Chiefs Who Raised Their Stock in the Second Preseason Game
The Kansas City Chiefs improved their preseason record to 2-0 with a 17-10 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Friday. The Chiefs mainly gained their lead with a 41-yard pass from Chad Henne to Byron Pringle, a 17-yard touchdown pass from Henne to Mecole Hardman and a 36-yard pass from Shane Buechele to Marcus Kemp that set up their other touchdown. After those big plays and more big plays on non-scoring drives, they were able to hold on to their lead late in the game thanks to their final drive taking up the final 9:03 of game clock.
Against the Cardinals, seven primary non-starters made a clear impact in the game and raised their stock, making a greater case for a starting job or for a roster spot heading into the 2021 season.
Winner No. 1: WR Daurice Fountain
The momentum towards making a roster spot continues for fourth-year wideout Daurice Fountain as he had another strong performance for the Chiefs, bringing in all three targets that went his way for 54 yards, the second-most of the game. One of these receptions was a beautiful 41-yard reception near the left sideline on a go-route against Jace Whittaker, showing that he can make the big-time impact play as well. I'd like to see one more positive performance for Fountain, but at this point, I would certainly put Fountain in my top six wide receivers and my 53-man roster.
Winner No. 2: WR Byron Pringle
The other wide receiver who really stood out for the Chiefs was Byron Pringle, another player who Chiefs fans are correctly advocating for getting more playing time over the next few months. Pringle caught four of his five targets for a game-high 63 yards and was the highest-graded player on the Chiefs' offense for Pro Football Focus (PFF). At this point, in my mind, Pringle deserves to be one of three starting wide receivers alongside Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman, with Demarcus Robinson, Cornell Powell and Fountain coming in off the bench.
Winner No. 3: TE Jody Fortson
How many times are we going to have to go over this? Jody Fortson once again showed that he belongs on an NFL roster and Chiefs fans should want him on the final 53. In the past, we have seen this mainly due to his receiving ability, but this time, we saw it with his blocking. Fortson had 19 blocking snaps, including 16 run-blocking snaps, and he had a 70+ pass-blocking and run-blocking grade each. Fortson was very impressive as a blocker in this game, especially in the final drive of the game with his blocks to assist running back Derrick Gore, and he showed that his all-around ability ought to be enough to justify giving him a roster spot.
Winner No. 4: S Juan Thornhill
Well, that panic and discussion about Thornhill went away quickly. Following a disappointing first game of the preseason and a day of training camp where he often practiced with the third-string defense, speculation ran rampant about Thornhill's future with the Chiefs. Thornhill did as much as he could to quell that on Friday night with a tremendous diving interception in the end zone near the end of the first half. This interception, paired with consistently good play, earned Thornhill an 86.6 grade from PFF, the third-highest of the game for either team on offense or defense. Hopefully, this is the start of Thornhill's return to becoming an All-Pro safety, as I predicted last June.
Winner No. 5: CB Deandre Baker
After allowing zero catches on six targets with two pass breakups in his first preseason game against the 49ers, Baker allowed one catch on three targets with one pass breakup against the Cardinals, giving him another respectable performance in this preseason. Baker has continued showing his tackling ability as well, as he is 7-for-7 on tackling attempts since becoming a Chief last year, with some impressive individual tackling displays shown in there too. For me, Baker is a starting cornerback, but it seems like he will start the 2021 season as a backup at this point.
Winner No. 6: QB Shane Buechele
Let me start this off by saying that both of the young quarterbacks battling for the third spot, Buechele and Anthony Gordon, played well in this game. Gordon himself completed all seven of his passing attempts for 42 yards and four first downs. However, Gordon's average depth of target (aDoT) was merely 1.6 yards, meaning that his throws were extremely short. Buechele, on the other hand, completed 9-of-11 passing attempts for 115 yards, one touchdown and one interception, which happened as a result of wide receiver Gehrig Dieter falling down during his route. On top of that, Buechele's aDoT was a much more favorable 6.3, meaning he was attempting to make much deeper throws far more than Gordon. This also resulted in Buechele receiving a better PFF grade. As of now, Buechele is my third quarterback and should be a practice squad lock and Gordon stands as my fourth quarterback, where he'll likely be the odd man out but could potentially still make the practice squad as well.
Winner No. 7: DE Alex Okafor
Personally, I didn't notice that much from Okafor when watching live, but his numbers indicate he quietly had a great game. Okafor had two pressures with one QB hit in 19 pass rushes, earning him a 78.9 pass-rushing grade from PFF. Okafor also had a solid tackling grade, leading to an 83.3 overall grade on the game. This kind of performance could be big for a veteran trying to show he can still compete and make it on a final roster that ought to have five or six edge defenders with spots already locked up by Chris Jones, Frank Clark, Mike Danna and Joshua Kaindoh, in my opinion.
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