The Kansas City Chiefs are looking forward to seeing top draft pick Mansoor Delane on the field against Tampa Bay.
Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Mansoor Delane has been trending up lately, and he’ll shed his non-contact jersey to make his Chiefs debut in the team’s second preseason gamea against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night.
It’s taken longer than expected for Delane to get to this point. He missed nearly all of minicamp after sustaining a shoulder injury back in the spring, and the Chiefs’ top draft pick has spent the summer sporting a yellow non-contact jersey.
But the cornerback has been a full participant in three consecutive practices, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN, who said he’s been “competitive” in man-to-man reps covering top receivers Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, with fellow rookie Cyrus Allen emerging as a camp target in the last couple of weeks.
Delane is a projected starter, and coach Andy Reid said he’s been pleased with the cornerback’s development despite the injuries. Delane is expected to step right in as a starter, and given the draft capital the Chiefs invested to get him, they’re banking on the cornerback becoming a defensive star.
"You can see the talent," Reid said of Delane. "These next couple of weeks will be good for him. I like what I see. He's definitely not afraid out there -- or hesitant. If anything, you've got to tell him, 'OK, slow down and get those hands off of [the receiver].' He wants to snatch everybody. I mean, we play man [coverage].”’
Delane’s handsy tendencies had him wearing mitts to prevent him from holding during the one-on-one drill, which would undoubtedly lead to holding calls given his status as a rookie. The cornerback did give up a contested catch to Allen on a deep ball from backup QB, but according to Taylor he rebounded quickly with a pass breakup against Allen.
"He's a guy who has sticky coverage," defensive backs coach Dave Merritt said of Delane. "Getting him back in pads and seeing that he can actually tackle people now, hopefully that's going to show up this weekend."
The tackling part is something to watch on Saturday with Delane, as the Chiefs weren’t exactly sticky in that area. They consistently failed to set the edge against the Los Angeles Rams during LA’s opening drive in their first preseason game, and the Chiefs backups had some rough moments late in the game when backup Ty Simpson blitzed Kansas City with a couple of fourth-quarter touchdown passes.
