AFC Notes: Sauce Gardner, Anthony Richardson, Chiefs, Colts, Jets

Chiefs

Once again the Chiefs are entering a season with some questions at wide receiver. But Kansas City again has more confidence in the players on its roster than the outside world, especially WR Kadarius Toney. He has primarily been a gadget player in his first two seasons but the Chiefs believe he’s capable of much, much more, perhaps even being a true No. 1 threat. 

“He’s predominately been a guy that is a slot receiver, returner, runner — a gadget guy, if you will — but I don’t know if there is a limit on his game because he has a vertical game,” Chiefs GM Brett Veach said via ESPN’s Adam Teicher. “I don’t know if [his collegiate team at Florida was] one that vertically pushed the ball down the field, and his time early on in New York, I don’t know if they were a team that really vertically pushed the ball down the field.

“It’s a fair question to [ask]: ‘Has he ever played with a quarterback that likes to push the ball down the field?’ We have a lot of high hopes for him. He was a first-round pick for a reason. There’s a reason why we traded for him and we felt like he was a first-round talent.”

Colts

Colts HC Shane Steichen says that QB Anthony Richardson brings a positive presence to the team facility. Meanwhile, Richardson himself is excited and carries a football with him everywhere he goes. 

“He’s got a great presence about him. He’s got a great bounce in his step, he’s always smiling, always got great energy, enthusiastic. When you have that, I think players around him will feed off it but it’s been really good to see,” Steichen said when asked about what Richardson will bring to the team. “I think with anything, all quarterbacks will miss throws. I mean, it happens all the time. Shoot, just move on to the next play. It’s a next-play mentality. Shoot, I made a bad play, shoot, wipe it out of your brain, and go on to the next one. I thought he had a heck of a day yesterday for the first day being out here.”

“I’m always holding a football. I didn’t bring it here, but it’s in my locker right now. I’ve been carrying it around every day. But it’s not just to get the feel because I got the feel of it during the (NFL) Combine and all that stuff – for like four or five months, just holding it,” Richardson said. “Just make it feel real a little bit – holding the ball in the Colts facility. I’m feeling good. I’m the quarterback, so holding the ball and feeling excited.”

Jets

Jets CB Sauce Gardner said he’s focused on becoming the best cornerback in the NFL. 

“I’m trying to be the best,” Gardner said, via Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. “If I say I’m trying to be the best, I have to put the work in. I can’t do what I did last year. The work that I was putting in last year, I have to take it to the next level. I’m a target now. Watch even more film, spend even more time in the weight room, even more time to perfect my craft.”

Gardner said he must avoid becoming complacent and succumbing to distractions. 

“I can’t get complacent. That’s the main thing,” Gardner said. “This was my first offseason. There were a lot of distractions, but I kept my head on straight.”

Gardner is confident Aaron Rodgers‘ addition will help him improve as a player. 

“I knew he was going to get me better, and by that I was just thinking of him making those tough throws that it’s going to be hard for me to intercept and break up,” Gardner said. “But he was just telling me [Tuesday] that he is going to be able to help me out [by] telling me how teams are going to try to attack me and the things that I can work on as a cornerback.”