Why Chiefs rookies were the biggest story of the preseason opener vs. the Rams

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Andy Reid is not one to typically go overboard with praise.

Especially during his postgame news conferences, the Kansas City Chiefs coach is usually tempers his enthusiasm about how good his team was or how certain players looked.

It was notable, then, that Reid went out of his way after Saturday’s 20-12 preseason home loss to the Los Angeles Rams to say he was impressed by his team’s young players.

And that was in the opening statement — before any reporter asked a question.

“We were able to get a good look at some of our young guys,” Reid said, “and I thought there was some real production there on both sides of the ball.”

The ultimate hope when the Chiefs traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams in March was to infuse the roster with some draft talent. K.C. had done the same when it dealt star receiver Tyreek Hill in 2022 — a move that ushered in a youth movement that helped the Chiefs to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances.

For a day (and yes, this was against the Rams’ backups), those early returns certainly appear promising.

Nearly all of the Chiefs’ drafted rookies who played Saturday showed flashes of being able to help right away. They included:

• Fifth-round receiver Cyrus Allen backing up a strong start to camp with two catches, including an acrobatic one over the middle;

• Second-round edge rusher R Mason Thomas getting immediate pressure on a pair of high-leverage downs — the exact moments when the Chiefs defense faltered last season;

• Fifth-round running back Emmett Johnson rushing 12 times for 59 yards, while showing better burst than any player from K.C.’s backfield last year;

• Seventh-round quarterback Garrett Nussmeier showing poise behind a shaky offensive line while consistently moving the offense on a 13-for-19 day with no turnovers.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the group was Johnson, who has been running with the fourth-string offense for most of training camp. Johnson was elusive Saturday while slipping off of multiple would-be tacklers — a quality that the Chiefs’ backs lacked all of last season.

And the normally stoic Reid? Even he was ready to say that Johnson was “one of the positives coming out of this.”

“He’s patient, and then when he hits it, he hits it hard,” Reid said. “He’s got a toughness to him there. I know the offensive linemen appreciate that.”

The Chiefs also had good showings from a couple of other roster questions headed into Saturday:

The Chiefs’ Andrew Armstrong impressed as a receiver and as a blocker on Saturday. (Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)

Earning his spot?

The Chiefs have long had questions about the back-end depth of their receivers room. For a day, though, Andrew Armstrong gave quite a showcase of what he could provide should he make the team.

Not only did Armstrong use his 6-foot-4 size to bring down a sideline catch early on, but he also went viral online afterward for his blocking, putting Rams defenders on their backsides twice on running plays.

Armstrong said those knockdowns were a specialty of his in college at Arkansas.

“I know coming in here, a lot of people are not expecting it,” Armstrong said in the locker room with a smile. “So that’s when you can get them.”

Armstrong said he modeled his blocking after Dallas Cowboys wideout George Pickens, who has displayed similar bouts of aggressiveness.

“I love to block. I love to do those things,” Armstrong said. “So if the coaches love that as well and I love to do that, I hope that would be a great asset to them.”

Armstrong’s potential as a tall receiver among a shorter group and also as a potential red zone blocker should only help his case for the 53-man roster. The second-year wideout — he was a 2025 undrafted free agent — joined the Chiefs on a future/reserves contract this offseason.

A downhill mentality

The Chiefs have spoken this offseason about building more of a fire-off-the-ball run game after adding free-agent running back Kenneth Walker III, but that only works if everyone commits to blocking.

K.C. appeared to have plenty of guys willing to battle in that area during this first outing. Allen pushed a bigger defender back into the end zone on a Johnson touchdown run that was called back because of a penalty. Second-year tight end Jake Briningstool also was a standout, clearing the way for Johnson on a second-quarter run by tossing a Rams player to the ground around the edge.

It’s still only a small sample and one preseason game. And the overall offensive line play wasn’t great, potentially exposing a current weakness for the Chiefs: depth on their O-line interior.

The commitment of non-linemen helping out the run game, though, has to be considered encouraging for a team that didn’t thrive in that aspect last season.

If it continues, we might be seeing some real change from the Chiefs, potentially driven by a pair of fiery coaching additions: offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and receivers coach Chad O’Shea.