ESPN.com: Kansas City Chiefs

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The�Kansas City Chiefs' locker room was filled with similar scenes after Monday night's 31-10 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Kenneth Walker III, who produced 191 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, hugged fellow running back Emmett Johnson, a rookie. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce each dapped up, hugged and expressed congratulations to Kahlil Benson, who started at left tackle and became the first undrafted rookie on offense to start in Week 1 for coach Andy Reid. In the back corner of the locker room, defensive end George Karlaftis praised rookie pass rusher R Mason Thomas.

"My guy balled out!" Karlaftis shouted, referencing Thomas. "He f---ing balled out."

The Chiefs, who have one of the NFL's youngest rosters, had 11 rookies experience their first victory. Many in the group contributed to the Chiefs' success, too. But a few minutes after he exited the locker room, Thomas acknowledged just how quick the NFL can be from one week to the next, especially since most of the Chiefs' rookies in college didn't experience as short of a turnaround from "Monday Night Football" to the next opponent, the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), in six days.

In less than 30 hours from their season-opening victory, Reid delivered a short message Wednesday morning during the team's first meeting in preparation of facing the Colts: He wants an encore from the rookies.

"[General manager] Brett [Veach] did a nice job of bringing the guys in," Reid said of the rookies. "The thing I mentioned to them is there's tape out there now. Whatever hiccups you had, you've got to fix those. You know these other coaches are pretty creative people and [opposing] players study."

The Chiefs are hoping to get similar production from their rookie class against the Colts for them to move to a 2-0 record.

Two of the rookies (Benson and cornerback Mansoor Delane) are expected to start again. Alongside them, four other rookies -- Johnson, Thomas, defensive tackle Peter Woods and receiver Cyrus Allen -- will hope to show incremental progress in their respective rotational roles.

"There's a lot of room for improvement," said Johnson, who had 10 touches for 68 all-purpose yards against the Broncos. "Going out there and playing free was good for me, trusting what I do in practice. But I've got to keep getting better. There's a lot more football left."

The rookie who is expected to have the biggest spotlight against the Colts is Benson, who is expected to be in the lineup again in place of starting left tackle Josh Simmons, who has missed almost a month with a lower back injury. Benson survived several pass-blocking reps against Nik Bonitto, the Broncos' best pass rusher, allowing only one pressure in 15 matchups, according to Next Gen Stats.

"The only thing I said to him was right before the game," Mahomes said of Benson. "I said, 'I believe in you; You're out there for a reason.' A lot of times, it's the NFL, and sometimes you make it bigger than what it is. But you're still playing a game that you've loved since you were a kid."

The Chiefs are eager to see how much Benson can polish his footwork and blocking techniques against Arden Key and Laiatu Latu, the Colts' top edge rushers.

"It's one thing to do the right thing in practice or against a bag," Reid said Wednesday. "It's another thing to do the right thing when it's live and it counts."

In holding the Broncos to just 10 points, the first player to make a highlight in the game was Delane, the Chiefs' top draft pick. Delane, in just his third snap, played perfect coverage on receiver Courtland Sutton to intercept quarterback�Bo Nix's intermediate pass.

"That's not something that I was super surprised by," Woods said of the interception. "I mean, it's Mansoor Delane. It's what I said he would do from the first time [I spoke after the draft]. I'm super excited for him for the season, as well as R Mason."

Delane did aggravate a right shoulder injury at the end of his 5-yard return when he stumbled and fell to the turf, landing on his shoulder. He did not return to the game, but coach Andy Reid said the rookie, who was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, is on track to play against the Colts.

This offseason, the Chiefs felt they needed to add more youth, speed and athleticism to their roster to return to the postseason. Reid, Veach and longtime defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo accomplished their objective.

In March, the Chiefs traded cornerback Trent McDuffie, a two-time All-Pro, to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a package of four draft picks. The Chiefs also traded up three spots with the Cleveland Browns, moving from the ninth pick to the sixth, to select Delane in the NFL draft in April. The first-round pick the Chiefs received from the Rams was used to acquire Woods, who on Monday recorded two tackles, one pressure and a pass deflection. Thomas, who was selected with the 40th pick, finished Monday with a sack and two pressures.

"Shoutout to Coach Veach," Thomas said, laughing. "That [performance] is what we want to do [as rookies]. We want to play fast, physical and who cares if you make mistakes if you can learn from them. We've got some ballers."

The rookie who could see his usage increase the most against the Colts is Johnson, the fifth-round pick. Against the Broncos, the Chiefs relied heavily on Walker, who finished with a game-high 26 touches. Johnson demonstrated that he can be an effective ball carrier, a player who showcased his juke moves against the Broncos to break a handful of tackles.

The rookie is confident he can get better at a rapid pace because his coordinator (Eric Bieniemy) and position coach (DeMarco Murray) each had notable NFL careers.

"I don't know how much better it can get, honestly," Johnson said, smiling. "Having guys who played this position in the league, having them as coaches, I learn so much every single day. When they're saying something, I've got to make sure I'm listening. I definitely want to dominate this game at a high level."