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The Kansas City Chiefs completed their three-day rookie minicamp with a final press conference from head coach Andy Reid. Let’s round up what we learned.
Chiefs finish camp with one injury
Only one significant injury occurred at rookie minicamp, and it happened on its final play during a special-teams period. Tryout cornerback Justin Martin hurt his right knee and had to be taken away from the field on a cart.
“Justin Martin hurt his right knee on the last play,” Reid said. “They’re going to go in and evaluate him here. Other than that, we’re pretty good.”
Safety Juan Thornhill fits the draft notes... so far
After day two of the NFL Draft, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach noted that safety Juan Thornhill has a knack for taking the football away. That football instinct was on display at rookie minicamp all weekend.
Nice snag, @Juan_Thornhill pic.twitter.com/Uu78X2VqTa
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) May 4, 2019
“Every day he got his hands on the ball, every day,” Reid said. “He almost had one here in the red zone. It looks like he’s got a pretty good feel for things. He’s got a little bit of a knack there. Good worker, smart, but again, you have to have that feel back there and he seems to have that.”
Safety Juan Thornhill going to be that guy that “how did he get out of the 1st round” is what is quickly debated once the games start...#chiefs #nfl #openingdaystarter
— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) May 5, 2019
The early signs point to the Chiefs seeing Thornhill as a potential day-one starter at safety next to Tyrann Mathieu.
Running back Darwin Thompson showcases good hand-eye coordination
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Reid enjoyed his first weekend working with sixth-round running back Darwin Thompson, who we got to know a little better on Sunday.
“I liked him,” Reid said. “Good speed, good quickness. That’s what I thought. He’s got good hand-eye coordination, which helps.”
Quarterback transition John Lovett could be a dark horse at No. 2 tight end
The TE2 position battle is wide open this offseason, and undrafted free agent John Lovett, a quarterback from Princeton who is transitioning to the tight end position at the pro level, could be a player to watch.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Reid said. “He’s still got a banged-up wrist, so he can’t do contact on the wrist, but it’s healing and he has about another month or so to go with that.
“Extremely smart and we had to kind of tame him down a little bit. For a quarterback, I said, ‘You are a wild man. You have to calm down here just a little bit’. He did a good job.”
The next time Reid is scheduled to speak to the media is Thursday, May 23, during phase three of the Chiefs’ offseason.