Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 7/31

Chiefs Training Camp Update: WR Chris Conley Misses Practice on Thursday from The Mothership

Running back Keshawn Hill, who is the only running back currently at camp, left practice early with a hamstring issue. This meant quarterback's Chase Daniel and Aaron Murray had to spend some time in 11-on-11 drills working at running back.

It made for a few light moments at camp as Daniel even had a few nice catches out in the flat.

Also for the second straight day, safety Eric Berry practiced just eight months removed from being diagnosed with cancer.

What We Learned From Thursday's Chiefs Media Availability from The Mothership

With Anthony Fasano departed to the Tennessee Titans, O'Shaughnessy was asked by reporters whether he's ready to fill his vacant spot.

"I think it's early. I don't want to get ahead of myself," he said. "It's the second day of rookie camp, so I wouldn't want to go too far in saying that until we're two weeks into our first couple preseason games and see how I'm really performing with the pads on in front of the people against other people."

O'Shaughnessy wouldn't share all his goals, but outlined some things he has in mind heading into 2015.

"I definitely say I wish to play as much as I possibly can on offense, special teams, whatever they need me on," he said. "I'm just trying to make the 53-man roster and steal as much playing time as I can."

Travis Kelce, Husain Abdullah Filled in for Eric Berry at Camp ChiMer from The Mothership

Camp ChiMer is a summer camp offered to children on dialysis or who have had a kidney transplant.

"Our campers require constant medical attention so obviously a typical summer camp is not an option for them," Ariel Penner, guest relations and camp director at Ronald McDonald of Kansas City, explained.

That's where the Eric Berry Foundation came in, as the organization sponsored a private tour of Arrowhead Stadium, including a trip through the Sports Lab powered by Blue KC.

"This was my first time in the Sports Lab," Kelce said. "We had fun looking at the calorie intake of a big strong football player. It was great to see the kids smiling and enjoying the day."

Chiefs Kicker Cairo Santos Traveled to London This Week for International Series from The Mothership

And though it's still so far away—we are talking about a contest in Week 8—Santos expects it to be competitive.

"It's going to be a good matchup," he said of the Lions. "They are very good on defense, as much as we are very good on defense. On offense, Calvin Johnson is going to be a big threat, but we've got good players like Jamaal Charles and Jeremy Maclin.

"It's going to be a very intense matchup I think."

Chiefs sign RB LaVance Taylor from Chiefs Digest

The 5-11, 195-pound Taylor, a native of Raytown, Mo., played collegiately at Central Missouri where he rushed for 1,918 yards and 15 touchdowns on 245 carries during his senior season in 2014.

Taylor added 427 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 38 catches and 273 kickoff yards, averaging 218.17 yards per game to lead Division-II football in 2014.

On his college career, Taylor rushed for 3,941 yards, gained 6,231 all-purpose yards and totaled 44 touchdowns.

WR Chris Conley misses practice Thursday from Chiefs Digest

Chiefs rookie wide receiver Chris Conley (knee) did not participate in Thursday's practice and is considered day-to-day, according to a team spokesman.

Conley suffered the injury during Wednesday's practice and was unable to finish the workout.

Rookie CBs Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson try to recreate history for Chiefs from ESPN

Good things seem to come in twos for the Kansas City Chiefs when it comes to the draft and defensive backs. That's a positive omen for their two rookie cornerbacks, Marcus Peters and Steven Nelson.

The Chiefs have traditionally had a lot of success when they've picked a couple of defensive backs in the same draft. Their last drafted defensive back to reach the Pro Bowl was Eric Berry. The Chiefs also in that 2010 draft selected another safety, Kendrick Lewis, who would go on to become a starter.

Then there was 2008, when the Chiefs drafted eventual Pro Bowler Brandon Flowers and another solid starting cornerback, Brandon Carr. Going back to 1996, the Chiefs drafted Jerome Woods, an eventual Pro Bowler, and Reggie Tongue, an eventual starter.

It's hard to figure what the Chiefs are thinking at tight end from ESPN

The most effective grouping of offensive players utilized last year by the Kansas City Chiefs was their three-tight end formations. Quarterback Alex Smith had an astronomical passer rating of 129.2 when the Chiefs had tight ends Anthony Fasano, Travis Kelce and Demetrius Harris on the field at the same time during the season's first eight games.

The Chiefs had to get away from those formations in the second half of the season after losing Harris with a broken foot. Their offense sagged as a result. The Chiefs averaged 25 points when they were able to utilize those three tight ends, 19 points afterward.

The Chiefs begin training camp on Saturday at Missouri Western State University and they will probably have only one of those three tight ends available.

