4 takeaways from Day 8 of Chiefs training camp

The Kansas City Chiefs had the pads on for the third time at training camp on Thursday and everyone was beginning to look more comfortable working in them.

The offensive and defensive units were jelling in this third practice session, with some of the best energy levels of the week. Players are beginning to separate themselves from the pack as we inch closer to the first real test, which comes against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 of the preseason. It was a heavy install day, with some of the best 1-on-1 action that we’ve seen so far.

Here are four things that we’re taking away from the eighth day of Chiefs’ training camp:

Don't worry about Tyreek Hill's knee tendinitis

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Hill was back out and practicing after missing the past two days of practice with knee tendinitis. The word out of St. Joe was that the injury was not expected to be a serious issue and today reflected that. Hill was working at full speed at practice, catching the first touchdown pass of the day in team drills. His speed flashed on several occasions. He wore a compression sleeve on his left leg, but the knee tendinitis didn't appear to limit him at all. It's safe to say that this won't be an issue for Hill moving forward. https://twitter.com/KingdomKast/status/1423299658269356037 https://twitter.com/adamteicher/status/1423302022095278080 https://twitter.com/tuckerdfranklin/status/1423303653918658561 https://twitter.com/tuckerdfranklin/status/1423310903034974218

Young cornerbacks battling in 1-on-1 drills

AP Photo/Ed Zurga

Some of the young defensive backs really flashed during 1-on-1 periods on Thursday. Second-year CB BoPete Keyes, who has been quiet to this point in training camp, had some really nice repetitions against guys like Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson. He was sticky in coverage and made a few pass breakups or forced incompletions with his tight coverage. In addition to Keyes, trade acquisition Mike Hughes had some really good battles against Hill in 1-on-1. He seems like one of the only guys who has the speed to mirror and match a player like Hill on a consistent basis. The Chiefs need some guys to emerge as playmakers at the cornerback position, so the progress from these young players in the system is vital moving forward. https://twitter.com/EddieHigh/status/1423299722593415184 https://twitter.com/EddieHigh/status/1423301069053079560

Mecole Hardman continues to have a great camp

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Hardman continues to be one of the better performers on offense during Chiefs training camp. His speed has played a big factor in his success with team drills, especially on the deep balls. Long gone are the days where Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has to tell Hardman to run through the route. In 1-on-1 drills, it was a mixed bag for Hardman. At times he was able to get good separation. One area where he needs to improve is the sitdown and comeback routes, as the DBs have generally been able to hone in on the route before he breaks back to the football. Overall, there has been some really great progress from the third-year wideout. https://twitter.com/TommyKFEQ/status/1423295705343352840 https://twitter.com/KCChiefs_Matt/status/1423310866653581316 https://twitter.com/Chiefs/status/1423318084954124290

Joshua Kaindoh impressing with quickness and power

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kaindoh is quietly putting together a solid training camp. Some of the other rookies like Trey Smith and Noah Gray have been stealing the spotlight, but Kaindoh has been equally impressive in limited opportunities so far. He's been working with the first-, second- and third-team defense so far. Most times his quickness has been too much for the second- and third-team guys to handle. He also does a very good job of converting that speed to power and bull-rushing some guys. His dominance against the second- and third-team is why he has slowly been earning more repetitions with the first-team defense. If you look at his 1-on-1 battles against guys like Orlando Brown Jr. and Lucas Niang, they've rarely been able to get hands on him when he turns the corner. If he can continue to flash like this during the preseason, he'll make a strong case to see a heavy dose of snaps. https://twitter.com/tuckerdfranklin/status/1423316506344050701 https://twitter.com/SamMcDowell11/status/1423309468201275395 https://twitter.com/SSJWHB/status/1423314432134770691

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