Cyrus Allen Is Standing Out at Chiefs Training Camp: 'Pat's Got Some Trust There'

It is only the first week of training camp, and the Chiefs are not yet in full pads. With that said, when Andy Reid tells you that Patrick Mahomes has developed trust in a fifth-round rookie receiver after just a handful of practices, that is worth paying attention to.

Day 3 NFL Draft pickup Cyrus Allen is turning heads early on.

"Cyrus had a good day today with him," Reid said following Wednesday's full-squad practice. "I think Pat's got some trust there. We've got a long way to go, but we've just got to keep growing."

Allen arrived in St. Joseph a few days ahead of the veterans, as all rookies did, which gave him extra time with Mahomes before the entire squad descended upon Missouri Western State University's campus. Reid acknowledged that the head start has worked in Allen's favor.

"He’s got talent, obviously. He's been able to retain, plus he got a lead-up here for three days before he got out there today," Reid said. "The stuff that he was doing, he's been doing the last couple of days."

Allen had an interesting journey to becoming a fifth-round pick. He spent four collegiate seasons across three programs, beginning at Louisiana Tech before transferring to Texas A&M and ultimately landing at Cincinnati, where he put together the best year of his career.

As a senior with the Bearcats, he caught 51 passes for 674 yards and 13 touchdowns, with just one drop on 69 targets. His profile coming out of the draft was that of an elite separator, particularly against man coverage, something the KCSN Draft Guide noted as his calling card.

Allen backed that up in his pre-draft testing with an 11-foot broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine, ranking near the top of the 2026 class.

What made him an intriguing fit in Kansas City specifically is that the Chiefs' receiving room tends to thrive against zone. That is what tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Rashee Rice really excel at.

Allen is the exception. He is a man-beater, and in a league where defenses increasingly deploy man coverage against Mahomes, that is a skill set worth developing.

For Allen, the early days of camp have been a crash course on what NFL football demands.

"They definitely were right that this is one of the hardest training camps for sure," Allen said. "Just getting my feet wet and understanding the playbook and everything, and just keep going, for real. That's really it."

It is well known that Reid likes his receivers to know all positions, whether it is the X, Y, or Z. Allen is seemingly taking that in stride as well.

"Just learning every spot," Allen said when asked what the toughest part of camp has been. "I'm a guy that tried to learn the whole playbook, even the protections and everything, so that's kind of how I think, so I can be available for it if my number is called."

The bigger picture here is what Allen's emergence means for a wide receiver room that needs contributors beyond the top three. Rice, Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton, who signed a new two-year deal this offseason, are the receivers locked into roles on this team.

Below them, the competition seems genuinely open. Jalen Royals, a fourth-round pick from just a year ago, finished 2025 with two catches for four yards on 86 snaps.

Nikko Remigio, the longest-tenured player in the system among those vying for those snaps and the team's primary return man, rounds out the group of players Allen will be working against for reps behind the starting three.

The question heading into camp was not whether Allen would make this team. It was how high up the depth chart he could climb and whether he could be a sure-fire fourth wide receiver by the time the season opens.

Three days in, he is trending up.

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