One of the fun things about the NFL season is the way that it sort of levels up over a period of time.
We get offseason activities, which are decidedly not football. Not everyone participates, the practices are slowed down, a lot of guys who are just being given a shot to show up at a camp are there… It doesn’t remotely resemble the final product. Then we get to the first few days of training camp, when it’s quarterbacks, rookies, and perhaps newer players along with a bunch of guys who are almost certainly not going to make the final 53. We hail that as football being back, but it’s really kinda, sorta, barely, a little football.
Then the entire team arrives for training camp, and it becomes kinda, sorta, barely football (notice we’ve removed “a little” there). Yes, now it’s the entire team and includes NFL-caliber talent everywhere. But it’s still just practice. And more importantly, the pads aren’t on.
Then comes the first padded practice, which is kinda, sorta football (I’ll circle back to that in a second, because that’s what we’re talking about today). Finally, we arrive at the preseason games, which is kinda football, but not all the way given the mixed lineups, vanilla playbooks, and teams looking more to see what guys have and practice than win. It’s a long, slow ramp-up over the course of several months that has us, by the time Week 1 rolls around, absolutely ready for real football to begin.
On Monday, we take another step in that “ramp up” period, as the Chiefs will put on pads during practice for the first time. As I talk about every year when discussing what matters and what doesn’t at training camp, padded practices are much closer to real football than non-padded practices. It changes the level of contact, the technique involved (not just in the trenches but for WRs/CBs on routes and in coverage), and helps separate players who are heroes in shorts (a term you’ll hear a lot of coaches use) from guys who can produce through actual contact.
That’s worth keeping in mind for any reports or clips you see coming from camp while guys are in shells (as well as the warnings I gave in the piece linked above about not getting too high or too low on any individual play). The short story is that without pads, contact is more light. And when contact is more light, the offense has a big advantage in the WR/CB matchups.
(NOTE - I’m back to gifs for today. Let me know in the comments whether we like the change back or want to stay with videos. It seems that the determining factor is whether people utilize the app, a browser, or email. I would note that I can add approximately 6 gifs per article, whereas there’s a much larger number of videos I can embed)
So now that football will be kinda, sorta football again, there are a number of things I’ll be watching for on Monday and beyond. Nine, to be precise. Let’s talk about them, starting with the one thing that has everyone buzzing right now.
Nobody has had a stronger hype train than Allen, who (as I’m writing this) is getting a TON of love on social media during a really strong practice. And it’s not just that he’s hauling in catches, but it’s the way he’s doing it that’s getting attention in that he’s separating often AND winning at the catch point even if he doesn’t.
(Shout out to Frazin V, who is a great follow for training camp videos)
Allen is a really interesting player (I would have a review written, but sadly his all-22 is TOUGH to come by) whose skillset is one that has a chance to really translate at the pro level. He was an excellent route runner in college and separated at a VERY high level against man and zone (Matt Harmon is someone I listen to about WRs, he does good work), something that matters when trying to project ability. He tested as an OK but not great athlete, but plays faster on the field than what he tested at in shorts. He has experience playing both the slot and outside. He’s definitely a bit undersized (a little over 5’11” and 183 pounds), but he’s not TINY in the modern NFL. And as you can see in the clip above, ball skills > size.
And again, the way that he’s been able to show up at camp SO FAR (we’ll get to the caveat in a moment) has been impressive. It hasn’t just been one or two highlights (that happens at camp), it’s been pretty consistent over multiple days. And he’s become, at least as of today, a guy that Mahomes has been targeting more than anyone else by a pretty sizeable margin with Rice in the training room and Kelce getting the veteran treatment (something that a text with a person who is present confirmed. The term “over and over again” was used).
That all sounds great. And yes, there’s precedent for exceptional route runners becoming good players in the league despite being a bit undersized (he’s less than an inch shorter and 7 pounds lighter than Stefon Diggs, as an example of a guy who has utilized route running and savvy and ball skills to become a terrific player). That said.
That. Said.
The pads come on Monday. Which means that the pressing at the line is going to be more physical. The corners are going to be grabbier at the stem and throughout routes, and will have more to grab on to. Actual contact will be a risk over the middle of the field. In other words, it’s kinda, sorta football. And the list of smaller WRs who were heroes in shells and disappeared when the pads come on is EXTENSIVE.
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