{"id":683643,"date":"2026-06-04T09:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/683643\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T09:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T09:42:15","slug":"chiefs-minicamp-notebook-7-players-dave-toub-highlighted-from-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/683643\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs minicamp notebook: 7 players Dave Toub highlighted from practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arrowheadpride.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> are still in the early stages of offseason workouts, but special teams coordinator Dave Toub already has his eye on several young players who could make an impact in 2026.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Toub\u2019s comments offered an early glimpse into which newcomers may have a chance to contribute right away, including this year\u2019s fourth-round pick.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The rookie defensive back entered the draft with a reputation as a physical special teams contributor, and Toub believes that experience will translate quickly to Kansas City.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cHe\u2019s going to be playing all four phases for sure, right off the bat,\u201d Toub said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cWe\u2019re looking at him at gunner, obviously corner on punt return,\u201d Toub continued. \u201cAnd he\u2019ll be a two coming off the edge on kickoff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The head of special teams also noted Canady could play any spot on kick return, except returner.<\/p>\n<p>Running backs Emmett Johnson and E.J. Smith<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">When asked about who could be in the mix to return kicks, Toub mentioned Johnson first among the players who have caught his attention during offseason work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cI really like the running back room,\u201d Toub said. \u201cEmmett Johnson &#8211; number 10. He\u2019s really doing well, looking good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Toub then pointed to undrafted rookie back E.J. Smith \u2014 the son of the former <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bloggingtheboys.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a> running back and Hall of Fame player Emmitt Smith \u2014 as another player who could factor heavily into the return game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cSmith\u2019s kid, really, really good kid, strong,\u201d Toub said. \u201cThose two guys back there, both of them are guys that are going to be working in there,\u201d Toub said. \u201cI\u2019m excited about seeing them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">With the NFL\u2019s updated kickoff rules continuing to place a premium on vision, acceleration, and open-field running ability, Johnson and Smith could emerge as legitimate options in the return game as training camp approaches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">One of the more intriguing names mentioned by Toub was undrafted free agent Xavier Nwankpa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">While emphasizing that roster evaluations are still in the earliest stages, Toub specifically singled out the former Iowa standout.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cThis is way early. I mean, way early,\u201d Toub said. \u201cI\u2019m excited about Nwankpa, I think he\u2019s got size and speed. And he\u2019s got a lot of experience in college with special teams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Toub also credited Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods for helping prepare Nwankpa for the next level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cHe\u2019s a guy, you can see it,\u201d Toub said.<\/p>\n<p>Linebackers Cooper McDonald and Ethan Downs<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Beyond discussing young players, Toub was asked about replacing the production of former linebacker Leo Chenal, one of the Chiefs\u2019 most valuable special teams performers over the last several seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cLeo was special,\u201d Toub said. \u201cThat\u2019s why he was a coveted guy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Toub identified Downs and McDonald as two players who could help absorb some of those responsibilities. It\u2019s worth noting that Downs, originally a defensive end, recently switched to the linebacker position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cThe closest guy to that is actually two of them \u2014 Downs and McDonald,\u201d Toub said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">While Toub stopped short of comparing either player directly to Chenal, he believes both have the traits to contribute in similar ways.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">As for veteran kicker Harrison Butker, Toub offered a glowing review of one of the kicker\u2019s best OTA performances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cHe hit a long one in our regular period,\u201d Toub said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">The impressive part came later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cWe did three two-minute drills in a row, and every one of them was over 60.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">Even Toub admitted he expected one of them to miss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cAfter he hit two, I said, \u2018Well, he\u2019ll probably miss this one,\u2019\u201d Toub joked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">\u201cBut he made that one too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1upudxki _174s0un1 _174s0un0 _1mt21p01\">While OTAs are far too early to draw firm conclusions, Toub\u2019s comments offered an early look at which young players are positioning themselves for larger roles. And if special teams remains one of the fastest paths onto the Chiefs\u2019 active roster, Canady, Johnson, and Nwankpa may be three names worth watching throughout the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kansas City Chiefs are still in the early stages of offseason workouts, but special teams coordinator Dave&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[15977,9374,349,99],"class_list":["post-683643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-news","tag-kansas-city-chiefs-roster","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}