Kansas City Chiefs rookie Cyrus Allen may not have racked up a big stat line in his preseason debut, but his performance was enough to catch the attention of head coach Andy Reid.
The fifth-round wide receiver made two receptions for 20 yards in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but Reid said he looked sharp and could be on track to play a significant role in the offense this year.
Andy Reid Impressed With Rookie Wide Receiver
The Chiefs were largely stymied on offense in Saturday’s 20-12 loss, failing to find the end zone. But Reid said he liked what he saw from Allen in his agility and route running, especially after he lost time in training camp while recovering from injury.
“He’s been doing well at camp before he got hurt,” Reid said, via SI.com. “And then when he’s come back here for the couple of days he was back, it looked like he picked right up from there. I thought he did a nice job for the most part there on catching the football and route running — he’s got some quickness to him. I look forward to getting him healthy and ready to go.”
Allen said he was glad to get to show off some of his ability, even if on a limited basis.
“Just a tad bit,” Allen told reporters. “Just a tad bit.”
The Chiefs have a lot of room to grow, with Mahomes and top pass-catchers Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce watching from the bench. Top running back Kenneth Walker III was also benched for the first preseason game.
Chiefs Struggled on Offense Against Rams
The Chiefs struggled in many aspects of the offense in the loss, failing to gain traction in either the passing or rushing games and committing several miscues. The team was flagged 12 times for 83 total yards, with the backup offensive line responsible for most of the infractions.
The Chiefs sat several of their starters in the game, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Rookie Garrett Nussmeier completed 13-of-19 passes for 98 yards. Backup Justin Fields looked sharp in limited action, completing all four of his passes for 41 total yards and rushing twice for 9 yards.
Allen told reporters after the game that the team has a lot to work on during practice this week.
“It’s a team game, so we just got to eliminate like the pre-snap penalties and stuff like that,” Allen said. “So just trying to fix that and do what I need to do by just learning the playbook and everything I could do to help the team.”
Chiefs’ Andy Reid Shares Honest Take on Rookie Cyrus Allen After Preseason Game