On Day 6 of the Kansas City Chiefs’ organized team activities (OTAs) on Wednesday, rookie left tackle Josh Simmons took part in team scrimmage drills for the first time this offseason.

Simmons continues to rehab from a torn patellar tendon he suffered at Ohio State in mid-October.

“He came out of it really well,” said offensive line coach Andy Heck of Simmons after the workout. “The first thing you can see is his explosive nature. Everything he does is super quick, so we’re working on fine-tuning techniques. He’s able to do individual work within certain limits. As we hone in on the techniques, we don’t want to take away from his athleticism. That’s one of his A-plus strengths.”

The main question surrounding Simmons has been his availability for the upcoming regular season, but so far, things are trending in the right direction. Simmons was limited during the club’s rookie minicamp and the first week of voluntary camp, yet head coach Andy Reid hinted he was further along than expected.

Since draft night, Kansas City has been forthcoming in its stance that without the college injury, Simmons certainly would not have been available at No. 32. In a peculiar way, it’s turned into a bit of a blessing from the Chiefs’ perspective.

“[His] college film [was] phenomenal, really liked it,” said offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. “You can see athleticism [and] recovery if he gets beat. You talk to his coaches that he has, and you just listen to the want that the kid has. Obviously, he had the injury, so it dropped him a little bit, but I’ve really been impressed with his professionalism since he’s been in this building. He’s really locked in. He’s doing everything he can do up to what he’s allowed to do with the injury, and so that’s all he can do.

“He’s got a great group of guys on that O-line, and coach Heck and [assistant offensive line] coach [Corey] Matthaei teaching him, so he’s in a great spot. And I think we just gotta keep him going — arrow up. But man, his film is really good.”

Simmons is expected to compete with veteran Jaylon Moore for the starting left tackle role. Moore attended Wednesday’s practice but did not participate, wearing no helmet and a compression sleeve on his left leg.

On draft weekend, general manager Brett Veach noted that the team would bring Simmons along slowly — and so far, so good, according to everyone at the team facility.

“Little by little, he’s been doing more and more with us out on the field,” finished Heck. “It was nice [Friday] we were able to get him a few reps.”