NFL Draft: Wide receiver prospects perfectly suited for the Kansas City Chiefs

Gary Jennings, West Virginia

If you were looking for a list of the most explosive wideout options in this draft class the first three prospects I listed would all likely be on the list as well as some of the best known first round caliber options. One name that would likely not make it would be Gary Jennings from West Virginia but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t a player the Chiefs should be taking a strong look at.

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Jennings had a very interesting career at West Virginia especially over the past two seasons when he was asked to play two very different roles in their offense. It’s those two roles that have me very interested in Jennings. In 2017 Jennings was more of a possession receiver, totaling 96 receptions for 1083 yards (11.3 yards per reception) and just one touchdown. While that may sound like the profile of a useful slot option in the mid to late rounds it certainly doesn’t sound like a guy that could help fill the void of Hill when it comes to stretching a defense and creating big plays.

Then came the 2018 season.

Suddenly, West Virginia asked Jennings to play the role of deep threat and he responded with a 54 reception season for 917 yards (17 yards per reception) and 13 touchdowns. He was tied with Andy Isabella with 14 receptions where the ball travelled 20 yards or more past the line of scrimmage and out of the four prospects on this list he had the highest catch rate (60.9%) on passes thrown more than 20 yards in the air (Campbell 25%, Isabella 43.8%, Hardman 31.3%). While he doesn’t quite have the elite speed of the other three prospects on this list his 4.42 forty yard dash time at 6-foot-1 and 214 pounds is still very good. Another interesting tidbit is that every single one of his 54 receptions last season came from the slot position.

The fact that Jennings has proven himself capable of being both a possession receiver and a deep threat makes him an incredibly appealing mid to late round pick, especially given the Chiefs current situation at wide receiver. Should Hill be active all season and they needed more of a possession guy in the slot, Jennings could do it. Should Hill miss time and they need another deep threat option, Jennings could do it.

The one thing I don’t love about Jennings is that too often he catches the ball with his body instead of extending out his hands to catch it. This makes him more susceptible to pass break ups and drops in the NFL. He has shown soft hands when he does extend them so it could be something the Chiefs could work with him on.

The clip from the Senior Bowl below is a perfect demonstration of what Jennings brings to the table. He shows the explosion to get behind the defense, he tracks the ball really well in the air making an adjustment to the under thrown pass and times his jump perfect but he also uses his body to catch the ball.

Should the Chiefs target other positions early on and find themselves in need of a wideout in the mid rounds I would love to see them draft Gary Jennings.

So there you have it Chiefs fans. There are four wide receiver prospects that I believe would be perfect for the Chiefs to target given their current situation at wide receiver. What do you think? Do you like these four? Would you rather see them put off drafting defense and take a wideout in the first round? Are there other mid round guys that you prefer? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.