K.C. WR: Fixed or FUBAR

Laddie Morse

General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, Brett Veach, has had a reputation for fixing positions of need in the offseason. In 2022, he drafted CB Trent McDuffie and brought in Safety Justin Reid as a Free Agent to fix the defensive backfield. The year before that, in response to the Bucs beating the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Veach brought in Joe Thuney, drafted Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith and traded for Orlando Brown Jr.. The year after that, in 2023, Veach singed both Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith to play RT and LT.

The point is, Veach has a history of fixing positions in a single bound… or offseason. Yes, that’s a Superman reference and there are many in Chiefs Kingdom who think of Brett Veach in that manner.

This past offseason, on the other hand, Veach has attempted to fix the Wide Receivers position by signing Hollywood Brown and drafting Xavier Worthy, two very fast gentlemen. Brown runs a 4.27 40-yard dash while Worthy is the fastest man to ever run a 40 at the combine by laying down a 4.21 40-yard dash. Well… Brown is out (a Brown-Out) with a shoulder injury (of a sternoclavicular joint), possibly for the rest of the season and Worthy is smaller and a more fragile WR, who may, or may not work out… we don’t know yet (0:15).

Veach also released Kadarius Toney (Cleveland Browns) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling — MVS — (who now plays for the Buffalo Bills). Veach also drafted TE Jared Wiley to the receiving corp.

With Worthy taking in 4 catches for 64 yards and Wiley taking in one catch for 7 yards, total this year, to date, the above question is legitimate. QB Patrick Mahomes was able to successfully navigate the games in the 2022 and 2023 seasons and still come out on top, even with a sub-par group of Wide Receivers each year. Mostly because of drops by said WRs.

This season, after two games, there are 14 teams with more drops than the Chiefs has and K.C. has only two dropped passes this year. Also, there are 4 NFL teams with zero drops including: the Bills, the Steelers, the Vikings, and the Ravens.

The Chiefs receivers dropped 44 passes last season (2023), a 6.9% dropped passes rate. Here are the top (bottom?) five teams in drops from last year:

sportingnews.com – Photo credit

From last January, SportingNew.com comes up with this 2023 revelation about Rashee Rice:

Rashee Rice had moved himself from being part of the problem at WR to being part of the solution. The Chiefs gave MVS two seasons to improve so that he could also be part of the answer, but it never happened. The biggest problem for MVS was that he dropped a Week Eleven TD pass that hit him in the hands against hte Eagles, which ultimately would have won that game (0:05).

Even though MVS only dropped three passes last season (5 in 2022, while being paid $10M per year), the big mistake of. dropping a TD pass which would have won a game is just too hard to forget. Or, at least it was for the coaches who cut him.

Do I think the WR position is FUBAR? “F-d” up beyond repair? “FUBAR?” No, not at all. However, I won’t be shocked in the least bit if Veach takes another WR in the first or second rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft either. Depending on how well Kingsley Suamataia adapts to his starting role at LT, the Chiefs will likely go CB and WR in the first two rounds of the upcoming draft.

If WR Rashee Rice does have to serve a suspension at the beginning of next season, the odds go way up that Veach will select a WR in round one. Both Veach and Andy Reid have said you can never have enough good DBs in the house so with Trent McDuffie approaching the last season of his contract with K.C., Veach will in all likelihood be looking at the depth of the WR class plus a CB.

If you’re looking ahead to the draft — like I am — then a WR who already stands out to me is Tre Harris of Old Miss. He runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and at 6-foot-2 tall and 205 lbs. that impressive. Here’s a long TD he had (below) against Furman. I know Furman is a small college but — they are NCAA Division I — and Harris’ speed and agility are what jumps off the screen at me. Harris is at the top of the screen. He reminds me a bit of Calvin Johnson. CJ may be 3 inches taller and 32 lbs. heavier, but, you’ll see what I mean. DrafTek has Tre Harris ranked as the 46th best prospect right now, so he should be available no matter where K.C. picks (0:40).

If you’re wondering who is currently rated as the #1WR it’s Tetairoa McMillan (they call him T-Mack). He stands 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 210 lbs.. Although he runs a slower 40-yard dash at 4.50 every catch he makes is a highlight reel. T-Mack plays for Arizona. Enjoy (1:01):

What do you think?

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne