Kahlil Benson takes control as Chiefs right tackle starter

On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs held their seventh full-squad practice of training camp — and their third padded workout of the summer.

Lightning in the area sent the Chiefs into the indoor facility for their install period, but they came back outside for the rest of practice.

Kansas City is in the midst of six straight practice days running from Monday through Saturday.

Battle watch: Kahlil Benson continues to hold down right tackle

For the second straight day, undrafted free agent lineman Kahlil Benson took all the first-team reps at right tackle. Jaylon Moore worked at left tackle and Esa Pole worked at right tackle with the second team.

Now in training camp’s seventh full-squad practice, Benson has taken the majority of reps with the first team at right tackle. He will have to continue to prove it in the days to come and during the preseason, but right now, it’s fair to say he has emerged from dark-horse candidate to early favorite to win the job.

The Chiefs still need to identify their starting cornerbacks and their primary SAM linebacker, but those competitions have been tougher to read because of the circumstances.

Cornerbacks Mansoor Delane (shoulder) and L’Jarius Sneed (lower-body maintenance) are still limited, and Kristian Fulton has missed the last two days with a hip injury. That has left Melvin Smith and Nohl Williams as the primary outside cornerbacks throughout practice.

Veteran linebacker Drue Tranquill missed Wednesday’s workout with back spasms, which meant more time for Jack Cochrane. The coaching staff is never shy with its praise when talking about Cochrane.

“Jack knows everything,” Andy Reid said. “Jack knows all the positions. He knows everything. He’s a good special teams player on top of that. So you feel comfortable as a coach putting him in any of the spots, and he knows that part of it. So you need a couple of guys like that out there.”

Rashee Rice takes another step toward full-go status

The Chiefs had been cautious with wide receiver Rashee Rice at the beginning of camp after his offseason knee debridement, but it finally feels like the training wheels are coming off.

Rice participated in 11-on-11 Wednesday, but it was rare to see him stay on the field for two plays in a row. He must have felt OK because, toward the middle of practice in 7-on-7, he stayed on the field for at least three straight plays.

“He got a lot of good reps today, which is important,” Reid said of Rice. “Ease back in and just keep working. We know he’s a good football player, and you can see he actually got better as practice went on, so that was a good thing.”

In red-zone 7-on-7 work, Rice scored a touchdown from Patrick Mahomes on a quick in-breaking route. Compared to previous seasons’ tape, he still looks at least a step slower, but that’s probably to be expected as he conditions his way back to football shape.

Team period notes

The Chiefs spent the vast majority of practice working on red-zone looks Wednesday. In 2025, Kansas City finished near the middle of the pack in red-zone touchdown conversion rate, ranking 12th.

In 11-on-11 near the 25-yard line, Mahomes drew the defense in to set up a screen for Kenneth Walker, who likely would have taken it for a touchdown in a game setting. Closer to the goal line, Mahomes nearly had a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce, but Kelce couldn’t keep his feet in bounds from my vantage point.

From the 10-yard line, wide receiver Tyquan Thornton high-pointed a pass from Mahomes along the left sideline and, despite being elevated, found a way to toe-tap in bounds to complete the reception.

A few plays later, the quarterback threw a quick pass to tight end Noah Gray, who scored the first of four touchdowns during team periods on the day. As the Chiefs experiment with heavier looks, especially in scoring areas, Gray remains a target to watch.

In 11-on-11 with goal-to-go, cornerback Nohl Williams blanketed Rice to prevent a score. Running back Emari Demercado ran it into the end zone the next play.

The Chiefs concluded practice with a long-drive period — which meant 12 plays for Mahomes and the first-team offense, nine for Justin Fields and the second-team offense and five for Garrett Nussmeier and the third-team offense.

On the first play of the long-drive period, Jaylon Moore came on as a sixth offensive lineman before Mahomes handed the ball off to Walker. It was the first of seven run calls out of the 12 in the period.

During Fields’ turn, the defense lost Brashard Smith, and Fields hit him for a touchdown.

Fields also had a quarterback keeper look, which we have seen here and there at camp. That may hint at some situational usage for Fields even if Mahomes is ready to start the season.

Nussmeier also had a touchdown in his long-drive turn, connecting with wide receiver Omari Evans, who has had a nice camp and should make a push for the practice squad.

Earlier, during 7-on-7 in the red zone, Mahomes threaded a perfect pass just inside the back-left pylon to Thornton, who couldn’t reel it in. Thornton scored from Mahomes later on a busted coverage by Chamarri Conner, who was quick to turn to Steve Spagnuolo to take the blame.

Also in 7-on-7, Fields had a pass broken up by cornerback Kader Kohou before throwing three straight times to wide receiver Jimmy Holiday. Holiday caught all three passes, including one for a touchdown, earning a compliment from Reid after the workout.

Mahomes’ best hookup of the day may have come in 7-on-7s starting at his own 30, when he threw a pass down the right sideline only Kelce could catch with cornerback Chris Roland-Wallace in tight coverage. Kelce stretched out to bring in the pass while keeping two feet in bounds on a play that would have moved the chains.

Linebacker Cooper McDonald batted Mahomes’ final pass of 7-on-7 down at the line.

After three straight days of pads, the Chiefs are expected to hold a lighter 10-10-10 practice on Thursday.

Pass-blocking one-on-ones

The Chiefs ran pass-blocking one-on-ones, and I came away impressed with Demercado, Gray and tight end Jared Wiley.

On the defensive side, linebacker Kam Arnold flashed. Arnold spent training camp with the Washington Commanders last year before being waived on cutdown day.

Run period rotation

With Mahomes and the first team, Walker took the first two carries, followed by two from Brashard Smith and a pair for Demercado. Walker came back on for two more before Mahomes went to the other field.

With the second team, Demercado had two carries, followed by one apiece from Brashard Smith and rookie Emmett Johnson.

Johnson stayed on the field for all three carries with the third team.

Field goal session

Kicker Harrison Butker went 10 of 10 during the field-goal period, including three kicks of 50-plus yards.

Target practice: Mahomes in 7-on-7, 11-on-11

Reporters missed the first team period of practice while moving from the indoor facility to the outdoor practice field.

Mahomes in 7-on-7: tight end Noah Gray (3), tight end Travis Kelce (3), tight end Jake Briningstool (2), wide receiver Rashee Rice (2), wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (2), wide receiver Andrew Armstrong, running back Emari Demercado, wide receiver Nikko Remigio, running back Brashard Smith

Mahomes in 11-on-11: tight end Noah Gray (4), tight end Travis Kelce (3), wide receiver Rashee Rice (2), running back Kenneth Walker (2), wide receiver Andrew Armstrong, wide receiver Nikko Remigio, wide receiver Jalen Royals, wide receiver Tyquan Thornton

Injury report

As mentioned above, Delane and Sneed remain limited, and Tranquill (back) and Fulton (hip) both missed the workout, working off to the side with trainers.

Wide receiver Cyrus Allen (shin), defensive end Ashton Gillotte (hamstring) and wide receiver Xavier Worthy (shoulder) did not practice.

Linebacker Jeff Bassa left early due to a groin strain. Defensive end Omarr Norman-Lott remains on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.

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Pete Sweeney

The Kansas City Star

Pete Sweeney is The Star’s Kansas City Chiefs insider and beat writer. He has covered the team since 2014.