The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the media again at OTAs on June 4, and two undrafted rookies took advantage of some added opportunities.
According to Arrowhead Pride beat reporter Pete Sweeney, the Chiefs were without several veteran members of the offense on Wednesday, including running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt, wide receivers Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, tight end Travis Kelce, and offensive linemen Ethan Driskell and Trey Smith.”
Second-year tight end Jared Wiley and star WR Rashee Rice are also rehabbing from injury, and rookie TE Tre Watson was not present either, so there were more snaps than usual for undrafted tight end Jake Briningstool and undrafted wideout Mac Dalena.
Both Briningstool and Dalena came up often as media members relayed notes from the June 5 practice at Chiefs OTAs.
“WR Mac Delana caught a well-thrown [Gardner] Minshew ball deep down the left sideline,” Sweeney reported. He added that later in practice, “TE Jake Brinningstool brought in a TD from [Patrick] Mahomes within the 10-yard line. [And] Dalena caught a TD within the 5 from Minshew on a quick slant.”
Sweeney also reported another Briningstool catch from Mahomes, which Nick Jacobs of KSHB 41 described in more detail.
“Mahomes dropped one in the basket to Jake Bringingstool,” Jacobs wrote on X. “Tight coverage by [linebacker Nick] Bolton and Bringingstool tracked it perfectly.”
Considering the short length of these OTA sessions, that’s at least two highlight plays for each UDFA on Wednesday. Making each a rookie to watch as camp season progresses.
Priority UDFA Jake Briningstool Has a Much Better Shot of Making the Chiefs’ 53-Man Roster Than WR Mac Dalena
No offense is intended in writing this, but circumstances alone make it relatively obvious that the priority UDFA, Briningstool, has a much better shot of making the 53-man roster than Dalena.
The latter is a 5-foot-10 pass-catcher out of Fresno State known for his “good straight-line speed” and toughness in traffic.
NFL Network draft expert Lance Zierlein stated his concerns about the “undersized” Dalena ahead of April, noting that “he’s not very sudden underneath to separate and lacks the overall length to win 50/50 balls down the field.”
“While he has experience at all three receiver positions, Dalena will have to prove he can get open from the slot to make a roster,” the draft scout concluded. But the greater issue for Dalena to overcome is the depth of the Chiefs’ wide receiver room, which includes players like Rice, Xavier Worthy, Brown, Smith-Schuster, Jalen Royals, Skyy Moore, Tyquan Thornton, Nikko Remigio, Justyn Ross and more, all ahead of the promising UDFA.
So, while Dalena is likely fighting for a practice squad role, Bringingstool can set his sights on the active roster.
The Chiefs have been known to keep extra tight ends in the past, and who knows if Wiley will start the season on some sort of injured list.
Plus, with KC moving on from 2024 UDFA Baylor Cupp unexpectedly this spring, the TE depth chart is relatively open behind Kelce and Noah Gray, and the Chiefs must start thinking about the future at this position.
Other Standouts at Chiefs OTAs
Along with Briningstool, veteran tight end Robert Tonyan had a nice afternoon on June 5. The two could be competing for a third or fourth tight end role this summer, depending on Wiley’s status, and the journeyman did enough for Jacobs to jokingly label Wednesday’s practice “Robert Tonyan Day.”
“He was the target on many passes for multiple quarterbacks,” Jacobs explained, and that included a no-look pass from Mahomes.
Worthy continued his strong spring on June 5, too, although the big play threat and Mahomes did narrowly miss on a deep attempt (per Sweeney). As did Mahomes and Royals.
Meanwhile, fan favorite running back Carson Steele made a contested catch in which he “fought off three defenders.”
Despite all this, the Chiefs’ secondary appeared to make several plays on the football on Wednesday, according to notes from Sweeney. The highlight was another Trent McDuffie interception of Mahomes, which stemmed from a Nazeeh Johnson pass breakup.
