Four storylines at Chiefs training camp deserve more attention. They could be vital

The Chiefs convened near the 25-yard-line, Patrick Mahomes waiting to learn the play for the offense, Nick Bolton awaiting the signal for the defense.

But as the offense huddled a handful of plays into Friday’s practice, the offense first made a quick substitution.

In: Wanya Morris.

Out: Kingsley Suamataia.

Back and forth they’ve gone. While Suamataia has spent some days working exclusively with the first team during training camp, and appears to have a leg up, the Chiefs have kept alive the most intriguing battle of training camp: the starting left tackle.

Who will protect the blind side of Patrick Mahomes? That’s the most prominent storyline for a two-time defending Super Bowl champion.

But it’s not the only one.

There are a few storylines in St. Joseph — under-the-radar plots, if you will — deserving of more publicly.

Such as:

1. Who is the Chiefs’ the third-down back?

This is not a question about the depth chart at running back in case of injury to starter Isiah Pacheco — though that is also valid — but rather about a specific role.

Who plays on third downs when it’s obvious the Chiefs will be throwing the football?

A year ago, even as he missed a significant amount of time with injury, Jerick McKinnon was still heavily involved in the passing game on third downs. You might be surprised to know, actually, that McKinnon had as many third-down receptions last season as Travis Kelce. Really. They each finished with 15, which only trailed Rashee Rice’s 18.

McKinnon led the team in third-down receptions per game.

Pacheco, Deneric Prince and Clyde Edwards-Helaire have been rotating (in that order) at running back during training camp, but those three combined for all of five catches for 17 yards and one first down on third-down situations last season.

A year earlier, Pacheco did not have a single third-down reception. (Edwards-Helaire had two.)

The Chiefs don’t have an obvious answer on their roster, in other words, and it’s likely Pacheco and Edwards-Helaire split those duties. Keep in mind that pass protection goes into that job.

2. The Chiefs wide receiver carousel

OK, the wide receivers aren’t exactly under the radar, but I’m going to alter the topic within the ongoing conversation.

There have been plenty of discussions about how the Chiefs could use rookie Xavier Worthy and newcomer Hollywood Brown, and plenty more talk about which wideouts will crack the roster.

But I’m going to focus on another question. Forget, for a moment who will make the roster. How many will make it? How many should?

Not seven.

Not again.

A year ago, the Chiefs made a mistake in keeping an astounding seven receivers on their initial 53-man roster out of training camp for the first time in Andy Reid’s tenure in Kansas City. Well, astounding is one word for it.

Another: unnecessary.

Their sixth and seven options, Richie James and Justyn Ross, combined for 16 catches, 167 yards and 0 touchdowns for the entire season. And, honestly, they used the depth of the roster more than I anticipated.

That’s not a good thing. Mahomes and the receivers struggled to get on the same page, and you can’t help but wonder if rotating so many of them early in the season slowed that process. It probably did.

Look, I delved into this a year ago, pointing out the Chiefs rarely get much production (other than special teams) from their fifth wideout, let another their sixth, and particularly not their seventh.

The question here, in that case, is whether the Chiefs have learned from their own past, or whether they’re enticed to repeat it.

3. The quarterback

No, the other one.

The Chiefs are employing their third No. 2 quarterback in three seasons, with Carson Wentz the clear-cut backup to Mahomes. A year ago, it was Blaine Gabbert, brought in after the retirement of Chad Henne.

If the first couple of weeks in St. Joseph are any indication — and I’ll say it’s at least some — the Chiefs have vastly improved at the position.

In the first padded practice of camp, Wentz dominated a two-minute drill scenario — even more effectively than the first team — and capped it with a perfectly-thrown fade pass to Justyn Ross for a touchdown.

We’re talking about a backup, I realize, but I’ll say this: It’s not nothing. Gabbert only started once a year ago, a game in which the Chiefs opted to sit their starters, but it’s not as though the backup quarterback hasn’t been called in the past — and in the most crucial games, at that.

In 2022, the Chiefs had to turn to Henne for 13 snaps in a playoff game while Mahomes begrudgingly went to the locker room to ensure his ankle wasn’t broken. Henne led a touchdown drive in a game the Chiefs would win by 7.

In 2020, Henne played the entire fourth quarter and half the third quarter — again, of a playoff game — against the Browns, finishing off a 22-17 win after Mahomes left with concussion symptoms.

In 2019, Matt Moore left his job as a high school coach and started two games for the Chiefs after Mahomes suffered a dislocated knee cap.

The hope is Wentz doesn’t play a single meaningful snap.

The point here is he is more equipped to play a meaningful snap than any backup quarterback Mahomes has had.

4. The Nick Bolton-Drue Tranquill pairing

The Chiefs had 34 defensive lineup combinations that they used on at least five plays a year ago.

Know how many included Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill?

Zero.

He was so effective a year ago that it can be forgotten that Tranquill was actually brought in to Kansas City to be more of a backup. Bolton’s injury paved the way for more playing time, and, in turn, Tranquill earned a spot on the field even once Bolton got healthy.

But while the two were in the same positional group on the same roster, they rarely actually shared the field together.

That will change this season.

It adds a different dynamic to the Chiefs defense, most notably because Tranquill wore the green dot most of last year as the play-caller. That role reverts back to Bolton, but the knowledge remains. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Tranquill frequently helps line up defensive players after spotting pre-snap motion, even assisting the secondary.

And Tranquill, by the way, has been an early standout at training camp.