Polarizing Chief Quickly Earning Starting Spot at Training Camp

This is probably one of the most anticipated Kansas City Chiefs training camps in years. Getting to watch Patrick Mahomes working with an exciting playmaking group around him is an opportunity that hasn't exactly presented itself in recent years. But with the additions of Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy, things are promising to be electric.

Training camp is never quite as perfect as fans expect, however. This exciting, dreamy Chiefs offense has a surprising (and wildly polarizing) player getting major first-team reps.

Chiefs Rumors: Kadarius Toney Earning Starting Reps at Training Camp

Wide receiver Kadarius Toney is playing significant reps with the Chiefs starters during the first full-pad practice of the 2024 training camp. While there have been reports of Toney getting some running back reps, it's safe to assume this is mostly happening at wide receiver.

Most Chiefs fans fall somewhere from worried to disgusted about this news, but there are others who are more hopeful. A former first-round pick, Toney sometimes shows flashes of great playmaking ability. And if he's actually living up to his potential, he could be an exciting weapon in an Andy Reid offense. On the flip side, he has a problem with dropped passes (5 on 38 targets last season) and always seems to be in the middle of drama.

But both sides should probably pump the brakes a little bit. This is essentially day one of the offense working for real. Nobody is fully conditioned, so players will be rotating in and out of the lineup more than usual. It's also a chance to give players looks to see how the depth chart should shake out.

Toney's first-team reps don't mean that he's suddenly ahead of Rashee Rice, Holywood Brown, or Xavier Worthy on the depth chart. Toney's real competition is with the likes of Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, and Mecole Hardman to be at the top of the list for who will rotate in when those three starters aren't available.

And a versatile skill set like Toney's is always going to catch some extra attention from Andy Reid. Few coaches are better at scheming to a playmaker's strengths than Reid. This didn't result in a huge role for Toney in his first full season in KC last year, but if the coaching staff is getting him involved then it's probably for a good reason.

However this plays out, let's not assume that a vague report on July 26th is suddenly giving us a strong indication of what his role will look like in the regular season. There's still plenty of offseason remaining to allow this situation to sort itself out.

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