Chiefs Wide Receivers: Room in the Inn

Laddie Morse

Happy Easter to all those who celebrate this holiday.

The Kansas City Chiefs have for the second year in a row, separated themselves from their leading wide receiver. In 2022 it was Tyreek Hill who was jettisoned (for five draft picks). Then, this offseason, they allowed JuJu Smith-Schuster to sign elsewhere, in his case with the New England Patriots. It has often surprised me that players who are excellent don’t want to sign with the Mahomes led Chiefs, or at least resign. On the other hand, they are walking away to find a bigger payday elsewhere. However, those players appear to be signing with a team that has little to no chance of winning their own division, much less the Lombardi. Here’s the stats for the Chiefs current WR room:

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JuJu Smith-Schuster is with the Patriots now. Mecole Hardman is with the Jets. Justin Watson is still unsigned and I’m hoping he returns. Cornell Powell has no production… yet. Ty Fryfogle was a UDFA for the Cowboys last year and then waived before the end of their training camp… then he was signed by K.C. this past January. So, the Chiefs WR room is filled with players who have tons of potential, but I’d be surprised if they don’t draft a wide receiver, maybe even two, in the coming draft.

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While it appears that the Chiefs – and GM Brett Veach – will “possibly” sign a veteran WR before the draft arrives, in less than three weeks, an examination of their current WRs on the roster may tell a different story.

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ISM played his college ball at Iowa and runs a 4.43 40 yard dash. A comparison of his skills to that of JuJu Smith-Schuster may help us understand why Veach hasn’t gone out and immediately signed another WR. JuJu ran a 4.54 – 40 yard dash and while they are the same height, JuJu come in at 215 lbs., 30 lbs. heavier than ISM. Which means, that while JuJu was sturdy enough to take — and hand out — hits over the middle of the field, ISM may not be.

However, it struck me odd that many of his plays in this highlight video are of him running a Reverse or a Jet Sweep (go to the 0:22 second mark) for Iowa.

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Smith-Marsette was taken in the 5th round by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was cut by them one year later at the end of August when they was cut because they traded for WR Jalen Reagor. ISM was signed the next day by the Chicago Bears… then waived by them the next month… which is when Brett Veach pounced, and brought him to the Chiefs Practice Squad.

One look at his tape and you can see why the Chiefs — including Andy Reid — were interested. Ihmir Smith-Marsette was seen recently working out with Patrick Mahomes and Trey Lance:

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After spending three years at Ole Miss, Jerrion Ealy was signed as a UDFA by the Chiefs just last year (2022). He was suspended by the NFL for taking Performance Enhancing Drugs, and was cut by the Chiefs then re-signed the very next day. He runs a 4.52 40 yard dash which is pretty good for a RB, but maybe not so good for a WR. His tape mostly shows him at RB but you can see his value to K.C. because he catches the ball naturally and that’s likely the primary reason Reid and Veach are interested in him. Reid, I’m sure, also loves the fact that Ealy breaks a lot of tackles as you can see in this highlight reel.

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Note: This video only shows his 2021 Junior season highlights.

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In an article by Brad Senkiw for SI.com, he said of Ross:

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“Ross sat out the entire season after having spinal surgery that summer [in 2020]… He played 10 games for Clemson in 2021, missing the final three contests after re-aggravating a foot injury that he suffered in Week 1 of the season… Ross had surgery and sat out the Cheez-It Bowl. He then declared for the NFL draft, but was not selected in the seven-round event in April.”

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The same article also quoted Andy Reid as saying:

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“It was a little bit off of the surgery he had before. It wasn’t functioning quite the way [he wanted]. It was bothering him. It wasn’t working quite the way he wanted it, so they went in and re-did it. And we’re hoping this works out well.”

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So, Justyn Ross was on the Chiefs PUP list all of the 2022 season, and within the Chiefs system, had the whole year to get healthy.

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I’m sure the Chiefs are hoping to get the best out him, at least find the same player they witnessed in this highlight video:

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At 6-foot-3 and 215 lbs., Ross is a formidable presence on the football field. If he can step in as a healthy wideout for the Chiefs in 2023 (admittedly a big ask), he could easily help out with catches over the middle of the field, like JuJu had in the 2022 season. After not getting drafted in 2022, SI.com published another article that read: “Chiefs Sign ‘First-Round Talent’ WR After Falling Out of Draft” so we know Justyn Ross is capable with superior talent for a WR, the question is, does he still have it. Surely, the Chiefs know what we don’t, when it comes to his progress, but if they are counting on him, it means his physical prowess is blossoming. For fans of the Chefs, that is nothing but good news.