Chiefs' camp to-do list: Get Alex Smith to be more aggressive from ESPN

He tends to take off running or otherwise throw the safe pass instead of taking chances down the field. There's no need for Smith to be reckless but he has and will continue to forfeit points for the Chiefs if he's not more willing to go down the field with the ball.

The Chiefs have been after Smith to be more aggressive in his decision-making since he was acquired in 2013. Now is not the time for the Chiefs to back off.

Fantasy X factors for all 32 teams from ESPN

Maclin leaves the dynamic Eagles offense, where he hauled in 85 receptions for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, to become the No. 1 receiving option for the run-oriented Chiefs. His low average draft position reflects the team change, but if he can find a way to approach last season's numbers as one of the few threats in the Chiefs' passing game, Maclin would be a great value.

Chiefs used Chase Daniel as an emergency camp running back from FOX Sports

Andy Reid was out of rookie running backs. So, the head coach turned to Daniel, who was more than happy to do his best Jamaal Charles impression.

"Man, Coach Reid was just like ‘Hey, get on in there, let's go,'" Daniel told the Kansas City Star. "He knows how athletic I am, and knows I won't mess up. I had no mental errors today. I was proud of myself."

KSK 2015 NFL Prekkake: Kansas City Chiefs from Kissing Suzy Kolber

Last time this team won a playoff game was with Joe Montana, against a team that doesn't exist anymore, in a stadium that has been blown up. I was 10. Rooting for this team is the worst.

MSU's top 50 football players: No. 8 Percy Snow from The Lansing State Journal

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Snow was catalyst behind great MSU run defenses, the best in the Big Ten three straight seasons. In all three, he was selected first-team All-Big Ten. In 1987, the Spartans allowed less than 38 yards per game on the ground in Big Ten play, and just 7.6 points.

The Kansas City Chiefs chose Snow in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft. After a productive rookie season, he suffered a knee injury in a moped accident during the following training camp and missed the 1991 season. He never regained his previous form.

James Jones to sign with Giants from ProFootballTalk

Jones had interest from the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals before choosing the Giants.

Players who need to finally show their worth in 2015 from The San Angelo Standard-Times

OT — Eric Fisher, Chiefs; Andre Smith, Bengals.

The top overall selection of the 2013 draft has been just short of a flop so far. He must settle in as a starter and contributor now.

Smith is in the final year of his contract and has yet to show he is worth the big money.

NFL: Nearly 100 years of big names, plays from The Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise

There were so many others from that era of the early 1970s who are little remembered today by most current NFL fans.

Roman Gabriel of the Los Angeles Rams (yes, the Rams were on the Left Coast) used to launch mammoth passes — I read somewhere he could throw a football 100 yards in the air.

In the 1970s, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Jan Stenerud opened a new chapter for NFL special teams; Viking kicker Fred Cox proved the old straight-on approach also could get the job done on a superior level.

Sophomore WR encore: Four deep sleepers to watch from NFL.com

We've arrived at the deepest depths of our dive. You've all heard the jokes about how the Chiefs wide receiver corps did not score a touchdown. Jokes aside, I'm sure you're less than enthused about the prospects of owning a receiver that you've never even heard of from this team. However,Albert Wilson deserves to be on the fantasy radar...

...Measurables aside; Albert Wilson displayed some nice flashes when he got on the field. Although he only played 223 snaps in his rookie season, the undrafted free agent made an impact. He amassed 209 yards and 12 catches, with a 60 percent catch rate, over a three game stretch in Weeks 14-16. While not mind-boggling numbers, those are solid for a rookie playing in one of league's lesser passing games.

More impressive than his stats were some of the nuances he showed an understanding of in his time on the field. Despite coming from a small school, Wilson displayed an advanced understanding of route concepts, deception and concentration:

3 NFL Teams You Won't See Returning to the Playoffs in 2015 from Sports Cheat Sheet

In their place walks the Kansas City Chiefs, a really good if wildly inconsistent team. Remember last season? They crushed the Patriots and beat the Seahawks. And swept the Chargers. So where did it all go wrong? Well, the losses to the Titans and Raiders didn't help. Neither did dropping one to the 8-8 49ers or a Cardinals team in December that was creaking along by then.

The addition of Jeremy Maclin and his 10 touchdowns seems as though it will put an end to their TDs-by-receivers drought, Travis Kelce looks like a younger Gronk, and Jamaal Charles is still the best all-purpose back in the game since LaDanian Tomlinson.

The always potent defense returns the likes of Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, Sean Smith, and sack monster Justin Houston. And most importantly (and unlike trendy picks such as Buffalo or Miami), the Chiefs have an above replacement-level quarterback (call him a "game manager" at your own peril) who won't make mistakes and now has the playmakers on his offense to do real damage.