AFC Notes: Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs

Broncos

Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett spoke about Broncos undrafted DL Matt Henningsen, who despite playing well in the preseason so far, may be unable to crack the 53-man roster as the third defensive tackle on the depth chart.

“He just has to take advantage of some of his opportunities,” Hackett said, via BroncosWire.com. “We have been giving him a hard time for that because he had some great opportunities in the game to get a couple of sacks. He’s doing everything right. He’s a really smart player, and he’s put himself in the right positions. Now he’s just going to have to be able to finish it to take it to that next level.”

Chargers

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer mentions Chargers sixth-round G Jamaree Salyer could eventually figure into the mix at right tackle. 
• Chargers HC Brandon Staley expects LB Kenneth Murray to return to practice on Monday. (Daniel Popper)
• Chargers DL Forrest Merrill had shoulder surgery according to Staley. He is currently on the IR. (Popper)
• Staley said TE Donald Parham still has a little ways to go in order to be cleared and return to practice: “He’s week-to-week on that. Just still being patient. But, hopefully, next week, we can kind of start phasing him into the work. He’s progressing, but I would say more week-to-week than day-to-day.” (Adam Schefter)

Chiefs

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes believes they have a versatile group of receivers and praised Justin Watson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

“We have a lot of versatile receivers,” said Mahomes, via Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride. “We got some guys that are really fast that can still go up and make catches. I think you saw that with Watson in the end zone [Wednesday] — and two days ago, Marquez in between two defenders, going up and high-pointing the ball. When you have guys that are big who can still run fast and stretch the field but can make those tough, contested catches, it shows how versatile they are — and I think it’s going to come from everywhere this year. It’s not going to be one guy… Everybody’s going to have to put their blueprint on this offense — and I’m excited for it.”

Mahomes added that the team has taken a “giant step” in learning HC Andy Reid‘s system.

“I think we took a giant step as far as how we do things,” said Mahomes. “We have the talent. We got the guys that can go out there and make the plays. Coach Reid runs a tough training camp. It’s what we’ve been known for — I think it makes us better for it. And I think guys, as we went on, understood that. And they came out with the mindset they were going to compete every single day. You saw offense have good days [and] you saw defense have good days — and that’s usually a good sign for a good football team.”

Mahomes had high praise of receivers Skyy Moore and Justin Watson.

“It’s going to be an exciting opportunity for them,” said Mahomes. “You saw guys like Skyy (Moore) and Justin Watson make plays when they came in this first preseason game with Shane [Buechle] and Chad [Henne]. For them to make plays there, they’re going to get more reps with me in this game. I’m interested to see how they maximize this opportunity, but they’ve been doing it at practice. They’ve been making the plays at practice and doing everything the right way. So for them to get in there and get some opportunity to run with the ‘ones,’ I think it will help us out in the long run whenever we do get those guys back — to have a good group of guys to go in at any time.”