Arrowheadlines: Jerick McKinnon says ‘little man syndrome’ helps in pass protection

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How 5-foot-9 Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon has thrived as a blocker for Patrick Mahomes | The Athletic

Among running backs who have played 12 games, McKinnon is just one of three players in the league who has yet to surrender a sack while playing at least 40 snaps as an additional pass blocker, according to TruMedia and Pro Football Focus. In fact, McKinnon’s work in such a role has helped Mahomes complete nine passes of 18 yards or more and four other passes that ended with the Chiefs scoring a touchdown.

Last month, McKinnon, 30, explained his success in a hilarious yet honest manner.

“I’m little, so I’ve got little-man syndrome when it comes to stuff like that,” he said, laughing. “It’s definitely something that I like. It’s fun working with the O-line, man. Those guys make it easy. It’s a collective effort.”

McKinnon’s favorite snap this season, one in which the little man dominated, was against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2. The Chiefs were in a familiar scenario: They needed to rally after falling behind 10 points. Midway through the third quarter, on a third-and-10 play, linebacker Drue Tranquill, listed at 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds, blitzed through the B gap, between right tackle Andrew Wylie and right guard Trey Smith. McKinnon jumped forward and, on contact, won the one-on-one battle, pushing Tranquill to the left. McKinnon’s block was essential for what happened next: Mahomes stepped up in the pocket and unleashed a perfect deep pass, a 41-yard touchdown strike to receiver Justin Watson.

Bryan Delong Named Chiefs Eric Driskell High School Coach of the Year for the 2022 Season | The Mothership

DeLong was recognized with finalists Olathe Northwest head coach Lorne Clark, Gardner Edgerton head coach Jesse Owen and Blue Springs South head coach Alan Wilmes. DeLong was named the Chiefs Coach of the Week for Week Seven, which qualified him for the honor. The Eric Driskell Coach of the Year Award is selected by a panel comprised of the Missouri and Kansas Boards from the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association. As a result of this honor Central High School will receive a grant from the Hunt Family Foundation.

Center finished the season 11-1, losing to defending Class 4 champion Smithville in the quarterfinals. The Yellowjackets went 6-0 in league play, and DeLong led the team to its first Missouri River Valley Conference title in 2022 since joining the league four years ago. DeLong said it was humbling to be chosen amongst these coaches.

“It’s pretty special, especially with the group of coaches and what they’ve done with their programs and the success they’ve had and just the level of coaching we have in the Kansas City Metro” DeLong said. “I’m very humbled. This is a credit to Center, the kids here and our assistant coaches. It also touches me that this is the Eric Driskell award. I had a chance to spend time personally and professionally with Coach Driskell and what a special man and to be honored in his name - I’m very humbled by that. To even have my name echoed with Eric Driskell and what he did at Blue Valley High and what he did for kids. He gave everything he had for this game of ours and that is very special to me.”

Steve Smith Sr. thinks Chiefs rookie WR Skyy Moore needs more touches | Chiefs Wire

Former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. thinks the Kansas City Chiefs need to do a better job of getting second-round pick Skyy Moore involved on offense.

In Week 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Moore’s offensive snap share was again on the decline as JuJu Smith-Schuster’s snap total rose in his second week back from a concussion. Moore played just 23 offensive snaps, which was his lowest total since Week 10. The rookie wasn’t targeted once during the game. He did have one carry that went for 12 yards, but that was his lone touch of the day.

Smith Sr. recorded a clip for Underdog Fantasy shared on TikTok this past Monday where he’s swooning over the rookie receiver.

“Skyy Moore, the Kansas City Chiefs are saying that they’re no longer going to put him on punt return,” Smith said. “Skyy Moore drops this punt return because he takes his eyes off. So he gets it, but he’s peeking. Every punt returner does it. But coaches, they don’t get on him, they didn’t cuss him out. But look at this route right here, little, small little route. He should be down, but all of the sudden gets going. He’s staggering, falling, gets hit and the hit actually allows him to get his balance.”

A seventh straight AFC West title never looked unlikely to Chiefs | ESPN

As their three AFC West rivals loaded up during the offseason in an effort to narrow the gap with the six-time defending division champions, the Kansas City Chiefs took notice. The Chiefs traded one of their best players away in the offseason, but weren’t exactly looking at this as a rebuilding season.

“I think that’s a good thing,’’ coach Andy Reid said shortly before the season began, speaking of the additions made by the Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders. “Let’s go play. That’s what you want. You want that challenge. I love that part.

“You can take it as a badge of honor or you can crawl under the desk and be afraid. We’re not chopped liver out there. We’ve got some pretty good players.’’

Reid, as it turned out, had reason for optimism. Now, at 9-3 and as the only AFC West team over. 500, the Chiefs are on the verge of clinching another division championship. They can get that done on Sunday if they beat the 3-9 Broncos in Denver — the Chiefs have won 13 straight games against the Broncos, the second-longest active streak in the NFL behind the New England Patriots’ 14 straight wins over the New York Jets — and the 6-6 Chargers lose to the 8-4 Miami Dolphins in Los Angeles.

2023 NFL Mock Draft: Anthony Richardson fourth QB to go in top 10, Aaron Rodgers gets a weapon | CBS Sports

Round 1 - Pick 29 — Bijan Robinson: RB, TEXAS • JR • 6’0” / 220 LBS

PROJECTED TEAM: Kansas City

PROSPECT RNK: 12th

POSITION RNK: 1st

Giving a running back to Kansas City is almost a cop out at this point, honestly. Robinson is probably going to go earlier than this point, but fans of teams in front of the Chiefs will complain that their team would never take a running back in the first round. Robinson is as well-rounded a running back as I can remember.

BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2023 ANNOUNCED | Black College Football Hall of Fame

The Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 includes… Leslie Frazier (Alcorn State University), Henry “Killer” Lawrence (Florida A&M University), Albert Lewis (Grambling State University), Jim Marsalis (Tennessee State University), Tyrone McGriff (Florida A&M University), Elijah Pitts (Philander Smith College), Johnnie Walton (Elizabeth City State University), and Coach Pete Richardson (Southern University, Winston Salem State University).

“This Class is another representation of the immense football talent that has played at historically black colleges and universities,” said BCFHOF Co-Founder and 2011 Inductee Doug Williams. “Several of these players were college All-Americans, high NFL draft picks and Pro Bowlers.”

Votes were tallied from the 11-member Selection Committee, comprised of prominent journalists, commentators, and historians, as well as former NFL General Managers and executives, and from members of the BCFHOF to determine the Inductees.

The Class of 2023 will be honored at the 14th Annual Black College Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Presented by the Atlanta Falcons on June 10, 2023. The Induction Ceremony takes place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.

They will also be recognized at halftime of the Second Annual HBCU Legacy Bowl on February 25, 2023 at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans, LA, which will be broadcast live on NFL Network (3:00pm CT).

For more information please visit www.BlackCollegeFootballHOF.org.

CLASS OF 2023

ALBERT LEWIS (Player):

Defensive Back … Grambling State University (1972-1975) … All-Southwestern Athletic Conference … Selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third-round of the 1983 NFL Draft … Kansas City Chiefs (1983-1993) … Oakland Raiders (1994-1998) … Four-time Pro Bowler … Two-time First-team All-Pro… 482 career tackles, 42 interceptions, 12.5 sacks and one touchdown …Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame … Born October 6, 1960.

Around the NFL

Baker Mayfield leads an unbelievable comeback to push the Rams past the Raiders | Yahoo! Sports

Mayfield, claimed off waivers on Tuesday after the Carolina Panthers cut him, led a 98-yard drive for a game-winning 23-yard touchdown in the final seconds on Thursday night to lead the Los Angeles Rams to a wild 17-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Mayfield hit Van Jefferson with nine seconds left for the game-winning score.

Mayfield had done little before the final minutes of the fourth quarter. He was playing on an offense without top receivers Cooper Kupp and Allen Robinson. He had almost no time to learn the playbook or practice with his new team. No matter what happens with Mayfield’s Rams career after that, he’ll have that moment. And maybe the Rams really did find something in claiming Mayfield.

The Raiders led 16-3 in the fourth quarter and the Rams had been bad on offense. But some horrible penalties in the fourth quarter by the Raiders opened the door, and Mayfield led the Rams through it.

For Mayfield to do that a little more than 48 hours after joining the Rams was simply unfathomable.

Report: Dan Snyder allowed Commanders’ toxic culture, NFL aided cover-up | NFL.com

Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder “permitted and participated” in the team’s longtime toxic work culture and obstructed a 14-month congressional inquiry by dodging a subpoena, working to dissuade and intimidate witnesses from cooperating, and claiming more than 100 times in testimony that he could not recall answers to basic questions, according to the final report of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform.

The committee’s 79-page report released Thursday also comes down hard on the NFL, concluding that the league was complicit in Snyder’s efforts by not cooperating with the congressional inquiry and by burying a 2020-21 investigation of the Commanders’ workplace led by attorney Beth Wilkinson, the results of which have never been fully released.

“We saw efforts that we have never seen before, at least I haven’t,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, who chaired the committee. “The NFL knew about it, and they took no responsibility.”

NFL officials “were acting like they were doing something,” Maloney told ESPN. “Then they turn around and fix it so she can’t talk. Her report is never going to be made public, yet she was supposed to be hired to address it. The hypocrisy. The coordinated effort to hide what they acknowledged.”

Read the final report of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform and excerpted testimony by Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder and former general manager Bruce Allen.

Terrell Owens pitches case for NFL comeback with 49ers: ‘I’m a very valuable asset’ | CBS Sports

In an interview with 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast,” Owens said he would jump at the chance to join the 49ers, and he says he’s already reached out to team CEO Jed York. At 49 years old, Owens may not be the elite receiver he once was, but he says he could be helpful in certain situations.

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Owens said. “Hey look, man, I’ve already kind of sprinkled some words out there. Like yo, if you guys need a receiver, I’m good. Listen here: third down, red zone, trust me. I’m a very valuable asset.

“I’ve been training ... I’m already ready, I’ve already reached out to Jed York, I’ve already told him, ‘Yo, if you need somebody, I’m definitely a viable (option).”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Trey Smith’s ‘worker’s mentality’ is more than just his on-field toughness

It takes a particular type of person to play on an NFL offensive line for many reasons. They do the dirty, unappreciated work for the most popular position in America — and do the most consistently, physical part of an already violent sport.

The individuals who make up the five spots have to accept their thankless role. It requires a different type of focus and grit in each game. The Kansas City Chiefs have seen it with starting players like right guard Trey Smith battling through injury — and actually missing one game dealing with a lingering ankle issue.

On Wednesday, Smith explained the thought process behind an NFL offensive lineman when he spoke with reporters.

“It’s just the worker’s mentality,” Smith described. “It doesn’t matter how you feel, what state you’re in, just get the job done, whatever it takes and whatever it means. Ultimately, that’s how I try to play the game: no matter what happens, play hard for my teammates, play hard for my brothers beside me... you play with that mentality, I think positive things are going to come out of it.”

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