Rinse, Don’t Repeat: Chiefs, Rookie Committed to Simple Policy

“And then you saw a little sprinkle of it last week,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Friday, “when he caught that ball on the sideline and got hit a few times and stayed in bounds, and probably got 6 extra yards that most people wouldn't get. That's the physical part that we see. The mental part is being able to eliminate the mistakes.”

Converted wide receiver

A converted receiver, Smith joined the Chiefs as a seventh-round selection out of SMU. The rookie got his most extensive playing time in the 37-20 win over the Ravens. And when the Chiefs (2-2) visit Jacksonville (3-1) on Monday Night Football (7:15 p.m. CT, ESPN/ABC, KMBC Ch. 9, 96.5 The Fan), Smith certainly wants to keep his arrow pointed in the right direction.

“Yeah, I'll say preparation for sure,” Smith said Saturday, asked how he’s done so well avoiding repeat mistakes. “Just practice, just knowing like, if I get a rep in practice, and I know I messed it up, I'm just making sure I don't mess up, that same mistake again.

“Just stuff like that, just not messing up twice. Or just if you could mess up one time, just show them that you can correct it in a fast way. So, I'm starting to understand that.”

With the ball in his hands

The Chiefs are starting to understand how dangerous Smith can be with the ball in his hands. That’s why Kansas City gave him a season-high seven touches last week, not including his two kickoff returns.

One of those returns, which opened the second half, set up the Chiefs on the Baltimore 35-yard line. Patrick Mahomes then drove Kansas City 65 yards in six plays, including a 28-yard strike to Xavier Worthy. The quarterback capped the drive with a textbook, tight-window laser to Tyquan Thornton, an 11-yard touchdown.

“I know how smart he is and how he sees,” Smith said of Mahomes. “He sees things probably quicker than most other quarterbacks, so I love that about him.”

And what the Chiefs love about Smith is when he’s absorbed the gameplan to the point where he has confidence to go full speed.

“Yeah, I think he’s done a great job,” Mahomes said Thursday. “It's just like any other rookie in this offense, you kind of give him more and more each and every week, and he's done a good job of taking it in and going out there and executing at a high level.

“And so, we'll continue to do that. It helps that he played receiver a lot, so you can run routes, and he also played running back, so you can run between the tackles. And those are special football players to have, because it keeps the defenses guessing, and that's what you want to do. You want them on their heels, then be able to attack them in a variety of different ways.”

Nagy agreed, and he’s committed to putting Smith in the best spots as the rookie grows.

“We're able to put him in on some packages where he can study those throughout the week,” Nagy added. “And you don't want him to play slow. You want to use his strengths, which is ball skills, speed, and then be able to put that into fruition. And we really want that to continue, to keep growing moving forward.”