Before we beak open the introduction session of the 2022 football season commencing at camp, let’s handle some recent off-field stuff.

The Chiefs inked street free agent DE Carlos Dunlap. The very veteran pass-rusher (33 years old) was released by Seattle earlier in the offseason for cap reasons. He visited the Panthers last month, visited the Chiefs Thursday and never got out of town. This is a great addition and a much needed jolt of energy for the pass rush. Dunlap tallied 8.5 sacks for the Seahawks last year. Good move Mr. Veach!

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire opened pre-camp on the PUP list but promptly got his activation a day before camp kicked off. Reasons for the PUP were not revealed other than a big-blanket statement of "nothing major."

Other PUP guys that are still PUP guys for now:CB Rashad Fenton, RT Lucas Niang and OL Prince Tega Wanogho.

LT Orlando Brown is NOT in camp. The big guy wants big bucks and so far GM Veach is not convinced Big Boy Brown merits elite LT money. There are some well-respected talent evaluators around the game who have a lesser opinion of Brown than the player has himself. One extremely successful former O-line coach flat out noted, "He’s not THAT good!" This could be a long one folks.

Undrafted WR Justyn Rosswas placed on IR, killing his rookie season. Ross hasn’t been healthy since his freshman year at Clemson.

Former-Kansas City RT Mitchell Schwartz announced his retirement. As the Chiefs’ RT Schwartz was one of the best in football. He was a 1^st- team All-Pro in 2018 and earned2^nd- team All-Pro 3 times.

He’s got a lot of catching-up to do before he starts doing a lot of catching. 2^nd- round rookie Skyy Moore missed the majority of offseason programs with a left hamstring injury.Mecole Hardman has new life folks!

Okay… I know it is early so here are just a few camp notes to kick around. Yeah, it’s early to determine anything with confidence but knowing how Coach Reid operates, we can get a good idea of what players are already ticketed for priority ink in the weekly game plans.

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster came out of the camp starting blocks like a possessed PPR demon. QB Patrick Mahomes was slinging it to JuJu repeatedly and on-time. It is obvious Smith-Schuster was stoked for the opening of camp as he ran with great energy and purpose, dialed in on tne football and even laying out already for a tough catch. With Travis Kelce’s dominating presence down the seams Smith-Schuster is going to find wide-open ranges underneath. A PPR beast once again? Shades of his sophomore year shocker when he captured 111 passes and over 1400 yards? Stay tuned… but it is looking darn exciting gang.

While Kelce and Smith-Schuster are drawing enemy secondaries in-and-between the hash marks Marquez Valdes-Scantling is free to scorch single coverage in his 7, 8 and 9 routes. MVS and Mahomes have been ‘on’ all during the ‘non’ season and picked right up to open camp, though the volume of plays to MVS on Day 1 was not abundant. Valdes-Scantling won’t bust out with 60-70 catches, maybe 50-55, but he just cannot be stopped man-up on the outside. If his hands improve over what he showed in Green Bay… look out and bombs-away!

And here’s the thing that is really refreshing and fantasy football enticing… Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling are not pegged as inside/slot guy or deep-route specialist. Both wideouts are taking their stems inside, outside and through all levels of the secondary so far. Matter-of-fact, all KC receivers are invading all spaces of the field. Lord, thinking about 6’4 MVS matched up with a slot-DB inside and turning on those 4.3-forty jets?

Skyy Moore did make it onto the field and is running with the 2s. Good news is he is running without restrictions after battling hammy issues in non-season activities.

RB news needs to be put on hold until some real contact starts. I do have some feelings however, about some inconvenient truths. Honestly, Clyde Edwards-Helaire is not the RB the Chiefs thought they were getting as a late 1^st-round pick a few years ago. At this point I see no real separation between CEH and the veteran who was let go and signed with the Cardinals, Darrel Williams.That’s still a solid RB out there, but not the ‘special’ YFS machine we figured on. Ronald Jones may seriously threaten Edwards-Helaire as the lead carry-getter. Jones at least has shown he can chunk-out big gainers and find the endzone.

IDP thoughts and RB clarity next Eye in the Sky Report from Kansas City.

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