Close attention is being paid to the running back rotation at Kansas City Chiefs training camp, especially with the emergence of rookie RB Isiah Pacheco.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire has consistently been the first player in the rotation for the team whether they’re working 1-on-1 drills, 7-on-7 drills, 9-on-7 drills or 11-on-11 drills. Outside of Edwards-Helaire, the team has mixed things up with a combination of Pacheco, Jerick McKinnon, Derrick Gore, Tayon Fleet-Davis and Ronald Jones. McKinnon, Pacheco and Jones have been the primary players to receive opportunities with the first-team offense.
Asked about how Jones is fitting into the rotation, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy praised his ability as a runner.
“RoJo (Ronald Jones) is doing a heck of a job,” Bieniemy told reporters on Sunday. “He’s obviously a big man, he’s done some good things running the football.”
Outside of running the football it sounds as if Jones has some work to do. The coaching staff in Kansas City expects their running backs to sport a certain level of versatility because it brings more value to the position. They want guys who can motion out of the backfield, catch the ball, block in the passing game and contribute on special teams.
“He just needs to continue becoming the football player we expect him to be because we expect our guys to do a lot from that running back position,” Bieniemy explained. “The thing that he’s done is he’s accepted the challenge and he’s doing things he really hasn’t done in the past.”
Jones is clearly still learning what the Chiefs expect of him with two weeks of training camp under his belt. Despite the new challenges, Bieniemy is pleased with the way that Jones has gone about his business.
“The thing that I love about (Ronald Jones) — every single day he comes out here and works his tail off,” Bieniemy concluded.
The work isn’t over for Jones, with another seven days of training camp practices. There is also the upcoming preseason game against the Chicago Bears, which could help propel Jones up the team’s depth chart in the eyes of the coaching staff.
