Expect more Kelvin Benjamin for the Chiefs this week

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who the team signed earlier this month, played just 12 snaps in the team’s loss against the Los Angeles Chargers. With Sammy Watkins missing the first two days of practice this week, that workload should increase on Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked by reporters about both Benjamin and running back Charcandrick West this week.

“I’ve told the guys if they are available, we will find ways to use you the best we can, so be ready and alert for it,” Reid said. “We will just see how it all shakes out there.”

Against Los Angeles, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes targeted Benjamin twice, and he made one catch for 17 yards. Mahomes pump-faked before dropping the ball in over Benjamin’s shoulder.

“We’ve worked on routes, for sure, that fit our offense and fit the role that we want him to utilize in this offense for the rest of this season,” Mahomes said on Wednesday. “You can tell he has the work ethic and the mentality that he wants to be great. He has a ton of talent and now it’s about him learning the offense more and more every single day and getting him incorporated more and more every single week.”

Sometimes lost because of a poor 18-game stint with the Buffalo Bills, Benjamin has had success in the league before. In 2014, his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers, Benjamin made 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. He lost the 2015 season to a torn ACL but rebounded nicely in 2016.

The 27-year-old Benjamin stands at 6 feet 5 and 245 pounds and provides a solid weapon for Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy as the team waits for Watkins, who has been called “week to week”, to return.

“I think we got a good football player,” Bieniemy said. “He’s still learning the way we do things and obviously he’s still learning the language that we speak. He’s a good kid, he’s enthused about our plan, but we just want to see exactly what he can do when those lights turn on.

“We’re excited about hopefully seeing what he can do eventually when he gets that opportunity to do so.”