Darrius Shepherd, from Blue Springs High, fulfills childhood dream with KC Chiefs

Wide receiver Darrius Shepherd went to a couple of Chiefs games at Arrowhead Stadium while growing up in the Kansas City area.

He further remembers being in the backyard of his house as a child to emulate the likes of tight end Tony Gonzalez, running back Priest Holmes and wide receiver Dante Hall.

Going back to elementary school, Shepherd, who prepped at Blue Springs High School, also had a dream, which has now become reality.

“When you’re in second grade and your teacher asks what you want to be when you grow up, it’s be a Kansas City Chiefs football player,” Shepherd said after Monday’s practice. “That was kind of the dream up until college, and then it was it didn’t really matter where I go. Then, you get that phone call and I was super excited to come be a part of this.”

The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Shepherd received the telephone call from the Chiefs on June 17 following a successful minicamp tryout. While he’s thrilled to be with the team, he does bring NFL experience and talent.

Shepherd originally entered the league in 2019 as an undrafted free agent out of North Dakota State with the Green Bay Packers. In 2019 and 2020, he appeared in 14 total games with the Packers, totaling six catches for 47 yards, while contributing on special teams as a returner, averaging 18.7 return yards on 20 attempts.

He now goes from Aaron Rodgers to Patrick Mahomes, two of the NFL’s elite signal-callers, to catch passes from.

“I just think they’re both top-level quarterbacks, they’re both fierce competitors,” Shepherd said. “It’s super exciting to play with those high-level guys. It makes it a lot easier on receivers, too.”

In his first training camp with his childhood favorite team, Shepherd has worked mostly with the second- and third-team offenses.

But he’s done enough through five training camp practices, including hauling in consecutive catches during a team drill Monday morning, to impress offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

“The thing that I love about him, wherever you put him, he finds a way to make the play the right way,” Bieniemy said. “He runs very good routes, he has a little quick twitch in him, and the kid has great hands. He’s been fun to watch and he’s been fun to work with.”

There remains work to be done for Shepherd and he has a tough road ahead to crack the initial 53-player roster when considering the competition.

Shepherd joins a deep wide receiver position, headlined by Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, Byron Pringle, rookie Cornell Powell and Antonio Callaway, among others.

The Blue Springs product needs to stand out to show he belongs, and Shepherd understands what he must do the rest of training camp and three preseason games to assist the process.

“I just need to show up each day, be consistent, handle my business and make plays when they come my way,” he said.

PARTICIPATION REPORT

The Chiefs announced after practice that safety Juan Thornhill and wide receiver Chad Williams each suffered a groin injury, while tight end Evan Baylis suffered an ankle injury.

Thornhill was observed walking to the medical tent with two trainers during the first full team-drill practice session. The safety spent a few minutes in the tent for evaluation purposes before walking up the hill under his own power.

Tackle Mike Remmers (back) and running back Darwin Thompson (reserve/COVID-19 list) were not present in the practice field area. Remmers has now missed two straight practices.

Linebacker Ben Niemann, who tweaked his hamstring in Saturday’s practice, did not work. Niemann joined offensive lineman Kyle Long (knee), tight end Nick Keizer (back spasms) and defensive end Malik Herring (knee) off to the side with trainers at the rehabilitation area.

Tight end Travis Kelce, who dealt with back and hip tightness last week, returned to a full practice with the first-team unit.

Safety Armani Watts, who started training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP list) while recovering from a foot injury, returned to practice Monday.

Linebacker Anthony Hitchens, who tweaked his hamstring last week, continued to participate in stretching and conditioning only.

‘REAL FOOTBALL’ BEGINS

Monday marked the last day of the mandatory five-day acclimation period, which featured players in shorts and helmets.

The pads officially come on Tuesday.

“That’s real football,” defensive tackle Jarran Reed said. “When you put the pads on, that’s when you let the pads do the talking.”

One of the top areas to watch Tuesday surrounds the one-on-one drills pitting defensive linemen against offensive linemen.

“That’s the time you really get to thump, get the wrinkles out and everything gets going,” Reed said. “It’s an exciting day.”

OBSERVATIONS

• Quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t have the sharpest of practices, throwing three interceptions — all to linebackers — during team drills. Willie Gay Jr., rookie Nick Bolton and Darius Harris each recorded a pick. “Today, we didn’t have a very good day,” offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said after practice.

• Tight end Noah Gray also had a practice to forget. He dropped a pass and appeared to stop his route, allowing Bolton to make an easy interception off Mahomes.

• With Mike Remmers still on the mend, rookie Lucas Niang was up first at right tackle with the starting unit during team drills. Andrew Wylie then rotated in at the spot on the second 11-on-11 team session.

• The Chiefs practiced Monday without Hitchens and Niemann. Up next, Darius Harris at middle linebacker with Gay and Bolton on the outside in a 4-3 base. This is the same look from Saturday after Niemann left practice.

• Wide receiver Marcus Kemp made a nice diving catch during 7-on-7 drills along the right sideline. Kemp got behind the coverage and quarterback Chad Henne delivered a well-placed pass.

• Tight end Jody Fortson, who is quietly having a good training camp, saw some repetitions with the first-team unit during team drills. He made the most of the opportunity by hauling in a pass over the middle from Mahomes.