Matt Nagy on Chiefs’ offense ahead of Saints game: ‘This is an opportunity’

After spending weeks beating up on one another during training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, the Kansas City Chiefs’ preseason opener is right around the corner. On Sunday, they’ll be on the road against the New Orleans Saints — and newly-minted offensive coordinator Matt Nagy says he’ll use the game as an early-season evaluation tool.

“We throw a lot at them in training camp — a lot of volume,” Nagy told reporters after Wednesday’s inclement weather forced practice indoors. “Now we pull back a little bit — and we want to be able to see them play fast.

“So you can, at times, play a little slow in practice — whether you’re tired or you’re thinking. [But] in the game, [players] can get their game plan and they can roll — so now we can truly evaluate them.”

Nagy believes that the game will be a crucial test for players in the 53-man roster bubble — and will make the jobs of head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach that much harder.

“Usually in preseason with the starters, there’s not a lot that’s going on,” he noted. “It’s just them getting back into the flow of getting hit. There’s not a lot of live [hitting] in training camp anymore — so [when] you get hit, it kind of feels good.

“[For] the other guys, it’s about depth and competition. When you have a roster full of good players, it breeds competition. [That] makes it hard on Coach Reid — [and] on Veach.

“Guys are going to get opportunities. Now what are [they] going to do with [them]?”

For Nagy, this adds up to an expectation of high intensity from both his starters and role players.

“There’s only so many people that can make the roster,” he noted. “And I think Coach Reid does a phenomenal job of explaining to the guys, ‘Listen, if you don’t make this roster, make it hard on us — and make it easy for somebody else to pick you up.’”