Chiefs: Newbies on the Rise

Laddie Morse

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the knee operation for WR Kadarius Toney by now, so you should also know, he’s not who we’ll be focusing on here today. However, his injury and lack of presence on the practice field will be a reason for this piece as others step up in his absence.

Skyy Moore

Many fans still have the image stuck in their head of three lost fumbles on a punt return… but Skyy Moore has made great progress this offseason as well as in Training camp. Here’ one of his OTA catches (0:08):

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Let’s not forget that at the beginning of this offseason, HC Andy Reid said: “We’re expecting Skyy Moore to step up” and I’m sure Reid was referring to the Offensive side of the ball specifically. After Skyy Moore’s excellent punt return in the AFC Championship game…

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… Dave Toub, the Chiefs Special Team’s coach, said he was glad to see Skyy get some “redemption.”

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That brings me to…

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Rashee Rice

While Skyy Moore was a second round pick in 2022 (#54 overall), Rashee Rice was a 2nd rounder this past offseason (#55 overall). Rice has also been having a good training camp this year and with Kadarius Toney absent from the Chiefs camp, there’s been room for Rice to step up and prove himself. Rice noticed that Andy Reid’s training camp is hard… hard enough to make him “puke” to which he added, “I don’t mind puking.” and that he said the WRs got in loads of running.

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Pete Sweeney wrote a piece for ArrowheadPride called: “Rashee Rice, Justyn Ross among next up with Kadarius Toney out” in which he quote OC Matt Nagy who says of Rice:

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“[Rice] comes from a no-huddle offense (SMU), but yet it’s a little bit different with the tempo as here and now, a huddle play. Getting to the line of scrimmage, running your route, having conversions with it and yet being on time, jogging back and doing it again.

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Nagy would go on to say this about Rashee Rice:

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“He came in phenomenal shape here to this training camp — and I think every day, he’s made incremental improvements. It’s exciting for us because the sky’s the roof for his talent.”

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When you are in “phenomenal shape” I guess you can throw up and have it not mean anything bad. The fact that Rice patterns his game after Deandre Hopkins is a huge plus. The question I have is: which player will have the bigger season: Rashee Rice or Skyy Moore.

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Justyn Ross

The bandwagon began so long ago I’d forgotten is even existed… that is until I open Twitter each day to find more fans pulling for him.

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This Ross has great hands and while he has excellent hand-eye coordination, it’s his injury history that everyone wants to know about and are asking: will he be able to take the knocks and the grind of an NFL regular season? While Ross was getting 1st team reps from the beginning of camp this year, the questions remain about his health and longevity.

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In a piece by Braden Holecek called: “Justyn Ross: What To Make Of Perceived Hype” he said of Ross following his injury riddled college career:

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“Justyn Ross went on to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs after being an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft. His neck and spine injury may have been too much for some teams to keep him on their respective draft boards. Then last offseason, his first with Kansas City, Ross would have to undergo foot surgery. That forced him to miss all of the 2022 season and forced him to be placed on the injured reserve list.”

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So far, Justyn Ross has looked like a SuperMan on the Chiefs Wideout group. The Chiefs could use a “SuperMan” right now too.

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With the injury bug rearing it’s miserable little head for Kadarius Toney, whether or not he returns in time for the regular season to begin, it looks like the Chiefs have plenty other WR options to call on. Not the least of which are Richie James and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

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What? Me Worry about the Chiefs Wide Receiver corp? Not a chance.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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