Refresh this page for the latest news and notes before, during and after Broncos practice Friday, Sept. 28, from Denver Post beat reporters Ryan O’Halloran and Kyle Fredrickson.
1:47 p.m. — Five questions with a Kansas City Chiefs beat writer
For some info on the Chiefs, we sent five questions along to Brooke Pryor, who covers the team for the Kansas City Star. Follow her on Twitter at
1. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes leads the NFL in touchdown passes (13) and has yet to throw an interception. Statistics aside, what has been the most impressive part about his play?
I think one of the most noteworthy things is his ability to identify defenses and make adjustments. The best example that comes to mind is Week 2 at Pittsburgh. Against the blitz, Mahomes connected on eight of 12 passes for 126 yards, according to Pro Football Focus. At third-and-5 on the 5, Mahomes recognized a blitz and man-to-man behind it, and quickly got the ball off to Kareem Hunt, who was running to his left, for a touchdown. Afterward, linebacker Bud Dupree told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler that they underestimated Mahomes’ intelligence.
“I don’t think we gave him enough credit. I think he was better than we thought,” Dupree told Fowler. “I feel like his intelligence was better than we thought. We thought since he was a young quarterback we could trick him, but he kind of spread us out. He didn’t snap the ball fast so he was really trying to read us, seeing where the weaknesses were before he snapped the ball. Many young quarterbacks can’t really check like that. He showed us otherwise.”
For a defense to be successful against Mahomes, they’ll have to come up with better disguises — and not underestimate Mahomes’ mind.
2. Travis Kelce has 16 catches. Sammy Watkins and Tyreek Hill have 14 catches apiece. Which one has or will eventually be Mahomes’ No. 1 target?
Going into the season, I thought it would be Travis Kelce. The two of the have the spent plenty of time working together and he’s a matchup nightmare for most teams. But in Week 1, Tyreek Hill looked like he would be the favorite target with seven catches for 169 yards, while Kelce had just one catch for six yards. A week later, Kelce was the one with seven catches for 109 yards while Hill had five for 90. And this time around, Sammy Watkins added in five catches for 90 yards. I really think that Mahomes’ favorite target will depend on the week.
Chemistry-wise, I think he and Hill are really developing into a good tandem. Not only can their skills combine for the long touchdowns, but Mahomes has also been able to find Hill on some crossing routes that have produced impressive catches and touchdowns. Watkins is still developing in Andy Reid’s system, but he finally got his first touchdown last week. In talking with Vance Joseph and Von Miller earlier this week, both seemed to suggest that Watkins looked like Mahomes’ favorite target. I don’t quite see that yet.
3. Last year’s NFL rushing champion, Kareem Hunt, has been slow to get going this year (3.2-yard average per carry). Whatap not clicking for him?
Good question. According to OC Eric Bieniemy, Hunt is playing better than he was last season and he understands the system better. I don’t think itap that something isn’t clicking for Hunt, but rather that the offense just isn’t using him as much. The Chiefs are running a lot of empty sets, and when they run RPO plays, Mahomes elects to throw instead of handing it off. I think it was a conscious decision by Reid to get Hunt the two touchdowns against the 49ers last week, maybe trying to show opponents that Hunt is still a significant part of the offense even when he’s not being used as much as last season.
4. The Chiefs’ defense, statistically, is awful. Granted, it may be misleading because Kansas City has built three first-half leads, but what are the biggest issues that must be fixed?
I thought it was the secondary, but after last week, it seems like the inside linebackers are struggling a lot. Reggie Ragland promised during training camp that the Chiefs would stop the run, and so far that hasn’t been a major issue because teams are having to throw to erase big deficits. Against the 49ers, Ragland bit on a play-action fake and got caught looking the other way as Kyle Juszczyk got open for a 35-yard touchdown. Ragland also missed time a week earlier with a stinger, forcing Terrance Smith to play more snaps. Fellow inside linebacker Anthony Hitchens leads the team in tackles, but for that unit to be effective as a tandem, they need to play together more.
5. A KC secondary without safety Eric Berry (heel) has one interception. Which player is being targeted by opponents?
Itap got to be Steven Nelson. Both Kendall Fuller and Orlando Scandrick have played pretty well, but Nelson has really struggled this year. His grade on PFF dropped from 69.6 (above average) last year to 52.4 (below average) this year. Nelson had some bad moments against Tyrell Williams in Week 1 at the Chargers, including one time where he got completely lost and gave up a touchdown. Last week against the 49ers, he was mainly matched up with Marquise Goodwin, who was targeted four times and ended up with three catches for 30 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Pierre Garcon was also targeted four times, but guarded by Kendall Fuller and Orlando Scandrick, he only made one catch.
12:30 p.m. — Injury update
practice. CB Tramaine Brock (groin) not working.
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran)
11:00 a.m. — Tyreek Hill called “the fastest person I’ve ever seen on the football field.”
Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. has played in 114 NFL games through eight seasons and no opposing player during that time has turned his head more quickly than one who will line up opposite of Denver’s defense on Monday night — Chiefs wide receiver/return man Tyreek Hill.
“Tyreek, he’s the fastest person I’ve ever seen on the football field,” Harris said.
Denver fans likely need no introduction. Hill’s first game at Mile High as a rookie in 2016 was punctuated with an 86-yard kickoff return touchdown that sent the game to overtime, where the Chiefs prevailed 30-27. Hill, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, is off to a fast start this season averaging 22.1 yards per catch with three receiving touchdowns and another score from a punt return.
Kansas City will employ plenty of pre-snap deception to create extra space for Hill to catch and run.
“One motion he might jog across the ball and the next motion he’s flying across. You never know,” Harris said. “We’ve got to be ready for that. When I play the Chiefs, I try to make sure I’m in extra-shape versus them because I’ll be running around especially for a lot of motion.”
