Chiefs @ Cardinals
Final Score: Chiefs 17, Cardinals 10
Writer: Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter)
If this matchup took place during the regular season, it would have been must-see television with two high-powered offenses that would produce plenty of fantasy goodness. On Friday, this was not the case, as both first-team offenses were off sync in their first action of the preseason. It was not all quiet, however, as certain players emerged as possible later-round options late in drafts, as well as a potential injury which we are yet to see the full extent of to Clyde-Edwards Hellaire.
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
Patrick Mahomes: 10/18, 78 yards, INT | 2 carries, 10 yards
Chad Henne: 6/8, 82 yards, TD
Shane Buechele: 9/11, 115 yards, TD, INT | 3 carries, 8 yard
Anthony Gordon: 7/7, 42 yards | 3 carries, -4 yards
Despite playing for a series in last week’s preseason game, Patrick Mahomes was a bit rusty and was not fully in sync with his receivers. A good sign for him coming off the ankle injury he suffered in the postseason last year is that Mahomes was moving around very well in the pocket and scrambling in his three series of work. His interception was thrown after scrambling out of the pocket and trying to fit the ball down the sideline as the defender stepped right in front of it to intercept the pass.
PICKED! @byronmurphy toe-taps for the turnover!
đź“ş: #KCvsAZ on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/qZPmSzZhMr pic.twitter.com/QQKsXbDj4l— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2021
On the other hand, Chad Henne impressed and looked very good coming in relief of Mahomes. His numbers could have even been better as he completed a deep ball to Byron Pringle, which was called back due a penalty. He capped off his night with a nice touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman.
Running Back
Clyde-Edwards Helaire: 3 carries, 13 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 10 yards
Darrel Williams: 2. carries  2 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards
Jerrick McKinnon: 3 carries, 4 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 21 yards
Darwin Thompson: 8 carries, 49 yards
Derrick Gore: 8 carries, 54 yards
While the performance on the field for Clyde Edwards Helaire wasn’t anything too notable, the big story came after the game as we found out he left with an ankle sprain. There was not any play that stood out as the cause of the injury as the original thought was that he just got taken out for load management.
Chiefs’ RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire sprained his right ankle last night. “They got to check it (today), do what they do there,” said Andy Reid. “It’s tender now. It doesn’t look like a high-ankle sprain. That’s always a good thing. They’ll double-check it.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 21, 2021
After Helaire was removed, we saw more of both Jerrick McKinnon and Darwin Thomspon take the field and look solid in their respective roles. Thompson looked really good in his action, many of it coming with the first-team offense shortly after Helaire left with the injury. Thompson showed off his burst as the improved offensive line opened up some space and allowed him to force the ball forward. Though this work may have also come thanks to an injury to Darrel Williams, who left as he entered into concussion protocol.
RB Darrel Williams is being evaluated for a concussion pic.twitter.com/x0vplX4GMI
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 21, 2021
McKinnon‘s fantasy relevance throughout the years came from his use in the passing game. This preseason game was no different as he was targeted fairly often once they made the switch to Chad Henne at quarterback. Mahomes looked Helaire’s way once before his injury, a pattern to watch moving forward.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Travis Kelce: 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards
Byron Pringle: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 63 yards
Mecole Hardman: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 39 yards, TD
Demarcus Robinson: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 10 yards | 1 carry, 5 yards
Noah Gray: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 27 yards
Maurice Fountain: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 54 yards
Marcus Kemp: 1 target, 1 reception, 36 yards
Dalton Schoen: 1 target, 1 reception, 13 yards, TD
Gehrig Dieter: 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards
Cornell Powell: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
Jody Fortson: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards
Maurice French: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 0 yards
The big question coming into this season is who will emerge as the #2 receiver behind Tyreek Hill. With Hill sitting out of this game, two receivers really stood out to make cases for that position.
Mecole Hardman received a fair share of targets from both Mahomes and Henne, though some passes showed that the two were a bit out of sync. It was clear the Chiefs were trying to integrate Hardman in and make him a key part of the offense. He made a very impressive catch, making an adjustment on an underthrown ball that he reached back to get for his lone touchdown reception of the night.
MECOLE! What an adjustment…he's IN! @MecoleHardman4
đź“ş: #KCvsAZ on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/qZPmSzZhMr pic.twitter.com/Sfeckk8MMt— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2021
On the other hand. Byron Pringle impressed as well with Mahomes and Henne often looking his way in key situations. His numbers could have been even better had he not been called for a penalty on a deep ball thrown to him by Chad Henne. With the subtraction from this team of Sammy Watkins, Pringle may get an opportunity to take a bigger role in this offense.
.@pringle_byron is on the hands team.
đź“ş: #KCvsAZ on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/qZPmSzZhMr pic.twitter.com/3YfWVP38iw— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2021
Henne fired a LASER to @pringle_byron.
đź“ş: #KCvsAZ on ESPN
📱: https://t.co/qZPmSzZhMr pic.twitter.com/tIoFH9p90F— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2021
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: 1/4, 2 yards | 1 carry, 8 yards
Colt McCoy: 13/18, 113 yards, INT | 3 carries, 20 yards
Chris Streveler: 5/6, 74 yards, TD
The Cardinals’ offense was completely out of sync on Friday. Kyler Murray only appeared in a few series and they could not move the ball at all even when he was on the field. The Kansas City defense put a lot of pressure on Murray, forcing quick passes which he could not complete to his receivers. With this quick appearance and short drives, we could not see much of him prior to the switch to Colt McCoy.
Running Back
Chase Edmonds: 1 carry, 3 yards
James Conner: 2 carries, 1 yard
Eno Benjamin: 3 carries, 18 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
Jonathan Ward: 3 carries, 17 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions 14 yards
With the way Kansas City’s defense was swarming the Cardinals’ offense, neither Chase Edmonds nor James Conner were able to do anything as they were immediately swarmed by defenders. The only running back who showed anything was Eno Benjamin, who ran well and was involved in the passing game mostly against the second team.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Christian Kirk: 1 target
Rondale Moore: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 15 yards
A.J. Green: 1 target
Keesean Johnson: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 34 yards
A.J. Richardson: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards
Greg Dortch: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 44 yards
Ross Travis: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 37 yards, 1 TD
Antoine Wesley: 2 targets, 1 reception, 5 yards
Demetrius Harris: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 3 yards
What really stood out in this game was not the performance of any receiver in particular, because let’s face it, it was a rough day offensively for the Cardinals offense. With DeAndre Hopkins held out of this game, we saw both A.J. Green and Rondale Moore see plenty of time with the first-team offense. While Green only had one target, Moores saw one target from Murray and the remainder from McCoy.
The remaining receivers looked good as the offense switched to the second team, however, there likely will not be much fantasy value from any of them unless we see some injuries.
— Callen Elslager (@callen_elslager on Twitter)
Test
Great read thank you!