AP Chiefs Mailbag: Answering your questions after two weeks of camp

Welcome back to the Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! Throughout the season, keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to submit your questions about the Kansas City Chiefs!

More than half of the team’s training camp at Missouri Western State University is now in the rearview. Let’s see what is on readers’ minds before the Chiefs take the field for their first preseason contest on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams.

Right tackle Kahlil Benson. I have massive questions about him. Are we really going to trust a tryout rookie to protect the franchise? Aside from quarterback Patrick Mahomes health, this is by far the biggest story in camp.

Right tackle Kahlil Benson. I have massive questions about him. Are we really going to trust a tryout rookie to protect the franchise? Aside from quarterback Patrick Mahomes health, this is by far the biggest story in camp.

Benson’s run with the starters at now two positions has been the most surprising development in camp. We also need to keep in mind that it is still early in the process to say that Benson has earned the team’s trust. I see the work he has gotten in camp as a ramp-up for a long look in the preseason, likely at both right tackle and right guard.

I expect Benson to play a heavy snap count in all three exhibitions. It also is not hyperbole to say no individual Chiefs player has more riding on the preseason than Benson. When he goes against starters, he needs to hold his own and look like he belongs. When matched up against other teams’ deep depth, Benson needs to dominate.

He has been a great story, and the Chiefs clearly want to give him a chance to earn a starting nod. However, I do not expect Benson to have a long leash if he looks overwhelmed in the preseason. He may very well open Week 1 at right tackle — or work his way out of consideration very quickly.

Has Garrett Nussmeier shown any signs he could challenge Justin Fields for the QB2 position?

Has Garrett Nussmeier shown any signs he could challenge Justin Fields for the QB2 position?

By most accounts, Nussmeier has performed well in camp and shown strong improvement from what beat reporters saw from him in the offseason program. However, virtually every reported highlight still has the rookie throwing to the team’s deep depth skill players. There are no signs that the Chiefs are thinking of Nussmeier supplanting Fields as Patrick Mahomes’ primary backup.

Nussmeier should get plenty of opportunities to play in the preseason, but I don’t think there’s anything he could realistically do to move ahead of Fields on the depth chart. Nussmeier’s primary goal is to play well enough to scare the Chiefs into thinking he could be claimed on waivers if they try to sneak him onto the practice squad.

Strong play in the three-game exhibition slate (paired with showing his smarts in the film room) would give Nussmeier a good chance to be the Chiefs’ primary backup passer in 2027. With backup quarterbacks commanding salaries exceeding $5 million, a cost-controlled option on the bench would be valuable.

What’s the level of concern regarding cornerback Mansoor Delane’s injury? Will he be available to play and when?

And overall, based on camp performance so far, how much of an impact are we expecting from rookie pass rusher R Mason Thomas this year?

What’s the level of concern regarding cornerback Mansoor Delane’s injury? Will he be available to play and when?

And overall, based on camp performance so far, how much of an impact are we expecting from rookie pass rusher R Mason Thomas this year?

I don’t think you can put the concern level on Delane at zero, but there have been some promising signs. In Monday’s practice, Delane participated in pads for the first time in 7-on-7 action (while still wearing a yellow non-contact jersey).

General manager Brett Veach seemed optimistic about Delane’s full participation in the near future later Monday in an interview on Sirius XM. Veach also confirmed that the rookie injured his shoulder blade.

Arrowhead Pride‘s Caleb James had some good notes about Thomas after visiting camp this week. For his rookie season, we are going to have to judge whether Thomas is seeing the field in obvious passing situations rather than the raw number of snaps played. It will be hard to justify playing Thomas over better fits in run defense in many first- and second-down situations. The player Thomas is most compared to is Nik Bonitto of the Denver Broncos. Bonitto has never had a season snap count higher than 61%.

Who are the 3 TEs the Chiefs start the year with.

Who are the 3 TEs the Chiefs start the year with.

I suspect that Travis Kelce guy is safe.

Beyond that, preseason action will be very important for the position.

We know that Mahomes is probably going to have a light workload (if any) in the preseason. I don’t expect to see much of Kelce either until the games matter. I have a hard time seeing the Chiefs moving on from veteran Noah Gray given the inexperience in the rest of the room. That said, Gray had a brutal 2025 season, and some reports from camp have not been encouraging. With the Chiefs tight against the salary cap entering the season, Gray’s non-guaranteed $4.7 million base salary is one of the few realistic moves to open spending room.

Gray will likely play with whichever starters suit up on Saturday. The order behind him among Jared Wiley, Jake Briningstool and Trey Watson is one of the most important things to watch. Prime opportunities for a similar player in Briningstool could be interpreted as bad news for Gray.

I am not sure if the Chiefs will keep three or four tight ends on the opening 53, but the in-house options probably are competing with players on other teams as much as with each other. With the Chiefs having their highest waivers priority since 2013, I will also not be surprised if Veach does some late shopping at the position.

Is wide receiver Cyrus Allen going to be a good Rashee Rice replacement for 2027?

Is wide receiver Cyrus Allen going to be a good Rashee Rice replacement for 2027?

Allen and Rice probably both will always be best when lined up in the slot, but they are very different players. We have already had a major injury scare with Allen. His listed 5-11 and 183-pound frame is never going to be well suited for the yards-after-the-catch role that Rice has feasted on when available.

Mahomes has appeared to have a connection with Allen, who is probably already a better pure route runner than Rice will ever be. I compared Allen to Emmanuel Sanders after the draft, and we have already seen reports that the Chiefs see similarities to now Washington Commanders wideout Stefon Diggs (also a one-time fifth-round selection).

I don’t know that former Chiefs second-round pick Skyy Moore ever would have developed into a serviceable NFL player, but Kansas City‘s coaches did him no favors early in his career. They instantly ignored the route running he showed at Western Michigan and tried to force return-game work on him while hoping for a Tyreek Hill clone. The team seems to have learned a lesson and is allowing Allen to simply be himself.

The sample size is small, and health is always a wild card. But Allen shows definite signs that he could be in the starting lineup at some point this season — and enter 2027 as a surefire starter.

Is rookie running back Emmitt Johnson pushing Kenneth Walker for playing time? And is Andy Reid going to actually call more running plays?

Is rookie running back Emmitt Johnson pushing Kenneth Walker for playing time? And is Andy Reid going to actually call more running plays?

If the Chiefs aren’t going to call more run plays, they have wasted their time at training camp with the number of ways they have practiced using the revamped running back room. The Chiefs didn’t sign Walker to essentially leave a sports car parked in the garage. He is going to be heavily involved in the offense both as a runner and a pass catcher.

Whether Johnson is a major part of a new focus on the run game remains to be seen. At camp, second-year man Brashard Smith has widely been reported to be Walker’s immediate backup and is seeing substantial work with the starters.

I think the Chiefs will keep all four of Walker, Smith, Johnson, and Emari Demercado on the final 53-man roster. However, one of them will probably be declared inactive on game days. Another important thing to watch in preseason will be how work is split between the four backs over all three exhibitions.

Thank you for reading this week’s Arrowhead Pride Mailbag! We will be back to our weekly schedule with your questions after seeing the team in action on Saturday. Keep watching The Feed for an opportunity to ask your questions.