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The latest
Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes earned an additional level of trust from Andy Reid | ESPN
Reid was comfortable enough with the arrangement that he allowed the Mahomes-led workouts to substitute for the conditioning workouts the Chiefs otherwise would have held in Kansas City in the early weeks of the offseason program.
“We talked about it and he had the trust in me to get the guys there,” Mahomes said. “I thought it was cool because when you’re in the building you see each other, but you’re still with different coaches. You have certain meetings together. You have certain meetings you don’t have together and getting down there and being able to be with those guys at all times, talk through how I see routes, and then them going to the virtual meetings and listening to how the coaches explain routes, it helped to get a better understanding of each other.
“That was the biggest thing, him trusting us to get our work outs in, get our bodies right, run the routes, get a head start.”
George Karlaftis
Drafted: Round 1, No. 30 overall
The Chiefs needed a complement to Frank Clark off the edge and found a bargain in Karlaftis late in the first round. His power and advanced hand usage will free him to make plays in the run game and stop quarterbacks trying to run away from Clark as he steams toward them.
24. Kansas City Chiefs
Habakkuk Baldonado, DE, Pitt
Even after drafting George Karlaftis in the first round in April, Kansas City could use another end with the future of Frank Clark in question. Baldonado is one of my favorite under-the-radar prospects, and I’m projecting a big year for him in 2022. He had nine sacks and a forced fumble last season.
Grading the 2013 NFL Draft | The Draft Network
Eric Fisher, OT, Kansas City Chiefs
A Super Bowl champion, Fisher was a staple of the Kansas City Chiefs’ front five for nearly a decade. A consistent presence at tackle, Fisher was rarely unavailable, starting 128 games in his nine-year career thus far. Expectations come in abundance as the No. 1 overall selection of the 2013 draft, and while Fisher isn’t quite on the level of fellow 2013 draftee David Bakhtiari (fourth-round), or Lane Johnson – who’ll we’ll get to in a bit – he was a constant presence for a team that made the playoffs in seven of his eight seasons before departing for the Indianapolis Colts last year. Fisher is currently a free agent.
Grade: A
Building the best NFL team money can buy under the 2022 salary cap | NFL.com
Two PFF darlings, Wyatt Teller and Creed Humphrey, headline the interior of the offensive line. Teller has a 91.4 offensive grade since 2020, the third-highest among guards, while Humphrey led all centers with an identical offensive grade as a rookie in 2021. Teller’s play is anchored in his work in the ground game, trailing only Zack Martin in PFF run grade among guards over the last two seasons. The Chiefs’ second-year center was one of three players to receive multiple votes for 2021 Offensive Rookie of the Year, along with winner Ja’Marr Chase and Mac Jones (five votes to Humphrey’s two).
Around the NFL
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin agrees to three-year extension worth up to $70 million | NFL.com
The Washington Commanders and the star receiver agreed to a three-year extension worth $23.3 million per year in new money, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday. The deal comes with a total of $53.15 million in guarantees, $34.6 million fully guaranteed upon signing, and a $28 million signing bonus, Rapoport added.
McLaurin was set to enter the final year of his contract with a base salary of $2.79 million in 2022.
Now he’s enjoying an even bigger payday.
Mayfield, however, added that the Browns would have to be the ones to start that process, and that he’s moved on and looking forward to joining his new team once he finally is traded.
“I think for that to happen there would have to be some reaching out,” Mayfield told reporters during his youth football camp in Norman, Oklahoma. “But we’re ready to move on, I think — on both sides.”
Melvin Gordon: Broncos RBs ‘gonna go crazy’ in 2022 | NFL.com
Gordon, who called Williams a “phenomenal talent” who will “be a dog for years to come,” believes the competition for touches will only make the backs better.
“That’s why me and him both played so well last year, and if you ask him, I think that’s the reason he felt he played so well,” Gordon said. “In practice every day against each other. If I go 30, he wanna go 30 or 35. … We try to outdo each other with everything, so that carries over. That carries over when you’re competing, and you’ve got a guy like me that’s still hungry, and you’ve got a young bull that wants to show.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Frank Clark or George Karlaftis: Who will make bigger impact for Chiefs in 2022?
Who will have a more significant impact this year? Frank Clark or George Karlaftis?
We took a closer look at which defensive end projects to be the more impactful player to team success in 2022:
First thoughts
Matt: This shouldn’t even be a question. Frank Clark was supposed to be a defensive player of the year candidate, a premier defensive end that was worth a big trade and contract. I’ve also been saying that we have to keep expectations low for Karlaftis based on what we saw from him in 2021. He looks like a solid-but-not-spectacular player. So, it should be Clark with the bigger impact, but unless we can make the case that last year was a fluke, and he’s due for a bounce-back season, this question is a toss-up.
A tweet to make you think
The best in the business.
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) June 28, 2022
Help us congratulate @mitchholthus, The Voice of Chiefs Kingdom, on being inducted into the Missouri Broadcasters Hall of Fame! (p.s. happy birthday, Mitch!)
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