Without Jeremy Maclin, what do the Chiefs have now at wide receiver?
By David Thomas
In a shocking move, the Kansas City Chiefs released Jeremy Maclin. What do the Chiefs have now?
Okay wow. I don’t think many people in Chiefs Kingdom saw the release of Jeremy Maclin coming. Jeremy Maclin was our #1 receiver and knew our offense inside and out. He is the quintessential Andy Reid wide out. So what do the Chiefs have now?
Back in March Andy Reid said he wanted to get Tyreek Hill more involved in the offense. Well, now he’ll have no choice. It’s officially the Tyreek Hill and Chris Conley show now. The Chiefs other receivers likely to be on the 53-man roster include Albert Wilson, De’Anthony Thomas, Demarcus Robinson, and Jehu Chesson. Those three returning players, Chesson aside, combined for 35 receptions, 308 yards, and 2 touchdowns last season. Combine that with Hill and Conley and you get a total of 140 receptions,1,431 yards and 8 touchdowns.
The loss of Maclin will not just be felt on the field, but in the locker room as well. Maclin has been a leader on the team since joining the Chiefs in 2015. During the offseason leading up to the 2016 season Maclin took Conley and Wilson under his wing to teach them everything he knew. Now it’ll likely be up to them as the veterans on the teams to lead this young group of receivers.
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Conley will likely stay in his typical X position with Tyreek Hill taking Maclin’s Y spot. That leaves Albert Wilson on the outside at the Z position. All assuming they are the top 3 WRs going into the season. With Jeremy Maclin gone, competition for the top three wideout spots will be a battle to watch all throughout training camp and preseason.
One player worth mentioning is Demarcus Robinson drafted by the Chiefs in 2016. Robinson spent all last season as a key special teams contributor with just 5 snaps on offense. Some scouts were saying that Robinson had the talent to be a top WR prospect but ended up falling due to character issues. Assuming all that has been taken care of Robinson has perhaps the greatest potential to shoot up the draft charts due to the Maclin release. Keep an eye out on him this offseason.