Ranking the KC Chiefs biggest needs before the 2021 NFL Draft

2. Wide receiver

For a team loaded up top with pass catchers like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, it feels odd to list “wide receiver” as a need for the Chiefs. After all, the offense is going to click on near-historic levels in 2021 and that’s even if the team had to suit up with the roster as it is today.

Here’s the concern for the Chiefs at this point. Andy Reid’s offense goes from great to unstoppable with the presence of a strong X receiver, a Sammy Watkins type who can play a physical role in the middle as a bigger target excelling in one-on-one matchups. Watkins went to Baltimore this offseason on a one-year deal after three seasons in K.C., so now the Chiefs are turning the page toward someone else—either an internal option who will rise up or an import yet to be identified.

The Chiefs have spoken strongly in both directions. With their words, they’ve given Byron Pringle plenty of offseason praise and Demarcus Robinson, who also returned on a one-year deal (again) claimed that he’s ready to be a major contributor. Both men know the offense and should be positive assets in the passing game. The same can be said of third-year speedster Mecole Hardman. With these three, the cupboards aren’t bare in K.C. and the Chiefs could definitely move forward with the receiving corps as things stand.

However, the team’s actions spoke earlier this year with rumored interest in Josh Reynolds and Corey Davis and proven interest in JuJu Smith-Schuster, who re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers instead. This made it clear that the Chiefs were going to pay significantly to upgrade the position which likely bodes well for the draft.

That’s good news for the long-term, too, because the Chiefs could get very, very thin at wideout very quickly moving forward. Robinson will be gone in a year as will Pringle. Only Hardman and Hill will be back in 2022 from the receivers on the roster (other than the likes of Marcus Kemp and Gehrig Dieter) and even those guys will be in their contract year. Re-signing any number of these guys is a possibility, but there’s little long-term, cost-controlled impact at this important position.