6 takeaways from Day 4 of Chiefs training camp

The Kansas City Chiefs have wrapped their fourth training camp practice. There was good weather and a massive turnout at Missouri Western State University, which led to one of the most exciting practice sessions yet.

The team continues to ramp up their workload ahead of the first padded practice on Monday, August 1. The team managed more big plays on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills. Some new faces earned opportunities with the first team units and stood out during the course of practice as well.

Here are six things that we’re taking away after Day 4 at training camp:

Freaky Friday (Saturday) on the offensive line

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Andy Reid mentioned at the onset of training camp that the team would rotate players through the offensive tackle spots. Through three days of practice, they hadn’t done so, but on Saturday that changed. At the start of practice, offensive tackles Andrew Wylie and Roderick Johnson flip-flopped. Wylie had been playing right tackle and switched to the left side. Johnson had been playing left tackle and switched to the right side. This also persisted through the second team with Darian Kinnard taking repetitions at left tackle and Geron Christian taking repetitions at right tackle.

Right now, none of these players really seems to have a set position and it makes sense to get them prepared for all possibilities. This is not uncommon for Andy Heck to move offensive linemen around during the course of training camp. Should an injury occur, which forces someone out of position as a result, they at least have some training they can fall back on. This also gives the coaching staff an idea of what strengths and weaknesses are as far as play-calling.

Isiah Pacheco getting first-team run

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For the first time during the team’s full training camp practices, seventh-round rookie RB Isiah Pacheco managed quite a few snaps with the first-team offense. He worked in with the first team on both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills in passing work and team run drills. Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon also got run with the first team. Fans and media in attendance noted that Pacheco’s burst, patience and vision were a refreshing change-up from the other players in the backfield.

Free agent acquisition Ronald Jones was noticeably absent from work with the first team offense. He saw snaps with Chad Henne and the second team, but he didn’t get a lot of work on the day. It shouldn’t be too surprising to see his workload limited while the pads are off. Expect him to get some more play when the pads come on and team run periods become more frequent.

Skyy Moore continuing to look more and more comfortable

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Skyy Moore is following in the footsteps of JuJu Smith-Schuster when it comes to stacking good days at practice. After being one of the standouts working primarily with the second team on Friday, Moore mostly worked with the first team on Saturday. He continued to find success, even against the tougher competition during practice.

Moore caught upwards of five passes, including another candidate for the play of the day. On that play, he made a great adjustment on a deep ball from Patrick Mahomes to make the grab against first-round CB Trent McDuffie and S Justin Reid. Take a look:

Mahomes spoke on Friday about how he expects Moore to have a big role in the offense as he continues to get comfortable with the playbook and his assignments. Right now, it looks like he’s well on his way to getting comfortable.

Trent McDuffie had one of his best days in coverage yet

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There hasn’t been a whole lot of hype surrounding first-round CB Trent McDuffie even though he’s put together a solid week of training camp practices. He’s playing both outside and nickel corner with the first-team defense and he’s had a few nice pass breakups so far.

On Saturday, McDuffie didn’t exactly have any of those awe-inspiring plays that fans hope to witness at practice, but for the majority of practice, he was managing great blanket coverage against his receiver. Really, the only bad play of note was the one against Skyy Moore featured above. This was the norm for McDuffie at Washington, where he didn’t allow much in the way of catches, but also didn’t stack the stat sheet with a ton of ball production.

Frank Clark looking spry

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Chiefs DE Frank Clark has looked sharp in the early goings of training camp, but he looked especially sharp during Saturday’s practice. That might be because he was going against tackles playing on opposite sides than they usually play on. Still, Clark had a number of plays where he impacted the quarterback. He caused Patrick Mahomes and others to step up and move off their mark. Had this not been a practice, he would have been close for a QB hit or sack on several occasions.

“Man, I feel excellent,” Clark told Chiefs team reporter Matt McMullen after practice. “As a team, but individually I feel like I had a rough year. Just to start, coming into camp I was dealing with a lot of injuries, a lot of personal problems. My mind was everywhere, my mind was in a lot of different places. I’ve been out here the last few days just starting camp and stuff and it has been fun to get back to regular. Everything is coming back to place, I’m sure everybody can tell you I’m out there back talking and doing my thing having fun.”

Clark is entering a make-or-break season and seems to have his body and mind in the right place to be able to make a bigger impact than in previous seasons.

Don't forget about us

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A few new players were seen getting repetitions with the first-team offense on Saturday. WR Daurice Fountain, who made the 53-man roster late last season, had a few nice catches with the first-team offense per Chiefs Wire’s Wesley Roesch. I noticed that he was blocking on the perimeter for a swing screen to Jerick McKinnon, but struggled to fend off L’Jarius Sneed. Another receiver who got some run with the first-team offense was WR Justin Watson, who was a standout earlier in the offseason program.

With Justyn Ross heading to injured reserve, it opens the real possibility of some guys making their way up the wide receiver depth chart and making the team. Fountain and Watson have a clear path to make it, but special teams will also play a part. It’s worth noting that WR/RB Jerrion Ealy has also flashed with the second- and third-team offense, which could lead the way to more opportunities down the line.

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Story originally appeared on Chiefs Wire