Will youth help or hurt the Chiefs in 2022? | KCSN Daily 9.6
Latest Chiefs news, transactions, KCSN's podcasts and more ahead of Week 1.
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As the Chiefs prepare to face the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL season, the youth of the roster is again coming into focus. The team boasts one of the youngest rosters in the NFL, and because of that, they’ll face questions about inexperience as the team kicks off the season.
With an average of 25.94 years old, Kansas City has the third-youngest average age of players on their 53-man roster among all NFL teams according to Spotrac. Of the 53 players on the team’s active roster, only six of those players are 30 years old or older.
One area of the roster that is particularly youthful is the defensive secondary. The team has four under the age of 23 on the depth chart with rookies Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook, Joshua Williams and Jaylen Watson. Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke about that group on Monday.
“Yeah, I like them,” Reid told reporters. “I like the speed they play with. I think Juan (Thornhill) has done a good job of kind of helping everybody out back there and managing that from a player’s standpoint back there. But it looks like we’ve got good speed and range and those type of things. There are going to be some hiccups here and there when you have young guys. That’s what happens, but I think in the long haul we’ll be okay with the guys we got there.”
What these players are lacking in experience, they’re making up for it in different ways. The speed at which they play, the mastery of the scheme and playbook — those are the things that have earned them roles with the team. It’s the reason that the Chiefs have such confidence in the youth across the 53-man roster.
The true test for those young players comes on Sunday afternoon when they suit up for their first NFL regular season game.
“Listen, I think everybody can’t wait to see what you are,” Reid explained. “That’s kind of the way it goes every year. (They want to see) what you’re capable of and you know we’re lucky that we have a good opponent to do that against in Arizona. So, you get an idea of where you’re at when everything is flying fast.”
KC Laboratory:
Kent Swanson, Craig Stout, and Matt Lane give their predictions for the 2022 NFL season.
Transactions:
9/6 - Signed to practice squad - S James Wiggins (Read more)
9/6 - Contract terminated from practice squad - DE Azur Kamara (Read more)
10 Things:
BJ Kissel gives you 10 things you should know about Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick George Karlaftis before their season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
Quotable:
“Yeah, sure. Well, you have to say discipline, obviously. Speed becomes important. He (Kyler Murray) – you’re talking about the quarterback – he’s got speed, so there’s a runner. So keeping them contained I think is important. As you work through it, that discipline becomes a big factor. But you always want the aggressiveness, you want speed, you want that transition between the run and the pass to be aggressive and fundamentally sound.” - Chiefs HC Andy Reid on the defensive line facing a mobile quarterback in Week 1
“Sure, he did a nice job in the preseason. He’s working hard at his skill. It takes a little bit of time to get everything down but he’s willing to work at it, so that’s kind of where it stands. He did well enough to make our football team here.” - Chiefs HC Andy Reid on the growth he’s seen from Shane Buechele
Quick hits:
From WWE: The Chiefs had an off day of practice on Tuesday. With the time off, several members of the Chiefs’ offensive line and tight end Blake Bell took in some WWE Wrestling at “Monday Night Raw” at the T-Mobile Center.
From the Chiefs’ weekly release: The team released its first unofficial depth chart for the 53-man roster on Tuesday. Keep in mind that these depth charts don’t always accurately predict what will happen during games. You can view the depth chart below courtesy of Chiefs Digest’s Matt Derrick:
From NFL Network: KCSN’s Matt Hamilton broke down Patrick Mahomes’ path to a second MVP win on “Good Morning Football.”
From Oakley: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and daughter Sterling star in the latest campaign for Mahomes’ Signature Series Collection with the eyewear brand.
Important dates ahead:
Sunday, Sept. 11 - Week 1: Chiefs @ Cardinals - State Farm Stadium - Glendale, Arizona
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