Matt Nagy speaks on offensive performance in preseason contest
By Calvin Silvers
All offseason, the talk surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs was about adding speed to their offense, additions that, in theory, would spread the field and allow deep throws over the top. That speed came from free agent Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and draft pick Xavier Worthy.
However, Bown suffered an injury to his shoulder, and Worthy would not receive one target in the preseason contest.
“He didn’t get a whole lot of reps in the first preseason game, but for him, probably the biggest thing is like making sure that he understands that it’s not going to be perfect,” Nagy said. “We’re trying to get to that point to where guys really start clicking and understanding the whys behind.
Brown’s injury is a sternoclavicular injury, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, meaning someone will have to step up in the wide receiver room, opening up more competition ahead of finalizing the roster.
Veteran Justin Watson has been thrown into the role lately in camp, and his experience at multiple spots is something Nagy can rely on.
“J. Wat has been so great, he’s invaluable in the fact of just understanding every spot,” Nagy said. “I mean, I think it’s one of those deals they just got to know it’s next man up mentality and we want Hollywood to get back as soon as he can, but we’ve got to keep rolling.”
It’s not just Watson who has an opportunity to showcase his talents every Sunday, but also Justyn Ross. In that first preseason game, Ross made an impressive sideline toe-tapping 23-yard catch and had another catch called back due to a penalty.
He’s only continued to improve in practice and wants to be one of the likely seven receivers the Chiefs keep.
“Justyn’s making plays out there, he made a great catch there down the sideline,” Nagy said. Again, just continuing to grow, not making the same mistake twice for Justyn. I love his attitude, he’s been very involved and really enjoying his process.”
Let’s not forget the lone touchdown scorer against Jacksonville, Carson Steele. The 6-foot, 230-pound runner led the Chiefs with 29 rushing yards, including a 20-yard rush while breaking three tackles.
The 21-year-old, despite never having played fullback in high school or college, could make this 53-man roster.
“He’s been progressively getting better and better by the day, and you saw that with some of the runs he had,” Nagy said. “What I like about him is right now he’s doing a lot of good things and being in the right spot at the right time, and you can trust him.”
