of the day pic.twitter.com/Ntk7JTXjVS
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) August 16, 2022
Reid was ready to hit in preseason Week 1, coming downhill to make a tackle in a hurry on the opening play. It looks like he’s hungry for that first interception too after this practice session.
Justin Watson stacks good days
Justin Watson continued to get some work with the first-team offense on Tuesday. It was easier to work him into the rotation with JuJu Smith-Schuster off the field, though he did take some repetitions with the second-team offense as well.
Watson took advantage of the occasions he worked with the first-team offense, though. He had a deep touchdown grab on a corner route during team drills, with Mahomes throwing off of his back foot on the play.
Mahomes to Watson pic.twitter.com/ybyalAr3TD
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) August 16, 2022
Watson later had a nice reception in 7-on-7 work according to Chiefs team reporter Matt McMullen.
Justin Watson just made a nice catch deep down the seam during 7-on-7. He also had a TD deep down the sideline during the first team period. Another good day for him.
— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) August 16, 2022
With each passing day of work, it feels like Watson is closer and closer to having secured a spot on the 53-man roster.
