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Should the Kansas City Chiefs draft a first round wide receiver?

By Lyle Graversen

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 27: Garrett Wilson #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates his touchdown against the Michigan Wolverines with teammate Chris Olave #2 during the second quarter at Michigan Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 27: Garrett Wilson #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates his touchdown against the Michigan Wolverines with teammate Chris Olave #2 during the second quarter at Michigan Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 02: Jahan Dotson #5 of the Penn State Nittany Lions catches a pass for a touchdown against Raheem Layne II #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 2, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 02: Jahan Dotson #5 of the Penn State Nittany Lions catches a pass for a touchdown against Raheem Layne II #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers during the first half at Beaver Stadium on October 2, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Jahan Dotson – Penn State – 5’11” 184 pounds

If there was one wide receiver on this list that was the safest bet to be on the board when the Chiefs pick at the back end of the first round, it would be Jahan Dotson of Penn State. He is probably also the wideout that most fans are the least familiar with. The other five names on this list get more national first round buzz, but that doesn’t mean that Dotson doesn’t deserve some consideration here.

Many KC fans may want to write Dotson off because he is the smallest in stature of these six wideouts and some draft profiles are labeling him as more of slot receiver option. While I agree that what KC needs most is a true outside starting X receiver, I wouldn’t be so hasty to toss Dotson in the “not a fit” pile. While he definitely isn’t a good fit to play the prototypical X role, he does have several things that make him an interesting fit in KC’s offense.

If you were looking for a couple of current NFL comparisons for Dotson, Tyler Lockett and Emmanuel Sanders (in his prime) are a couple that come to mind. While neither of those guys are built to play the X role either, both could have been a huge asset for the Chiefs last season as a third option after Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

Dotson is a player that has great (but just short of elite) speed and really smooth change of direction ability. He also does a really nice job of finding open spaces in the defense. You combine that with a really impressive catch radius for a player of his size and you have a weapon that could really do damage in KC if defenses focused most of their attention on Hill and Kelce. In particular, his natural instincts to break off his route and drift into space at times seems like a perfect fit for when Patrick Mahomes extends plays with his legs.

While I can imagine a lot of Chiefs fans freaking out if Dotson was their pick in the 1st, if you go watch his tape and imagine a Tyler Lockett type third option in KC’s passing attack, I think this is a player that could win some fans over. Next up, the first of the bigger name options.

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