Are the Kansas City Chiefs set at wide receiver?

We just set the Chiefs total receptions for 2017 at 350 and have already allotted 275 of those to Kelce, Hill, Maclin, and the running backs. That gives us 75 more to work with. While some of you may be ready to proclaim “Let’s give all 75 of those to a first round wide receiver!” I don’t think that’s feasible. Chris Conley is going to catch some passes. The Chiefs are going to have a second and third tight end that get a few looks (I would love it if they upgraded there and the number two tight end was more of a factor).

Last season Conley caught 44 passes and the combined tight ends not named Travis Kelce caught 22. Does anyone here want to argue that those numbers should be lower this season? Let’s round Conley up to 45 catches this season and bump the “other” tight ends up to 25 in hopes that someone emerges a little there and that gets us 70 more receptions. We are now only five receptions away from our total for the season and we haven’t even mentioned Albert Wilson or De’Anthony Thomas.

The bottom line here is that even if Kansas City spends a mid round pick on a receiver that just competes for a spot in the rotation that rookie’s totals are pretty much going to have to subtract from players we currently have on the roster and we’re already capping Maclin at 60 receptions and estimating 18 more receptions than Reid’s offenses typically average. I DON’T want the number of receptions for Kelce or Hill to drop at all. Those two are the best weapons on the roster and taking the ball out of their hands would be a mistake. As we already mentioned I don’t think the number of running back receptions are going to drop drastically as long as Reid and Smith are running things.

So basically if you are campaigning for the Chiefs to get a new rookie heavily involved in the passing game those passes are going to have to come from Maclin and Conley’s targets for the most part. Would a rookie that the Chiefs draft at the back of the first round be a big enough upgrade over Maclin and Conley to warrant that high of a pick? I’m just not convinced that it would be.

I’m on record as wanting the Chiefs to invest in a first round quarterback, but if that doesn’t happen then there are still other positions that I would prefer to see the Chiefs target in the first round. Does the offense need to improve? Absolutely, but I think that has more to do with the quarterback and running back positions (and maybe offensive line) than it does with the wide receivers.

So what do you think Addicts? Are you with me and the numbers in thinking that a first round receiver just isn’t necessary or do you still believe it would give the Chiefs the offensive boost to put them over the top? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!