Chiefs fans can already see Josh Simmons becoming a Day 1 beast

Again, that warm-up clip doesn’t ensure anything, but it’s easy to see that Simmons has the foot speed tackles need on the outside. If you want to see how this footwork helps in a live rep situation, check out the clip below.

On this pass from Patrick Mahomes to Xavier Worthy, look at how Simmons is able to easily move laterally to maintain positioning so that Charles Omenihu has to hit him head-on instead of working past him on the outside. Yes, Omenihu isn’t an elite speed rusher, but the ease with which Simmons moves is noteworthy.

You can also see that Simmons absorbs Omenihu’s contact with a decent anchor. Now, I do think Simmons will have to continue to improve his strength and anchor. He doesn’t have elite power (yet), but it isn’t bad. You can see him more than hold his ground on this run snap against Mike Danna.

When you combine that natural athleticism and lateral movement skills with the strength to hold up against power, you get a player with truly elite upside. You can see both of these traits in this last clip that got a lot of traction on X earlier this week.

Simmons uses his lateral agility to keep perfect positioning on fellow rookie Ashton Gillotte so that he basically has no choice but to meet him head-on. Then, when they make contact, Simmons stonewalls Gillotte and then chucks him to the ground for good measure at the end of the rep.

Just to be clear, those four clips don’t guarantee anything. Simmons isn’t a lock to be an All-Pro in the NFL, but he is showing the traits that at least put that result in his range of outcomes. The attitude he showed in chucking Gillotte is something you love to see in linemen, too. The Chiefs got overpowered by the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line in the Super Bowl, and adding someone like Simmons to go with Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith for years to come is exciting to think about.

I always have a great time at training camp and highly recommend going if you’ve never been. However, this year was especially memorable because of just how exciting it was to watch Josh Simmons in action. I know I’m getting caught up in the hype and hysteria, but seeing him in person was just too good to ignore. You can already see the Chiefs haters getting even more mad. Now let’s hope that elite upside continues to flash when the preseason games begin.