Chiefs: Where the Wide Receiver Group is Headed

Laddie Morse

The Kansas City Chiefs have been left “wanting” when it comes to their wide receivers now for more than a year. In fact, they’ve been a hurting group ever since Tyreek Hill left for Miami. I know some Kingdom fans don’t want to hear that, but it seems apparent. With the sidelining of Justin Watson for several weeks it’s time to take a look at who’s is left and who may end up arising out of this field of hopefuls.

Let’s first clear up that QB Patrick Mahomes remains one of the best if not the best all-time quarterbacks this league has ever seen. Last year, when Tyreek Hill was in Miami, he not only won the league MVP Award but came away with the MVP Award for the season. This year, the team is now 5-and-1 record wise and he just led the team to their 16th straight win over the Denver Broncos.

Let’s also clear up that Tight End Travis Kelce allows Mahomes a ton of latitude when deciding who to throw the ball to… besides Travis Kelce. That not only makes Kelce an instant Hall of Famer the moment he becomes eligible, but he seems to be etching out a nice career in commercial television and will have a nice nest egg of an acting future in front of him. The answer is not to have the RBs catch more balls out of the backfield. Now that we’ve covered the QB, RB, and the TE… let’s take a look at each wideout to see if any of them can become the Chiefs #1 WR:

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Skyy Moore had 22 receptions on 33 targets for 250 yards in 2022. His output has been nearly the same this year and any hope of him becoming the Chiefs #1 WR seems like wishful thinking. This year, after 6 games, Moore has 11 catches on 21 targets for 145 yards. Nothing to write home about. Moore was a 2nd round pick in 2022, the 54th overall selection. Unless something changes drastically, he doesn’t appear to be the one.

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MVS hasn’t had a very good year so far this season. He has had 12 targets and 7 receptions for 116 yards. I have really liked his ability to go up and get the ball… on occasion. However, he doesn’t seem to be progressing any this season… not the way I was hoping he would. Last offseason, MVS signed a three-year deal worth $30 M which includes $15 million in guarantees. If anything, MVS is headed for a release, or trade this coming offseason. How knows, maybe Veach won’t wait that long if MVS keeps up this rate of preformance.

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Rice has been improving this season. He has 21 receptions out of 28 targets. His 13 of 19 receptions to targets in the first four games of the year was good for 68%, but in the past two games Rice has had 8 receptions on 9 targets for an 89% catch rate. Could Rice become the #1 WR they’ve been needing ever since Tyreek Hill left town? Sure, but I was predicting that Sky Moore would progress as a rookie last year and look how that turned out. OTH, Rise is a bigger WR at 6-foot-2, 203 lbs. and is a lot closer in size to JuJu Smith-Schuster (6-foot-1, 215 lbs.) who helped the Chiefs out in the WR department last year, perhaps more than many care to say. In an SI.com article, they said of Rice:

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“Rice is the current top contributor, hauling in

21 passes for 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns

to kick off his rookie season.”

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Toney was traded for by GM Brett Veach in October of 2022, a year ago, and although Toney helped K.C. win a Super Bowl with his TD and Punt return, he’s not been the player many had hoped he’d be. Especially when it comes to staying healthy. Toney has been targeted 25 times and had 17 receptions for 92 total yards… not exactly what the Chiefs were hoping for as he has only started two games while appearing in all 6. I’m not so sure Toney will ever be healthy enough to become the teams #1 WR… but we can hope. That’s where Toney’s career stands with the Chiefs… in the land of hopes and dreams.

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The Chiefs put WR/KR James on their injured reserve in September with an injury to the medial collateral ligament in his knee. James was signed by Veach for a pittance and many thought it to be a great deal when he was brought on board, but now that he’s hurt, all bets are off. If James ever does return, he’d be a part of the Chiefs “WR-by-committee” program and will never line up as anyone’s (any Team’s) #1 WR.

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While Montrell Washington was signed jfrom the Practice Squad to the active roster ust a few weeks ago on Spetember 26th, he’s a Chiefs players because Richie James got hurt and he was there to replace him. Montrell Washingotn will never be thought of as a #1 WR but he may do well as a Kick Returner.

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Justyn Ross is a possibility. He only has 6 Targets for 3 receptions so the team may be on another wave length than I am, but I see a future where Justyn Ross is a big play maker like he was a Clemson, before he had all his medical issues arise. Let’s keep an eye on Ross and his ascendence.

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Watson has become a team favorite of mine. I’ve been hoping he could step up his play and become the #1 WR out of this group. He has 10 receptions out of 17 Targets for 219 yards. Not what you’d call great, but he does have 4.44 speed in the 40-yard dash so he could be a deceptive deep ball threat. In Rapoport says of Watson:

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Watson will likely be out until the team returns from their Bye Week the week after they play Miami in Germany. We’ll see how things have turned out for this WR group during the Bye Week.

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One solution may be the return of TE Jody Fortson. However, Fortson turns 28 in December and will be on the IR list the remainder of this season as he hurt his shoulder in Training camp and had a surgical procedure at that time. Noah Gray has been healthy and he could be a target who gets increased Targets but I wouldn’t count on him becoming used as much as Travis Kelce is used… but that’s exactly what the Chiefs need out of a #1 WR.

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The Chiefs are left with either continuing to use a “WR-by-committee” method or they could draft a WR high in the first round or possibly even sign one in free agency.

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DrafTek has the Chiefs taking an OG out of Kansas State named Cooper Beebe in their most recent 2024 Mock Draft. A 6-foot-1, 164 lbs. WR, Xavier Worthy out of Texas would still be on the board according to DrafTek. So would 6-foot-3, 215 lbs. WR Keon Coleman out of Florida State and 6-foot-2, 178 lbs. WR Troy Franklin out of Oregon. All three WRs are Juniors. The point is, the Chiefs need to replace Tyreek Hill, or get a WR who can get open at will. Well, that’s what Patrick Mahomes needs. Here’s some highlights of Xavier Worthy (4:29):

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Worthy actually reminds me of Justyn Ross. Still keeping my finger crossed for Ross.

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The current salary cap is $224,800,000 M. but will be $256,000,000 M according to OvertheCap.com. The Chiefs will have $33.4 M available to sign their players, but they will have loads of their own players who need to be re-signed, like: Chris Jones, L’Jarius Sneed, Creed Humphrey, Nick Bolton, Trey Smith, Mike Danna, and Wille Gay… among others. However, if Andy Reid has his say so, he could end up demanding that the Chiefs sign a Free Agent WR like:

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While I doubt Andy Reid and Co. will go the Free Agent route for a WR, they may take a stab at a playmaker at another position based on what they’ve done in recent years. What do you think?

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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