Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp 2018: Saturday observations

St. Joe was packed for Family Fun Day Saturday, but despite heavy traffic, I was able to get to practice in time to see everything I needed to.

Here are my observations from Saturday:

Defense

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• It was nice to see Eric Berry with an interception of Patrick Mahomes. It’d be a quiet camp from the safety to date.
• Rookies Arrion Springs, Tremon Smith and D’Montre Wade are your second-team cornerbacks.
• Dorian O’Daniel had a rough go against Damien Williams in one-on-one pass drills.
• Jordan Sterns had a nice break up on a curl route by Travis Kelce in one-on-one drills.
• Ukeme Eligwe ran over Anthony Sherman in pass protection drills. He had a good day with the first unit as well.
• At one point during seven-on-seven drills, there were seven rookies on the field with the second team.
• Chris Jones impressed Saturday with some disruption in team drills. He batted a pass down from Mahomes in team drills.
• Arrion Springs had an up-and-down day with mostly ups. He got beat bad in the slot by Gehrig Dieter but bounced back with a nice play to slow down a bubble route and also a pass break up against the first team offense.
• I continue to be intrigued by Robert McCray at EDGE. He’s dense and powerful and moves well for a man his size.

Offense

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• Bold prediction: Lottery Ticket Chase Litton will be your 2020 No. 2 quarterback. While not perfect, I’ve been impressed with his ability to run the offense. He flashed with a couple balls he had to drive in the middle of the field in tight windows. He did eventually throw an interception, but there’s plenty to work with.
• Not-so-bold prediction: Damien Williams is a lock to make this roster. For a second straight week, WIlliams impressed ability as a route runner and pass catcher. I would be stunned if he doesn’t end up on the 53-man roster.
• Jace Amaro got run in three tight end sets with Kelce and Demetrius Harris.
• Andrew Wylie got time at first-team left tackle (with Eric Fisher sidelined).
• There’s been a trend so far with my time at camp: Kelce is where Mahomes looks when he needs to convert, Tyreek Hill is the big play threat over the top and heavily used in the screen game and they’re still figuring out how to use Sammy Watkins. This isn’t an indictment on him or the contract or anything. Watkins still has immense value, and the opportunities will present themselves for him to make an impact. He balances the field out, and if teams don’t honor him, the opportunities will be there for him to make them pay.
• Speaking of Watkins:

• Outside of this throw, Watkins was also the recipient of a bubble. They’re figuring it out with him.
• The offense seemed to be focused on working on their bunch sets. Also saw several dig routes (intermediate in-routes) thrown Saturday.
• Blake Mack made a tough catch in the middle of the field after being hit by Robert Golden. Prime practice squad candidate.
• Chad Henne had the best day I’ve seen from him to this point.

Patrick Mahomes

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• The trust level with Kelce stood out. He is the young quarterback’s security blanket and looks for him in big situations. He showed great anticipation, trusting Kelce on a few throws.
• The best ball of the day a 45-yard ball that was thrown with drive and zip to Hill who dropped. May have been a little behind him.
• Mahomes experienced bouts of inaccuracy Saturday, especially in the middle of the field. He'll need to clean that up.
• Here are two nice throws from the kid: