The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Cyrus Allen in the fifth round, and he had a good weekend as rookies reported.
The Kansas City Chiefs desperately need one of their wide receivers to step up and play big, and fifth-round draft pick Cyrus Allen is answering the call as the rookies took the field this weekend.
This isn’t the name you were expecting, right? Allen is way down the depth chart, but yesterday he made a leaping catch in the end zone over two defenders, according to a camp update from Nate Taylor of ESPN, who mentioned Allen’s initial reaction to working with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
"It's still a surreal moment for me because I used to play the [Madden NFL] game with Pat a lot," Allen said about Mahomes, who’s basically been living at the Chiefs’ facility as he continues to rehab from knee surgery. "I'm pretty familiar with what he [does]. That was my favorite team."
Now Allen has a chance to be part of that team. His direct competition will be Nikko Remigio and Jalen Royals as he tries to make the roster the fourth receiver, but there’s a larger opportunity at hand if he can continue to hold his own against the veterans.
The Chiefs have been hoping to get more from Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, but both receivers have been disappointments, albeit in completely different ways. Worth has been hurt constantly, while Rice has hurt the team with his off-field issues.
Meanwhile, Allen is focusing on using his strengths in route running to master the nuances of making himself available against zone coverage.
"Everything is pretty much timing," Allen said. "This [isn't] college anymore. This is big-boy ball. I'm on his time, and everything is very precise."
Coach Andy Reid added some tips about those all-important nuances. He’s clearly not fussy about who’s going to provide the help at this point, and getting a contribution from someone like Allen would be huge. The Chiefs have been linked to multiple free agents at receiver, but so far they've shown no inclination to go in that direction.
Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy have him working on his pre-snap awareness to better anticipate coverage, according to Taylor, as this will help him make quicker decisions about being even more precise in his route running. But Allen knows the results are on him, no matter how much extra coaching he gets.
"They don't play," Allen said of Reid and Bieniemy. "Everything is intentional and process-oriented. Coach EB is definitely pounding us every day with our [jersey] tucked in. Everything is pretty structured."
