Laddie Morse
To begin with, we need to know if the Kansas City Chiefs intend to keep 6 or 7 wide receivers this year. That will help us make this WR prediction immeasurably. I’m going with seven (7) and will start by stating that the Chiefs have the best group of Wideouts to choose from that they’ve ever had. Now… that’s a loaded statement… which many will say is non-sense when you consider all the balls that 2023 second round pick, Rashee Rice, dropped last Saturday vs the Twinkies… uhhh, I mean Brownies.
Matt Derrick, Chiefs beat writer at ChiefsDigest.com, made a prediction yesterday about who the Chiefs will keep on their 53 man roster and on offense, it looks like this:
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3 – Quarterbacks
4 – Running Backs
2 – Tight Ends
9 – Offensive Linemen and,
7 – Wide Receivers
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With the new rule about the number of QBs a team can suit up on game day stretching the limit from 53 to 54 men, that leaves an open space for the Chiefs to carry another tight end.
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“The bylaw will permit each team to field an emergency quarterback on game days that will not count against the team’s 46-man active roster.”
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It’s hard for me to see K.C. only carrying two TEs when they will also be carrying zero FBs for the first time since Andy Reid came to town. So, let’s get into the WRs.
Wide Receivers
The first four WRs are important and that’s because they will be Patrick Mahomes primary targets aside from Travis Kelce. Also, Kadarius Toney will likely not be sent to the IR (Injured reserve list). So, the first four WRs looks like this:
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Marquez Valdes-Scantling (MVS)
Skyy Moore
Rashee Rice
Justin Watson
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MVS is listed first until Kadarius Toney returns to action. Toney should serve as the Chiefs WR#1 but MVS will fill that role until his return.
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Skyy Moore will fill part of the void left by JuJu Smith-Schuster. HC Andy Reid said of Moore: “We’re expecting Skyy Moore to step up.” at the league meetings in the Spring. If you count Travis Kelce to be PMII’s primary target then the use of MVS, Moore, Rice and Watson should furnish plenty of fire-power. The next three that I predict will be fixtures on the 53 man roster include:
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Richie James
Justyn Ross
Kadarius Toney (temporary IR)
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That’s right, the Chief will not be keeping Ihmir Smith-Marsette (IS-M) but hope to bring him back to the Practice Squad. If that ends up as the real scenario, I expect another team to steal him away. The question then becomes: what do you want, to keep IS-M or cut someone else? If so, then who? There are no good answers to that question. Consequently, it’s IS-M that I’m predicting will be cut today by 3:00 PM CDT. Matt Derrick had this to say about IS-M:
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“Indeed, it was Smith-Marsette who shone brightest, finishing the preseason No. 2 in the NFL with 195 yards receiving, and he was one of nine receivers (along with Ross) who tied for the lead with two touchdown receptions. But it’s hard to find a place for him on the roster.”
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It’s either IS-M or someone else we love to love at WR who will be going away to another team and excelling. That’s just the name of the game when you win two of the last four Super Bowls. Andy Reid and his staff have been telling their group of 90+ men in training camp:
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“Make it hard on us. Put the best tape you can out there so other teams will be asking about you in a trade scenario prior to cut down day. Make sure we make the right decisions.”
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When it comes to IS-M it looks like he’s put up some of the best tape we’ve seen in these many years.
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Who do you think will be in the final WR cutdown?
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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