Which Kansas City Chiefs players will break out in 2020?
Ricky Seals-Jones, TE
Sticking on the offensive side of the ball before we take a look at some defensive candidates, Ricky Seals-Jones has the opportunity to make a nice impact.
While a lot of back-up tight ends in Kansas City haven’t produced since Reid arrived, I believe this year is different. Seals-Jones is a pass-catching tight end, someone who I believe the Chiefs will trust if Travis Kelce needs some rest. While his numbers have been lackluster in the past, that’s bound to happen when you play for teams like the Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns.
Seals-Jones was a wide receiver in college, and we will hopefully see more variety in his routes than we saw with Blake Bell. Another positive factor is his Wonderlic score of 27. While I am not saying this is more important than physical factors, I think it is still pretty impressive. It’s up there with the averages of investment analysts and accountants, which should be beneficial in learning Andy Reid’s complex offense especially in an offseason that is anything but ordinary.
I still believe Kelce has a lot of good years ahead of him in Kansas City, but taking some of the load off can only help his longevity. We know he isn’t getting any younger, and we saw what happened with Gronk. We do not want to see a repeat. Seals-Jones isn’t like Bell but actually more like Demetrius Harris with better hands. After some Chiefs fans were clamoring to bring back Harris this offseason, I believe this is a much better fit.
Seals-Jones is going to be a factor in this offense and could even influence Andy Reid to utilize more two tight end sets to get a bigger advantage or a different look. I am not expecting 800-plus yards from him, but I am expecting Seals-Jones to fill the void behind Kelce and contribute more than we have seen in the past.
What constitutes a breakout for me in this scenario is less about the overall numbers and more about trusting the player to give Kelce much needed rest. If Ricky Seals-Jones can produce when Kelce sits for a series, catches the ball thrown his way with few drops, and shows some ability to win one-on-one matchups, that is a breakout for me.