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I predicted a year ago that Skyy Moore would become the Chiefs #1 WR by the years end. Perhaps I was a year early. Some on Twitter are predicting the Chiefs will be making Moore their #1 WR right now. If that’s the case, it’s a good thing that Mr. Magic Mahomes is practicing with him already:

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While last season, Moore’s rookie year, my not have been his breakout year, I think the 2023 season could be. I know, I know… if pigs could fly. However, all directions are pointing up for Skyy Moore and his work with Patrick Mahomes already this offseason is a great barometer.

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John Ross set the Combine record for the fast 40 yard dash time at Lucas Oil Stadium with a 4.22.

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Many will want to compare John Ross to Tyreek Hill, but there is no comparison. Ross was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2017 draft and has had 62 catches for 957 yards and 11 TDs. That a far cry from what Hill has achieved. Hill will be a Hall of Fame wideout, but we’re just hoping Ross sees the field in 2023… if he’s still with the team by then.

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MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) makes $10M per year and he signed that deal last year, which he’s got two more years on. So far, he’s not been worth that much. However, the Chiefs are expecting more from him in 2023. Here’s his career stats:

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Less than 700 yards is not what the Chiefs signed up for, I’m sure, so we can hope to see more from him this coming year. With a year under his belt and another offseason to learn Andy Reid’s playbook, that should take place, especially since #1 WR, JuJu Smith-Schuster, has moved on.

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As the year progressed, MVS seemed to drop fewer and fewer passes and ended up making more plays like this one. We can only hope more plays like this one are in the cards.

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Here’s a short video called, “A world with a HEALTHY Kadarius Toney is a SCARY one!” in which it’s stated that Toney will be the Chiefs #1 Wide Receiver:

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I read a piece recently that compared a draft prospect to Dante Hall… but I have to say, Kadarius Toney has the best juke move I’ve ever seen and that includes Barry Sanders. Now, we know Andy Reid is a one-cut-and-go kind of guy so getting Toney to narrow down his uses of the juke moves, will eb challenging. If Toney’s injury history is related to his shiftiness, we may not see him on the field very much unless, that is, he makes some adjustments in his game. He is a 4.39 – 40 yard dash kind of guy, so you would think he doesn’t need too many jukes to be successful. As this video points out, the final word with Toney is… if… he can stay healthy. If he can, the Chiefs already have their #1 WR in the WR room.

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I believe that most people perform their best when they are where they truly want to be, and with the people they really want to be with. The training staff of the Chiefs is one of the best in the NFL — no matter what jealous players might say — so Toney will have the whole offseason — and year — to get his body right with all the support he needs. As far as learning Andy Reid’s massive offensive playbook is concerned, if Toney has the whole offseason with the playbook in hand, it only helps his cause.

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Late Notice: The Chiefs just signed a wideout/special teams specialist yesterday, in the person of Richie James, who last played for the N.Y. Giants. James was a 7th round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2018 NFL Draft. Here are some of his highlights:

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James appears to always know where hte first down marker is and he goes for it. Because his speed is pedestrian he makes a lot of his catches in traffic but looks like he holds onto the ball once he gets it.

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It’s been speculated that the presence of James means Kadarius Toney will have to take less punt returns and so Tony can devote more of his time to the WR position. While the presence of James doesn’t replace JuJu Smith-Schuster, he does bring a Special Teams set of skills.

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Summary

Here’s nother look at the current Chiefs Wide receivers room and their critical totals:

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While the number of years of experience seem fine, at first glance, none of them has more than 5 years of experience and although they average 3.2 years in on average, that includes MVS and John Ross, who each have 5. When you look over the Chiefs list of WRs who are already in the room, do you still feel the need to bring in another veteran or drafted another player? I do… and I won’t be surprised at all if Veach grabs one in the first round and another WR later in the draft.

While Travis Kelce is actually WR#1 — or receiver number one, if you prefer — and Patrick Mahomes can work with anyone, Brett Veach needs to juice up this position group before they head to Training Camp in three and a half months.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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