Chiefs Training Camp Notebook Day 9: Kahlil Benson Plays Right Guard

The ninth practice of Kansas City Chiefs training camp was back to full pads, with the team working plenty of run game and full-team work. It is the second-to-last practice before a rest day on Sunday.

Arrowhead Pride analyst Caleb James and I watched practice together; I recommend scanning Caleb’s timelines on X for all the observations and clips he got out of Friday’s practice.

Here’s everything to know from the work done by the Chiefs on the field:

Attendance report

Head coach Andy Reid spoke to the media at the podium after practice. Check out our injury update on the site from earlier.

Kahlil Benson moves inside to right guard

Starting right guard Trey Smith was the most notable absence from camp on Friday, mainly because the hip injury was a surprise as the team took the field.

When the starting offensive line took form, it still featured rookie Kahlil Benson. This time, he played in Smith’s place at right guard and veteran Jaylon Moore manned right tackle for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

After spending what seems to be the entirety of the offseason playing right tackle, Benson was back inside at right guard, a position he accumulated nearly 1,000 collegiate snaps at between his time at Indiana and Colorado, according to Pro Football Focus.

That said, he hasn’t played the position since 2024, so settling back in featured a few lost reps to defensive tackles Chris Jones and rookie Peter Woods in strong, dominating fashion.

On this rep against Woods, offensive line evaluator Brandon Thorn of Bleacher Report shared his thoughts on why Benson lost in a post on X.

“70 a tick late off the ball and it was curtains. Snap timing in the trenches >>>”

The note aligned with Reid’s thoughts on Benson’s day, sharing them with local media after practice.

“I thought he did okay; there were a couple of hiccups in there,” Reid said at the podium. “Things move a little bit faster when you’re inside… everything jumps on you quickly.”

With the Chiefs’ defensive line looking like a strong unit for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to deploy in creative ways, it becomes an even stronger challenge for Benson.

“When you go against Spags, you’re going to get a lot of different flavors, and you have to be able to make those decisions right now in an area that’s faster than the tackle position,” Reid explained. “I thought he held his own physically, for sure, and there are a couple of things he has to pick up from there.”

My thought on the move: The Chiefs could be signaling that Benson is one of the team’s best five offensive linemen. If Reid values having as many of his best on the field at a time, it makes sense that Benson shifts inside with a veteran offensive tackle in the wings to fill in on the edge instead of keeping Benson at right tackle and having an existing reserve inside step up.

Patrick Mahomes working on his mobility

On one particular play in a full-team period, the Chiefs’ starting defense blitzed Mahomes, but the playmaking quarterback broke contain to the right and looked to make a play with his legs past the line of scrimmage.

By the end of the play, Mahomes was on the ground, and my stomach had dropped, but he was ultimately fine.

It speaks to the comfort Mahomes has in his knee, but he’s also actively working to gain comfort in one of the most important aspects of playing the quarterback position, according to Reid.

“To play in a game, you have to have escapability,” Reid emphasized to reporters. “Or you can’t be in there; you can’t play that position and be a target; you have to have some mobility back there. So he works on that. If it’s not there down the field, he takes off and runs. Every time he does it, it builds a little bit more confidence in the leg.”

Brashard Smith moving up the depth chart

After being selected in the seventh round of last year’s draft, coached up by a staff that is no longer with the Chiefs after his rookie year, Smith has earned a good number of snaps with the starting offense in camp this year.

It’s clear that the focus for Smith is on pass protection. Reid believes he has taken positive steps in that direction as camp has progressed.

“Protection for the young guys is the big thing,” Reid began. “So we’ve been putting him in position there where you have to know the rules, you have to be able to step up physically and hold onto it; he has done a nice job with that. With that, he has gotten more reps. We know he can run the ball, we know he can catch the ball, but that other part is a big part. The more reps he gets at it, the better he has gotten.”

At the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, Smith weighed in at 194 pounds. It has likely been a point of emphasis for Smith to gain weight as he has begun his professional career. Reid sees good progress there, too.

“He looks a little bit bigger; he was skinny last year,” Reid said. “But it looks like he has put some good weight on.”

The Chiefs will be back on the practice field in pads on Saturday morning, starting at 9:15 a.m.