ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — He’s not a starter but there’s no doubt that Drue Tranquill has established himself as one of the most important pieces of the defense for coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in his short time with the Chiefs.
“It’s nice to have guys like that that that can do more than one thing,” Spagnuolo said. “Right now he’s played all three baseline backup positions and then he’s been in the sub package when he’s been in with Nick (Bolton). Plus he’s been in there in the Mike with one of the other linebackers. That helps us a lot.”
It’s a role Tranquill relishes after four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. Now he gets to showcase a complete skillset in a way he felt he didn’t with the AFC West rivals.
I think just my versatility as a linebacker, my ability to cover, my ability to rush, my ability to play the run, and my instincts,” Tranquill said. “That’s one thing you can’t teach physically is instincts, and out of any position on the defense, maybe you have to have the most of is linebacker when it comes to instincts. And so I think all those things along with some intangibles and leadership. I think they saw those, they affirm those in me throughout the process. And I certainly agreed with them. And it felt like this was the best place for me.
Spagnuolo and linebackers coach Brendan Daley have been creative in getting Tranquill on the field. He’s the primary backup at all three linebacker positions and has manned the middle linebacker role — the “Mike” linebacker, the quarterback on the defense — with the second team. He also took over the role when Bolton missed practice due to illness.
“I thought it went really well,” Tranquill said. “I thought guys were lined up. We were playing fast. Certainly, there’s always corrections to make, but it felt smooth, felt comfortable felt a lot better than the spring when I was learning it for the first time.”
How quickly Tranquill has picked up the scheme has impressed Spagnuuolo.
“Listen, it’s all new to him as far as the verbiage and the system,” Spagnuolo said. “So it tells you that he’s pretty intelligent if he’s playing that many spots this early.”
The Chargers were 2-6 against the Chiefs during Tranquill’s time with the Chargers. “It seems like we couldn’t beat them in the fourth quarter, or overtime over the past two, three years,” he said.
As a competitor, he makes it plain that he wants to be a world champion.
“As coach Reid says, anybody can do it one time, but going back to back sets you apart,” he said. “And that’s what we’re after. Got to keep the chip on our shoulder this year, because everybody’s obviously going to be out to get us.”
That winning desire is another reason why Spagnuolo wants to find ways to get Tranquill on the field early and often.
“We know he’s a guy that’s played in the league, right, he’s been a starter,” Spagnuolo said. “So we try to find spots to get him out there right away. We’ve got three pretty good players there in base now. But we got some packages and we can do some things with him. We’ll kind of see how that all evolves. But it’s nice to have, it’s really nice.”
Notes & Observations
Morning showers left the practice fields damp for the club’s training camp practice Monday but most of the precipitation left before the stretch period started at 9:13 a.m. As the final practice before a day off Tuesday and following three days of padded practice, Monday was a 10-10-10 practice. The 80-minute session consisted of alternating periods of 10 plays for the offense, 10 plays for the defense and 10 minutes of special teams work.
The first offensive session featured plenty of shops deep downfield with Mahomes targeting Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, Richie James, Justin Watson and Justyn Ross.
The first defensive period opened in a sub package with Joshua Williams stepping in as the third corner on the right side opposite L’Jarius Sneed with Trent McDuffie in the slot. The Chiefs also kicked edge rusher Mailk Herring inside with George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu outside. That flexibility could boost Herring’s bid for the 53-player roster, said defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
“If you look out there Malik’s in a lot of different spots to in different packages,” Spagnuolo said. “Here’s a guy that’s been here for a number of years, so he’s heard it. From the mental part he’s much further ahead than some of the other guys.”
McDuffie had a successful corner blitz during the first defensive series as well. The only breakdown by the defense came when quarterback Shane Buechele found receiver Nikko Remigio behind safety Bryan cook for a deep strike.
In Monday’s punt return period, James continued holding his No. 1 position in the rotation followed by Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Remigio and Moore.
For the second offensive series, the first-team unit focused on the run with Clyde Edwards-Helaire getting the bulk of the work followed by Deneric Prince and Jerick McKinnon. Moore and James also saw snaps in a Wildcat formation, and Rice received a pass on a jet sweep from Buechele.
The pass defense was strong in the second defensive series with Williams defending two passes and edge rusher George Karlaftis dropping into coverage to knockdown a pass intended for Cornell Powell. Justin Reid finished the sequence with an interception from his deep safety position.
In the third and final team series of plays, Mahomes connected with six different receivers. The defense finished up with a red-zone series that started with Omenihu knocking down a Blaine Gabbert pass at the line of scrimmage. Buechele also threw back-to-back touchdown passes to tight end Matt Bushman and Remigio.
Injury Report
Punter Tommy Townsend went over to the medical tent after appearing to lose his footing after a punt. He later returned to the field but did not take any more punts. He was not listed on the team’s injury report.
Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to practice after missing time due to an illness. Not practicing Monday were Mike Danna (calf), tight end Jody Fortson (shoulder) and wide receiver Kadarius Toney (knee). Defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (knee) remains on the physically unable to perform list while defensive tackle Chris Jones has yet to report to camp.
Wide receiver Ty Scott was not on the practice field but the club did not specify a reason.
Defensive Tackle Rotation
There’s no doubt the Chiefs miss the presence of Jones on the interior defensive line. While Daniel Wise has taken most of the reps alongside veteran Derrick Nnadi, Spagnuolo also noted Matt Dickerson, who is with the club for a second stint after spending part of training camp with the team last season.
“Matt was with us a year ago and it’s good to have him back, Matt Dickerson,” Spagnuolo said. “I think he’s getting – and he’ll get more reps as we go here. But we need to find out what we have in there, and there’s some unknowns inside.”
Spagnuolo also notes there’s a long way to go before Week 1 against Detroit.
Defensive line coach Joe Cullen has used a heavy rotation during training camp with Dickerson, Danny Shelton and Phil Hoskins on the second team and rookie Keondre Coburn rising up the depth chart. The team at some point is hoping Wharton can rejoin the mix in his return from an torn ACL.
“There’s pretty good competition inside there with all those big guys,” he said. “So we’ll see how it all surfaces.”
What’s Next?
The Chiefs have an off day on Tuesday but are back on the practice fields at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday on the campus of Missouri Western State University. The squad will hold morning practices Wednesday through Saturday this week with each workout starting at 9:15 a.m.
Tickets for most practices are free but must be reserved online.
