The Kansas City Chiefs have officially wrapped up another year of training camp at Missouri Western State University, the location for preseason practices in St. Joseph since 2010. This year, the buzz of camp was the emergence of Josh Simmons, the team's first selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, at left tackle. He looks the part, and [Patrick Mahomes has to be thrilled](https://arrowheadaddict.com/patrick-mahomes-glowing-review-of-josh-simmons-will-fire-up-chiefs-fans-01k2ezj3322j).
But after a few weeks of camp and fan-friendly activities, Chiefs Kingdom has learned a few more things in the process other than Simmons looks ready as a blindside protector.
Let's take a look at a few key takeaways from the Chiefs' time in St. Joseph as the regular season approaches.
The offense could go either way
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It's weird to think that the regular season is only weeks away, and the Chiefs still have such a wide variance in terms of offensive expectations.
Last year, the Chiefs' training staff battled numerous injuries and Patrick Mahomes struggled in the face of a limited backfield, an even more limited wide receiving corps, and a declining Travis Kelce. This summer, keeping the planned nucleus of Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and Xavier Worthy on the field together has proven just as elusive.
Despite visions of '24 dancing in the WR room, there's also great cause for optimism. Kelce is slimmer and motivated, and depth at tight end looks better than ever. Isiah Pacheco is healthy. Rice looks ready to pick up where he left off as a breakout star in the NFL. Worthy will take the leap in his second NFL season, while Hollywood Brown is on time coming back from a minor preseason ankle concern.
When the secondary (and tertiary) options are Noah Gray, Jalen Royals, Tyquan Thornton, Robert Tonyan, and Brashard Smith, fans have good reasons to expect more fireworks than the last two years. If only the unit felt a bit more assured in terms of health.
Sustained love for Chamarri and Nazeeh
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After watching a few weeks of training camp and a first preseason game, it's quite clear that the Chiefs coaching staff remains enamored with a two elements in the secondary that have some fans concerned.
Nazeeh Johnson's detractors in Chiefs Kingdom wonder what exactly he brings to the field that allows him to earn so much playing time. That confusion will continue if Johnson will get as much regular-season playing time as current reps would project. He's been earning first-team reps in the face of injuries, and he'll be a consistent presence on passing downs.
As for Conner, his skill set feels better suited to safety, but Steve Spagnuolo likes him in a slot corner role when Trent McDuffie is needed elsewhere. Christian Roland-Wallace is another option here, but Conner keeps getting snaps at corner over safety at times.
If those were two of the main questions for Chiefs fans entering camp, the sustained love for both Conner (as a corner) and Johnson will keep the quizzical looks coming.
Rookie class looks great (even apart from Simmons)
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Since we've already covered Josh Simmons, there's no need to say anything else. However, it's also unfair to the rest of the rookie class to make it only about the Chiefs' first-round choice. The truth is that several other members of the 2025 draft class look like legit contributors out of the gate.
Nohl Williams is a physical force who isn't afraid of trusting his instincts at the next level. Mistakes will be made, but Williams should be someone Spags is comfortable throwing to the wolves given how difficult he makes things for receivers off the line.
Jeffrey Bassa is going to be Dave Toub's favorite offseason addition on special teams, but he also looks the part as a coverage linebacker with excellent closing speed and on-field intelligence.
Ashton Gillotte's power and push is as good as advertised, and it's obvious he;'s going to press for very real reps from Week 1. Not only is he making Felix Anudike-Uzomah irrelevant but it's possible he's taking Mike Danna's job by season's end.
Jalen Royals could be a much more relied-upon weapon while Rashee Rice is away, since the dynamism there is much greater than what JuJu Smith-Schuster can provide when other targets are limited. He's built some solid chemistry with Patrick Mahomes in camp, so it's heartening to know he's around as the Chiefs try to get through Rice's suspension.
Brashard Smith's athleticism and speed is obvious when watching him run routes out of the backfield. Hopefully, he can improve other aspects of his game to become a trustworthy contributor when it ocunts.