By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Chiefs were audibly and visibly excited for the first day of full-pads practice Tuesday, and it was high energy throughout.
All-in-all, coach Andy Reid liked what he saw.
"Great first day," Reid said. "Good to get the guys in pads. I thought they worked hard. It was all thud period (no tackling to the ground) today. There were no live periods. But, I thought their effort was where we needed it to be, and they challenged each other."
The guys up front finally got to hit one another, and there was lots of intrigue with lots of new faces along the offensive line. Rookies Creed Humphrey (center), Lucas Niang (right tackle) and Trey Smith (right guard) held their own throughout the day.
"They're working," Reid said. "They're trying to get better at what they're doing and working their fundamentals and techniques when it's live. So, I appreciated that. I thought it was good work today."
Orlando Brown, Jr. (left) struggled a little against Chris Jones and Mike Danna up front. Overall, left guard Joe Thuney was solid.
Defensive end Alex Okafor, who just re-signed with the Chiefs last month, was excited to put the pads on, and he was rather impressed with the O-line.
"They all seem like they're coming together," Okafor said. "They all seem like they're on the same page. More than anything, we've got some size up front, too. So, that's exciting as well."
Injuries
Receiver Tyreek Hill left practice early due to a knee tendonitis flare up. Safety Charvarius Ward didn’t practice Tuesday after getting poked in the eye. Safety Juan Thornhill was held out due to a groin strain.
Others who didn't practice include right tackle Mike Remmers (back spasms), receiver Chad Williams (groin), defensive end Malik Harring (knee), tight end Nick Keizer (back spasms) and running back Darwin Thompson (COVID protocol).
Reid said Keizer and Remmer are "getting better." Linebacker Ben Niemann returned to practice Tuesday after tweaking his hamstring a few days ago. Linebacker Anthony Hitchens took part in team drills early in Tuesday's practice, but wasn't seen during 11-on-11.
Nick Bolton
The rookie from Mizzou continues to be a ball hawk. Bolton picked off Patrick Mahomes for the second straight day Tuesday. On Monday, Bolton, Willie Gay and Darrius Harris all got a pick against Mahomes.
"It's good to see those linebackers doing that," said Reid. "You're trying to fit the ball into the tight windows there. For those guys to react the way they have, that does nothing but make us better."
Receivers
Marcus Kemp had a solid day Tuesday with a pair of touchdown catches in the first-team offense. Gehring Deiter also saw some work with the first-team offense. Mecole Hardman continues to show his speed as well.
The Chiefs practice Wednesday - Friday and will rest Saturday. The Chiefs will also practice this Sunday.
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