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Kansas City Chiefs LT Orlando Brown Jr. would probably be the first to tell you that hasn’t had the perfect training camp.
After trading first-, third-, fourth and fifth-round picks to acquire Brown, the expectations are extremely high for the fourth-year player. Then there’s the added pressure that comes with being the blindside protector of the half-billion-dollar man at quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. So you can imagine the reaction when clips of Brown losing 1-on-1 OL/DL practice repetitions at training camp began to pop up with regularity.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy sought to squash any concerns about his 6-foot-8 and 345-pound left tackle on Monday. He explained that this is all part of the learning process that takes place at training camp.
“Orlando (Brown Jr.) is doing a very good job,” Bieniemy told reporters on Monday. “I know those guys are doing some things, learning some communication, but the thing that I’m impressed about is the mistakes that he does make, he doesn’t repeat them. So, that’s a great sign.”
This has been a theme with some of the best players in Kansas City. Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Chris Jones — they’ve all received praise for not repeating the same mistake twice. That should provide at least a little hope for the Chiefs Kingdom.
We have to also remember, Brown is spending his first full offseason as a professional playing the left tackle position. He’s learning an entirely new offensive system in Kansas City after playing in Baltimore for three seasons. Then there’s living up to his late father’s expectations too.
“I’ll say this, I didn’t know him personally, but I knew him as a player,” Bieniemy said of Orlando Brown Sr. “He was a hell of a player. He was what we called a full-grown man, and he would line up every day and get after you. And this kid here, he takes that pride in knowing what his father did, but also too, he wants to make sure that he can carry that torch. That kid is a great kid, and he takes a lot of pride in everything that he does.”
Ultimately, there are going to be some hiccups along the way, but Brown is a player who is committed to learning and getting better. So long as he continues to put in the work, he’ll get better alongside his new teammates.
“I think more than anything it’s just watching those guys jell together as a unit,” Bieniemy said. “Those guys are giving us some good looks upfront. Those guys are working together. I’m looking forward for them to continue the improvement.”
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