If one player caused a disproportionate amount of fanbase panic in the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 16-15 preseason loss on Saturday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was undoubtedly rookie right tackle Kahlil Benson.
Particularly concerning was Benson being absolutely pushed out of the way by Bucs rookie pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr. on the Chiefs’ first drive.
In assessing Benson’s performance, the Chiefs’ coaching staff knows that he will need to learn from the outing.
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On Monday, head coach Andy Reid cited alternating between right guard and right tackle as a factor in Benson’s performance. Reid also stated that the game was Benson’s first extended practice with the team’s silent snap count.
“We’ve kind of moved this kid all over the place,” Reid explained, “and he did some good things, and he has some things he has to work on. You can see the talent there. He opened the gate a couple of times in his drop; he has a lot of talent and wants to do the right things, and he has the ability to do it. It’s just getting these reps.
“We went silent count too, which was new to him,” Reid pointed out. “So you saw he was late off the ball a couple of times. All of that, he banks; it will be important once we start the season for him.”
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy echoed Reid’s thought.
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“We have to continue to develop our offensive line,” Bieniemy said on Tuesday. “We have to continue to evaluate… I thought Kahlil came away and played a decent game. Could he have been better? Yes, but remember we’re playing him all over the place to give him an opportunity to show what he can do and put it on display.”
As with any rookie, Reid wants to see how Benson responds to a rough outing.
“Can you rebound after a tough day?” the head coach pondered. “You’re getting to see that… then, are you a repeat offender? You get an idea of all of that during camp, so when I say, ‘I like what I see from the rookies, collectively,’ I feel like they’re learning from whatever mistakes they make. It looks like they have talent to help us go forward and win games… will there be a growing process? Yeah, there will be. As long as they’re going 100 miles per hour doing it, they’ll work through it; they don’t normally repeat the mistake twice.”
Benson’s technique is up for criticism after Saturday, but his effort cannot be questioned. After surrendering a strip sack to quarterback Justin Fields, Benson came up with the fumble and tried to make something out of nothing.
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As bad as the play was, his coaches noted that he kept pushing until the whistle blew.
“I know he was dog-dead tired in the game,” Bieniemy observed, “and he gave up a strip sack in the game. You don’t celebrate this, but did you see when he picked that ball up and took off and ran? I’m like, ‘If you play the game like the ball is in your hands, we have a chance.’ That’s the effort and energy I need to see from him every single day.”
