Two rookies on the O-line? Here’s who started for the Kansas City Chiefs to open camp

For all of the changes to the Chiefs’ roster, no position group felt the brunt of a Super Bowl loss harder than the offensive line. The Chiefs prioritized the protection for Patrick Mahomes after he had so little of it against Tampa Bay.

But even after signing a trio of former starters during free agency, trading for another starter and welcoming back one more from a COVID-19 opt-out, that overhaul included two rookies.

For now.

It’s training camp. And day one, at that. But the Chiefs opened with an offensive line of left tackle Orlando Brown (free agent signing), left guard Joe Thuney (free agent signing), center Creed Humphrey (rookie, second-round pick), right guard Trey Smith (rookie, sixth-round pick) and right tackle Mike Remmers.

Remmers is the lone returner among the group.

An overhaul, indeed.

“The O-line is a great group. We hang out a lot off the field,” Thuney said. “They’re a great group. A lot of great guys. Being out here, it’s just kind of an isolated bubble. It’s great to spend a lot of time with the guys and just keep building every day.”

The standout among the initial starting group is Smith, a sixth-round selection who fell in the draft because of a past health issue involving blood clots. The Chiefs medical staff looked at that history extensively before providing the front office a green light to draft him.

“He’s done a nice job — not that it’s 100% perfect,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He showed enough to legitimately be in that position — for right now. Then he’s gotta compete. We’ll see how all that goes when we get pads on.”

Other observations

• Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle took reps with the first team, as expected, and Antonio Callaway and Gehrig Dieter enjoyed a few snaps with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, too. The Chiefs cycled in rookie tight end Noah Gray plenty with the first team.

• L’Jarius Sneed and Charvarius Ward occupied the outside cornerback spots in the Chiefs’ base defense, but in a nickel package, Sneed shifted to the inside, where he played some last season. That allowed Mike Hughes to check in on the outside. The Chiefs acquired Hughes in an offseason trade with Minnesota. Deandre Baker also saw time there.

• The Chiefs’ initial selection of the 2021 NFL Draft, linebacker Nick Bolton, played with the second team. The Chiefs went with Anthony Hitchens, Ben Niemann and Willie Gay as their starters. Hitchens left early with a hamstring tweak. Niemann and Gay played as the linebackers in the nickel package.

• Safety Juan Thornhill played primarily with the second unit, leaving Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen as the two starters. Thornhill, who acknowledged over the weekend his January 2020 knee injury mentally affected him last year, played alongside Devon Key, who got the most snaps among the undrafted free agent group.

• As expected, Chris Jones played defensive end opposite Frank Clark, with Jarran Reed and Derrick Nnadi in the middle of the line. Clark arrived in camp on time, also as expected, after two arrests this offseason.

Standout plays

• A deep shot on the first play. Why not? Mahomes launched a pass to Tyreek Hill on the initial 7-on-7 snap, but the ball went through Hill’s arms.

• Similar play in 11-on-11. Better result. Mahomes found Demarcus Robinson on a right sideline fly pattern, with Charvarius Ward in coverage. Robinson also made an over-the-shoulder grab earlier in the day.

• Linebacker Willie Gay was all over the field, and he nearly rewarded himself with an interception. He got his hands on two passes from Mahomes.

• It wouldn’t be a practice with an off-script play from the quarterback, right? Mahomes found Tyreek Hill across the middle with his patented side arm flick.

• Mahomes hit Mecole Hardman in stride on a fly pattern down the left side, beating cornerback Deandre Baker.

• The day’s best catch belonged to rookie Cornell Powell, a sliding grab on a pass from third-string quarterback Shane Buechele.