Kansas City Chiefs Mandatory Minicamp Day 1 Takeaways: Vets, rookies, and retreads proving themselves as competition intensifies.

The Kansas City Chiefs held their first mandatory minicamp practice on Tuesday, June 17, opening practice up to media members and season ticket holders alike.

The biggest storyline, of course, surrounded RG Trey Smith. The franchise-tagged offensive lineman attended the mandatory minicamp, foregoing a potential contract-related holdout and saving himself from some fines. He participated in practice at full capacity and even got some playful advice from Chiefs DT Chris Jones after practice.

The Vikings are set to get three compensatory picks, but one pick is in danger of being lostThe Vikings are set to get three compensatory picks, but one pick is in danger of being lost

Another big storyline? Travis Kelce was back at practice for mandatory minicamp, something proving quite necessary with UDFA TEs Jake Briningstool and Tre Watson absent from practice due to injury.

What were some of the most notable takeaways from Day 1 of mandatory minicamp practices? Here’s a look at a few of the things that stood out the most:

Chiefs veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster was the wide receiver du jour

If you’re convinced that a younger receiver could oust veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster, you might want to think again. Smith-Schuster was quite busy during Tuesday’s practice, catching multiple passes in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills while working with Patrick Mahomes and the first-team offense

Smith-Schuster caught a particularly impressive pass in the back of the end zone during 7-on-7 work, getting both feet down after Mahomes zipped a dart by Nick Bolton and Jaden Hicks, who were trailing Smith-Schuster closely in coverage.

You can see above that Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo disputed the catch in the back of the endzone, but the video evidence shows an apparent touchdown. I’m also told it wasn’t Smith-Schuster’s only score of the day. One media member I spoke to described Smith-Schuster’s day as “classic JuJu” compared to what he looked like with the Chiefs a season ago.

The wide receiver battle is certainly worth monitoring because the competition is as fierce as ever, especially when you consider the other players beginning to stand out.

Reclamation projects at WR continue to carve out roles in Kansas City

One of the more surprising stories from Chiefs OTAs was former New England Patriots second-round pick Tyquan Thornton. As Patriots fans liked to point out when I last wrote about Thornton, he tends to show up during OTAs, but disappear once the pads come on. We’ll see if that is the case in July and August, but he continues to get opportunities with the first-team offense.

He’s also managed to ingratiate himself with the one coach who can help his chances of making the team: Dave Toub. According to KC Star beat reporter Jesse Newell, Thornton was one of the team’s two gunners on the apparent first-team coverage unit. Could the 24-year-old be a reserve wide receiver and a gunner for Toub? That remains to be seen, but it’s a positive development for the second-year Chief.

Thornton isn’t the only player showing up in this situation. Former Jets WR Jason Brownlee caught a deep pass from Patrick Mahomes during 11-on-11 team drills during practice. I’m told the pass was contested by a defensive back and required a lot of strength and body control for Brownlee to secure the catch. Brownlee has also been involved in special teams return units.

Opportunity knocks for Chiefs rookie LT Josh Simmons

The Chiefs are still proceeding cautiously with two of their offensive tackles, Jaylon Moore and Jawaan Taylor, who are dealing with ailments. That means there have been some extra opportunities for rookie LT Josh Simmons, who is recovering from an injury of his own, to get some work in with the starting offensive line.

“Just trying to be as available as I can right now,” Simmons said to reporters after practice. “Whether that’s two-a-days, three-a-days, rehab sessions. I know Jaylon Moore and those guys are working their tails off. So, if they ever need a breather, I want to make sure I’m right behind them.”

Simmons says he’s taking things day by day, just working on learning the playbook and doing as much as possible to prepare himself for padded training camp practices and the 2025 NFL season. The extra opportunity to work with the starters at this juncture could be precisely what he needs to give himself a leg-up on the competition for the starting left tackle job when the competition truly kicks off during training camp and the preseason.

Chiefs UDFA that the rest of the NFL forgot to draft notches another interception

Leading into the 2025 NFL draft, the Chiefs already had one of the deepest linebacker groups they’ve had in a long time. Then, they added Jeffrey Bassa via the draft, plus Brandon George and Cooper McDonald as undrafted free agents.

George was a standout athlete in the pre-draft process, impressing with freakish testing numbers at the Pitt Pro Day. He has made a name for himself with that athleticism during OTAs, showing off a quick click-to-close ability in coverage. During Day 9 of OTAs, he might have been the best defensive player at practice, making multiple plays on the football, including an interception.

According to multiple media members, George notched a second interception during Day 1 of mandatory minicamp practices, diving to catch a deflected pass during 7-on-7 team drills. Ultimately, special teams will be George’s best path to the 53-man roster in Kansas City, but making plays on defense certainly doesn’t hurt his chances.