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The Chiefs opened a three-day rookie minicamp on Saturday after selecting six defensive players in last week’s draft Kyzir White Color Rush Jersey , though one of them – defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie – is expected to transition to offensive guard. But with 14 rookie free agents and another 43 players in for tryouts, there were plenty of bodies to make up an offensive, defensive and special teams unit.

Don’t sleep on the unknown guys, either.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid pointed out that just a few years ago, an unheralded wide receiver named Albert Wilson impressed him during the same weekend. Wilson hung around for the next phase of the offseason program, survived training camp and ultimately made the Kansas City roster.

This past offseason, Wilson signed a $24 million, three-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

”Albert just made about $8 million,” Reid said with a smile, ”so there’s been a few. You invite them to the next phase and the next and eventually they make the roster.”

Still, it’s the draft picks that will draw the most attention this weekend.

The Chiefs didn’t have a first-round pick, so they used their initial selection on Ole Miss pass rusher Breeland Speaks in the second round. Speaks is expected to push last year’s second-round pick, Tanoh Kpassgnon Youth San Francisco 49ers Jerseys , for playing time right out of the gate opposite standout linebacker Justin Houston.

”I did get the playbook,” Speaks said. ”My first reaction was, `I can do this.’ I looked at a few defenses we installed today and went over those and know those by heart already.”

With two third-round picks, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach continued to shore up his defense. He grabbed 315-pound run-stuffer Derrick Nnadi out of Florida State and then Clemson hybrid linebacker Dorian O’Daniel, both of whom could also factor into the starting rotation this fall.

The Chiefs were thin along the defensive front, even after signing Xavier Williams in free agency and retaining Rakeem Hunez-Roches as a restricted free agent. And with the expected departure of erstwhile pass rusher Tamba Hali, and injury woes to Dee Ford, finding another linebacker was paramount.

McKenzie, the son of Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie, was also in attendance, as were fellow sixth-round pick Tremon Smith and Texas A&M safety Armani Watts, who could be the steal of the draft.

Watts dropped to the fourth round after concerns about his workouts at the combine, but the four-year starter said he had bulked up in the hopes that it would help him out. Instead P.J. Hall Jersey Elite , it only slowed him down and already Watts has reverted to his lean, fast playing weight.

The Chiefs are hopeful that he factors into the defense right away.

Star safety Eric Berry is returning from a season-ending Achilles tendon injury, and reliable safety Ron Parker was released in a cost-saving move. That leaves plenty of questions at the back of the defense.

”It’s a little bit different for those safeties,” Veach said, ”because they are like the quarterbacks of the defense where they have to line up people and make the calls and adjustments. That is no different than any safety, even if you draft them in the first round.

”Breeland is someone who we feel can come in and help us right away. Derrick, Dorian and Armani can certainly do some different things while he grows and understands the system a little bit better.”

UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS

The Chiefs signed 14 rookie free agents on Saturday, including former Kansas State wide receiver Byron Pringle. The local product left school a year early and has intriguing size at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, but he needs to showcase better hands than he did playing just down the road.

The Chiefs also signed RBs Darrell Williams and J.D. Moore from LSU; OL Ryan Hunter (Bowling Green), Jimmy Murray (Holy Cross) and Devondre Seymour (Southern Illinois); TE Blake Mack (Arkansas State); WR Elijah Marks (Northern Arizona); QB Chase Litton (Marshall); DB Arrion Springs (Oregon) and D’Montre Wade (Murray State); LBs Ben Niemann (Iowa) and Raymond Davison (California); and DT Dee Liner (Arkansas State).

BERRY’S BROTHER

The Chiefs also had 43 players on tryouts during the three-day rookie minicamp, including DB Elliott Berry. The undrafted rookie from Tennessee is the younger brother of the Chiefs’ star safety, Eric Berry.

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Bobby Wagner reacted as though he was hoping the question would come.

With all the changes on the Seattle Seahawks defense 鈥?the leaders Youth Jason Sanders Jersey , the voices, the veterans no longer around 鈥?will there be a new focus on a group of linebackers that at times has seemed underappreciated?

"It has always been about the guy in the middle," Wagner said emphatically. "So for me, it's not no different because that's how I look at it, but from the outside maybe it is different because those guys are gone and you guys are looking for someone who is going to be that leader. Y'all ain't got to look. You're looking at the guy right here. I will be that guy and we're going to be fine."

And with that, any question about who the leading voice is on Seattle's defense was quickly answered.

For most of the past half-decade, Seattle's highly regarded defense was defined by the secondary with the catchy nickname and the flashy personalities. From there, attention often shifted to the defensive line and the type of chaos Michael Bennett and others created on 鈥?and sometimes off 鈥?the field.

Then there was Wagner and fellow linebacker K.J. Wright. They have been regarded as two of the best in the league at their positions and sometimes have received that level of recognition. But they were often relegated to a secondary role on their own team in terms of recognition even with Wagner being voted first-team All-Pro three times and Wright being a Pro Bowl selection.

"The attention has gone elsewhere, I guess," Wright said. "Nothing will change. We'll still be the bad-ass linebackers on this team. We'll still lead the way. Stuff will still be run in order. We'll still make plays and it'll be fun out there."

Seattle's offseason defensive overhaul saw Bennett, Richard Sherman and Sheldon Richardson find new homes; Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor step away from the game due to neck injuries, and Earl Thomas hold out in search of a new contract. There are changes everywhere across Seattle's defensive alignment, with the exception of the linebackers.

Wagner has been calling Seattle's defense from the moment he arrived in the NFL and became a starter as a rookie. His partner the entire time has been Wright. With the departures Patriots Authentic Jerseys , those voices they've used together for the past six seasons will be even louder.

"Yeah, they had the name, they got a lot of the attention and now the attention may shift to the linebackers," Wagner said. "But we pride ourselves on being the guys that lead this team and that has been my mindset since I stepped in. I had coach Norton teach me the way."

Ken Norton Jr. has returned to Seattle to be the defensive coordinator. He was a mentor for Wagner and Wright as the linebackers coach when both arrived in the NFL. Now he's returned with an even bigger imprint on what Seattle does defensively.

"He's the linebackers guy and he put that responsibility more on us. He calls on me in the meeting room to answer most of the questions, calls on Bobby to answer the questions because he knows that we're all on the same page," Wright said. "He knows that we're the guys that can share our leadership abilities, share our knowledge of the game. He's putting that on us."

There may also be some schematic tweaks that give Wagner and Wright more freedom defensively. Wright said he believes the adjustments will make Seattle more fundamentally sound defensively and the linebackers could be the benefactors.

"I think this defense is hungry," Wright said. "We have a lot to prove. Myself, the secondary with all the guys leaving, the (defensive) line with the guys leaving. It's going to be fun because you've got guys who want to come and show who they are."