Mandatory minicamp has officially kicked off for the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday, June 13.
This is the first time that all 90 of the Chiefs’ players are required to get on the field and work together during the course of the 2023 NFL offseason. There is still no live contact permitted during these practice sessions, but the team can run 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 team drills as they did during OTAs.
Here are six players that you should keep an eye on once the team hits the practice field:
DL Charles Omenihu
One of the reasons that Omenihu was such an attractive signing for Kansas City was because he offered a fair amount of positional flexibility, with experience playing numerous positions up and down the defensive line. With some questions about whether Chris Jones will attend mandatory minicamp and Tershawn Wharton still sidelined due to his knee injury, I wonder if Omenihu won’t work on the defensive interior with greater frequency earlier in the offseason while getting some work on the edge later when training camp arrives.
OL Wanya Morris
With some absences at the offensive tackle position during OTAs, Morris managed to get some action with the first-team offense, lining up at left tackle. With all 90 players expected to be in attendance over the next three days, where will Morris fall in the pecking order? Will the team continue to mix things up or will they settle on veteran Donovan Smith as their starting left tackle? I get the sense that Morris could be in line for a role as swing tackle in Kansas City this year.
WR Rashee Rice
With all of the wide receiver talk surrounding the Chiefs this offseason, this second-round draft pick certainly had a quiet time during OTAs. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as he’s still a rookie learning the ropes, but if you’re the Chiefs you probably want to see him take a step forward in mandatory minicamp. Whether that means making a few standout plays during team drills or carving out some time with the first-team unit on offense, any sort of progress is what you’re looking for here.
WR Justyn Ross
There is no player with more offseason hype than Justyn Ross, who is back healthy after missing the entirety of the 2022 NFL season due to injury. With some absences in the wide receiver room during OTAs, Ross got a little run with the first-team offense. The truth is that he still has a long road to making the 53-man roster and we’ll get a good idea of where the team envisions him this upcoming season with the entire 90-man offseason roster present.
DE George Karlaftis
With Frank Clark now a Denver Bronco, the Chiefs are going to be looking to the second-year Karlaftis to pick up where he left off and then some. He’s spent a lot of time this offseason attempting to unlock that next level of his game, working alongside Chiefs legend Tamba Hali to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He’s also seemingly taken up yoga in order to unlock a greater level of flexibility in his game. How will that all translate on the football field? I think we’ll begin to see a glimpse into that this week.
LB Drue Tranquill
One of the more surprising free agent acquisitions this offseason, Tranquill has been a standout during OTAs, making a number of plays on the ball in team drills. There tends to be some belief that Tranquill will play in certain subpackage looks for Kansas City, but I’m wondering if he won’t get some action in the base defense as well given his performance. He’s the type of player who could take the Chiefs’ linebacker corps from good to great.
