Demarcus Robinson – Third Receiver
The Chiefs saw one of their longest tenured offensive players, Chris Conley, depart for the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason on a multi-year deal. While Conley’s numbers weren’t prolific by any means, he was still a consistent and mostly reliable third option at receiver for the Chiefs. With his departure, the team will have to look elsewhere to fill this role.
Demarcus Robinson is a viable option. He has good speed and decent ability to separate on his routes, two of the most important aspects you look for in a receiver. However, he also has some negative aspects that could prevent him from fulfilling the role.
The most important factor here is experience. Conley was asked to do a lot in the Chiefs’ offense. Most people think playing wide receiver is all about running good routes and catching the football, but there is far more to the position than that. Especially in Andy Reid’s West Coast system, a player in the role of third receiver is often a decoy to draw coverage away from players like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Whether Robinson has the mental acumen to shoulder this responsibility game in and game out is a legitimate question.
Given these concerns, it’s possible the team could take a wide receiver in this weekend’s NFL draft. It’s unlikely that a draft pick would start day one, but if they took one high enough it wouldn’t be surprising if this player overtook Robinson’s role part way through the season.