{"id":665,"date":"2016-09-05T15:03:50","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T19:03:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=665"},"modified":"2016-09-05T15:03:50","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T19:03:50","slug":"kansas-city-chiefs-rookie-takeaways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2016\/09\/05\/kansas-city-chiefs-rookie-takeaways\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas City Chiefs Rookie Takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"

The preseason is over and the final roster cuts\u00a0have been\u00a0made.\u00a0Only one player that the Kansas City Chiefs<\/strong> drafted was cut.\u00a0Kevin Hogan<\/strong><\/a>, one of two fifth-round draft picks, was released to\u00a0complete the 53-man cut down.\u00a0The Chiefs drafted nine players total, and\u00a0while keeping eight of the nine is\u00a0quite impressive, some rookies looked better than others during the preseason.\u00a0Here are\u00a0some of takeaways about the Chiefs rookies<\/span> so far.<\/p>\n

Kansas City Chiefs Rookie Takeaways<\/h2>\n

Kansas City has a couple rookies that have showed plenty of potential. thus far.\u00a0Some might see\u00a0the field\u00a0this year,\u00a0while others\u00a0could see their playing time\u00a0increase in future seasons.\u00a0The Chiefs first draft pick came in the second round, where they selected Chris Jones<\/a><\/strong> out of Mississippi State<\/strong>. It is safe to say that Jones will see playing time this season for the Chiefs, as he\u2019s shown to have a very quick first step.<\/p>\n

People do not always\u00a0notice how the defensive line is playing, but look closely at Jones. The former Bulldog will see playing time on the defensive line as either an end or a tackle.\u00a0He anticipates the call very well and can disrupt offensive lines very quickly. If Jones plays like he did in the preseason during the regular season, offenses will have to watch out.<\/p>\n

Depth From the Middle Rounds<\/h3>\n

Kansas City has had some rough offensive line play over the past couple of seasons. The franchise\u00a0hopes that left guard Parker Ehinger<\/strong><\/a> can help protect Alex Smith<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span> this season.\u00a0 The Chiefs drafted Ehinger in the fourth round out of Cincinnati<\/strong>. It is unsure how many mistakes the coaching staff will let the former Bearcat\u00a0make before pulling him\u00a0in favor of\u00a0Zach Fulton<\/strong><\/a><\/span>,<\/span> though.\u00a0With that said, if he is able to hold his own for the most part there\u00a0will be\u00a0no need to take him out of the game.<\/p>\n

A lot has been said about the Chiefs’ fifth-round pick Tyreek Hill <\/strong><\/a>but\u00a0this is not about\u00a0the off-the-field issues he had in college. Hill has shown flashes of being a great special teams player.\u00a0He could also be used as a deep threat receiver.\u00a0However, Hill has dropped a few passes that he should have caught.\u00a0It might take him a little\u00a0while to find his way onto the offense.\u00a0Kansas City loves his explosiveness and speed, and the team wants to see some big plays from him.<\/p>\n

A Late Round Contributor?<\/h2>\n

The final draft pick for Kansas City was Dadi Nicolas <\/strong><\/a>out of Virginia Tech<\/strong>.\u00a0The former Hokie has shown some great pass rushing talent\u00a0from of the outside linebacker spot. Kansas City is looking for help on their pass rush with Justin Houston<\/a><\/strong> being out for at least the first six weeks.\u00a0Tamba Hali<\/a><\/strong> helps out a lot, but he is getting older and has his own injuries that he\u2019s dealing with.\u00a0Nicolas could become an effective pass rusher in a few years for the Chiefs, but will need to put on more muscle.\u00a0Nicolas is currently around 235\u00a0pounds,\u00a0while\u00a0a lot of outside linebackers are closer to 250 to 260 pounds. As Nicolas puts on more weight and\u00a0familiarizes himself with\u00a0the defensive playbook, he could see more playing time for this team.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n