Team news: Kansas City Chiefs | Page 23

After an injury-riddled 2021 NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, JuJu Smith-Schuster is starting anew with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. His consistency has made him the most impressive player at training camp, boasting an unprecedented level of chemistry with his new quarterback after working together for just a few short months.

Many are wondering how the loss of WR Tyreek Hill will impact the Chiefs offense this season, but it sounds like JuJu is stepping up. The story went on to say Smith-Schuster has also given a young secondary an extremely hard time, getting open practically on command whether it’s during one-on-one drills or team drills. On the plays when the coverage has been good, Smith-Schuster has used his size and physicality to muscle the ball away from defenders. While he'll have to battle TE Travis Kelce for targets, we have Smith-Schuster ranked highest among the KC WRs heading into drafts and consider him a WR3.

Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t practice Tuesday due to a sore knee.

We rank Smith-Schuster tops among KC WRs, as a high-end WR3. There’s potential here, as he’s still just 25 and has a 1,426-yard season on his resume. He only played in five games last season.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson has been impressing in camp and looks to be in the lead for the fifth wide receiver spot.

Watson has been impressing the Chiefs with his precise route running and could push for a weekly role if he can continue to make an impact during the preseason. Watson is currently the favorite to land the fifth wide receiver spot behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, and rookie Skyy Moore. Justyn Ross landing on season-ending injured reserve leaves an opportunity for Watson to emerge as a favorite of Patrick Mahomes. At this point, he is nothing more than an end-of-bench, deep league flier but is someone who could provide massive dividends relative to average draft position. Watson is someone to keep an eye on during the preseason.

Browns RB Kareem Hunt requested a trade from the team but was told no by Cleveland.

Hunt is entering the final year of his contract and has been looking for a new deal. Hunt is set to make over $6 million this season between his base salary and roster bonus. Hunt has been sitting out drills. Hunt is coming off a season in which he missed nine games due to injuries and Covid-19. As a result, D’Ernest Johnson broke out and became a very solid RB2 behind Nick Chubb. Hunt is currently just inside the top 100 of Underdog ADP and the No. 31 RB. But his absence has meant more opportunities for Johnson. It’s shaping up to be a true committee behind Chubb.

Broncos WR Montrell Washington is standing out at camp.

Washington is opening the coaches eyes, not just as a punt returner, according to Renck. The team acknowledged Washington is making plays as well, according to the video. Even with the loss of Tim Patrick, the Broncos have a somewhat deep WR room so it still might be tough for Washington to hang on, make the team, and also have any kind of fantasy impact.

Name to watch: Isiah Pacheco. 7th-round RB (216 pound with 4.3 speed) is lighting up camp. Got Kareem Hunt traits, a gear Hunt didn't have.

Related players: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon, Ronald Jones

The Chiefs RB duties could be up for grabs this year as it's not a loaded backfield. The team seemed to go away from CEH at the end of last year in favor of McKinnon, although CEH is getting most of the first team work, according to reports. Pacheco is certainly a name to keep an eye on when the dust settles in KC.

Arizona Cardinals receiver Marquise Brown was arrested Wednesday morning on criminal speeding charges, the Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed to KTAR News 92.3 FM and Arizona Sports.

Brown was arrested at 7:05 a.m. heading southbound on Loop 101 driving in an HOV lane, according to DPS spokesman Bart Graves. Brown was not present with the team during the portion of Wednesday morning’s practice that was in sight of reporters but has been working back from a hamstring injury slowly since the start of training camp last week. Many other reports say this shouldn't amount to much other than some missed camp days but it's worth monitoring. The team was hoping Brown would be back to practice by the weekend, the story said.

Andy Reid notes WR Skyy Moore was back at practice today after exiting early yesterday with a hip issue.

It's great news for the Chiefs and Moore owners. Moore's injury Tuesday didn't look good on the video that was tweeted out, but later in the day Moore said he was "okay" after the injury.

Chiefs Skyy Moore says he’s okay after leaving practice early Tuesday.

A video tweeted earlier in the day saw Moore drop a pass but go down with what was later determined to be a hip injury. It didn't look good but Moore at least says he's okay at this point. We can't always trust players but this seems like good news.

When it comes to running backs with the Chiefs’ first team, it’s been Clyde Edwards-Helaire taking the first rep almost every series.

Related players: Jerick McKinnon, Isiah Pacheco, Ronald Jones, Derrick Gore

The tweet went on to say McKinnon has usually been the next up with Pacheco, Jones and Gore mixing in from time to time. It's obviously not great news for Jones, but we're still early in the game as far as camp goes.