The Kansas City Chiefs infused their already young and talented linebacker corps with more youth and talent this offseason. The team bolstered a group headlined by Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. with a trio of rookie linebackers, adding to a position that has become a strength for the team.
Kansas City hit the ground running at rookie minicamp and OTAs and they’re not taking it easy on the rookies. Chiefs LBs coach Brendan Daly doesn’t feel like the volume of information has overwhelmed the rookies in his room, though. In fact, speaking to reporters during the second week of OTAs, Daly praised the rookies for their capacity to pick up a lot of information in a short period of time.
“I’d say all of those three rookies (Leo Chenal, Mike Rose and Jack Cochrane) have come into a moving train in a lot of ways, in terms of where we’re at volume-wise,” Daly said. “A couple of weeks into the offseason program, they’ve been inundated with a lot of stuff in a very short period of time. I’ve been impressed with the way they’ve worked at it and handled it.”
Specifically of third-round draft pick Leo Chenal, who figures to have the largest role of the three rookies, Daly says they’re still working through his role. They’ve already played Chenal at a number of different spots during rookie minicamp and OTAs, but it’s just a matter of evaluating what he’s best at and how he can best help the team in Year 1.
“We’ll see where that goes,” Daly said of Chenal’s role. “He’s been really good so far. He’s picking things up. . . I’d say we’re still in the evaluation phase there, you know what I mean? We’ll see how that plays out. We’ve worked him at the SAM linebacker spot. We’ve worked him at the MIKE spot in sub (package) defense. We’ll see how that plays.”
One thing is for certain, this room has no shortage of talent. Veterans, free agents and rookies — they’re all creating a competitive environment in which the entire position group can prosper.
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