KC Chiefs: What we learned from Week 9’s snap counts vs. Packers

Nov 7, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A Kansas City Chiefs cheers during the second half against the Green Bay Packers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A Kansas City Chiefs cheers during the second half against the Green Bay Packers at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 1, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (11) gestures after a catch for a first down during the second half against the New York Giants at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson (11) gestures after a catch for a first down during the second half against the New York Giants at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /

D-Rob is losing playing time

Believe it or not, Josh Gordon is trending in a positive direction.

In Week 9, Gordon has 19 snaps (or 29 percent of all offensive snaps) compared to only 14 (or 22 percent) for Demarcus Robinson. It was the first time that Gordon had trumped D-Rob’s snap counts this season and it might indicate a growing comfort level with Gordon within the offense overall. It also points to the fact that Robinson is losing playing time to Gordon and others.

Two weeks ago, Robinson had more snaps played on offense than anyone else—Mahomes included. He played 79 percent of the offensive snaps in that stomach-churning loss to the Tennessee Titans. From there, he played 41 percent of snaps against the New York Giants last week and now he’s down to 22 percent. That’s the sort of trajectory that makes sense given his lack of offensive impact when given so much time.

As for Gordon, he’s shifted here and there. He had 40 percent of snaps in Week 7 only to fall back to 11 percent in Week 8, although now he’s almost to 30 percent in Week 9. Within the bigger picture, however, Gordon is leaping over some other receivers now in terms of his overall play, and various game plans are going to call for some players to get more PT than others depending on what the team wants to do, so an occasional hiccup is expected.

Hopefully, we see the ratio between these two receivers continue in the direction they’re trending now.