Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid finally got a chance to look at his new and improved defense in action.

The Chiefs wrapped up their first set of organized team activities on Thursday. Despite being unable to put on the pads and have full contact practices, Reid was impressed with the things he saw from his defense.

“Yeah, so you’re not going to get the full offense or the full defense just because you can’t have contact up front,” Reid said. “It’s not like training camp. But I will tell you it’s very well organized and for the time that they’ve had together, there aren’t a lot of holes in their coverages. I’ve been impressed by that.”

Reid attributes the job the defense has done so far to his new coaching staff and their familiarity with each other. It’s allowed for very little adjustment and learning on the part of the staff. That has allowed the ability to jump right in and get to work during OTA practices.

“Some of that has to do, I think, with being able to bring in assistant coaches that have been with Spags (Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo),” Reid said. “So, they were able to hit the ground running and I think that pays off for a camp like this. Then their communication with the players, knowing the defense, being able to communicate it and teach it. I’ve been impressed with that. I like what I’m seeing on defense and we just keep building. We’re three days into the ‘shorts’ practices, but we keep building it. I sure like the enthusiasm, intensity, energy, all those things.”

That communication and energy on the part of the defensive coaching staff appears to be something that was lacking prior to this season. It’s been noticeable to those in attendance at the single Chiefs OTA session open to the media.

The Chiefs will continue building the defense during OTA practices when they resume on May 29. Hopefully by the time training camp rolls around defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will be well on his way to transforming the defense into a unit that is part of the reason the Chiefs win games during the 2019 season.