Chiefs WRs Will Excel

Laddie Morse

There’s been a lot of talk about the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver group this year, and that it’s not enough. Consequently, there’s also been a lot of talk about bringing in a veteran WR like DeAndre Hopkins or Mike Evans in a trade. After looking over the Chiefs WR corp, I just don’t think that will be necessary. At all.

The following is meant to be an inside look at the Chiefs WRs in 2021 and 2022 with a focus on how many WRs were being thrown to, and how many yards they gained. While I have pre-supposed that Patrick Mahomes threw the ball to many more WRs in 2022, that hasn’t worked out to eb the case… except for a small margin.

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That was 2021. So now let’s compare that to 2022:

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In 2021, Patrick Mahomes threw the ball to 9.1 receivers per game. In 2022, their Super Bowl winning season, he threw the ball to 9.4 receivers per game. While those figures refer to totally different receiver thrown to in each game, the totals for the year don’t reflect that difference. In 2021, Mahomes threw to 155 receivers and in 2022 he threw to 160.

In 2022, I found that Travis Kelce was thrown to the most times in every game but two and in three other games he had the second most catches. However, in the 2021 season, neither Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce were thrown to the most in 6 contests. That’s a significant amount.

So, what can we expect in 2023? We should expect Travis Kelce to continue to have the most number of catches in. a majority of games. When other team’s DC’s catch onto just how much Travis Kelce is being targeted, they will likely send three DBs out to cover him. Two just hasn’t worked in the past so I won’t be surprised to see them try that tactic.

In the meantime, however much coverage Travis Kelce attracts, that should open up the field for the Chiefs other receivers, most their wide receivers. This should also help Jody Fortson who has good hands and he should have a great year.

With such a high volume of pass catchers being targeted in the past two years, I expect to see each of the Chiefs WRs who made the 53 man roster get their fair share of targets in each game.

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Kadarius Toney

I heard and read a lot about Toney’s abiltiy. If you read at ArrowheadOne a lot then you’ve heard me say he has the best juke move I’ve ever seen. Others may agree:

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Richie James

Perhaps you’ve seen and read about Richie James having the best YAC (yards after catch) in the league last year. David Bell and I have debated over whether or not the Chiefs will keep Nikko Remigio or Richie James.

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After some time has passed, I now agree with David… it’s going to be Richie James, and not just because of his return ability.

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From ArrowheadPride:

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“[James] … catch rate over expected was better than that of any other receiver who met the aforementioned criteria. He helped quarterbacks targeting him post a 119.6 passer rating, the third-best mark of any pass catcher on this list. And of his 70 targets, only 13 resulted in incompletions. That’s a catch rate befitting a running back snagging swing passes, not a receiver running through a defense.”

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Rashee Rice

The wonder rookie is having a good offseason so far. We can only hope he keeps it up during the regular season. Patrick Mahomes says of Rice:

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“… you know he has the explosiveness and the jump ball ability, but the way he was able to kind of feel throughout the zone coverages and pull up in the right spot, that’s more of a veteran-type mindset for a receiver so I was very excited about that.”

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From Price Carter who used to write with us here at ArrowheadOne:

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“Rice has all the physical traits to be a starting outside receiver in the NFL. Standing at 6’0″ and weighing in at 204 lbs. with 9.5″ hands and 32.75″ arms, he has the ideal length for the position. He’s also a dynamic athlete in terms of speed and acceleration. Rice has a habit of making the first tackler miss and gaining extra yards after the catch.”

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Skyy Moore

Skyy Moore is filled with potential. We should see more of that/this, this year:

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From The Draft Network in 2022 before last year’s draft:

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“Western Michigan wide receiver Skyy Moore enters the 2022 NFL Draft process as an impressively productive prospect… he’s been a high volume and big-play target in the passing game, winning on fades from the slot, in-breaking patterns into the teeth of the defense, and on rhythm throws in the RPO game.”

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I still have faith that he can become a #1 type WR.

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Marquez Valdes-Scantling (MVS)

MVS should have a career year:

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Justyn Ross

Justyn Ross has been singled out by Peter Schrager at “Good Morning Football” — GMFB — as one of his breakout WRs this season. If Justyn Ross does that, it will be good news for Kingdom fans, but it might also be bad news for the speedy John Ross, as well as Justin Watson.

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Justin Watson

Justin Watson is starting his fifth year in the NFL and has had 15 catches for 315 yards in the 2022 season. That works out to 21.0 yards per reception which leads all Chiefs WRs in that department:

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John Ross

John Ross was drafted in the 2017 NFL Draft exactly one pick before Patrick Mahomes was selected. Ross was taken by the Bengals but has had a history of injuries. From DraftSharks.com:

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On the other hand, the Chiefs have one of the best medical staffs available and so if Ross is going to reach his potential, it will most likely happen in KC. (0:43).

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That’s not all the Chief have on their roster at Wide Receiver. They also have Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Ty Fryfogle as well as Cornell Powell but it appears to be a steep uphill climb for these three. Plus, let’s not forget who is throwing them the ball. The best QB ever. While the Chiefs like to develop the players they use at most every position, we have yet to see if they go out and sign another WR, especially one like DeAndre Hopkins. I don’t think that’s necessary. What do you think?

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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