KC Chiefs: Five serious questions at wide receiver
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs have an intriguing group of wide receivers in the mix for 2022, but everyone also offers up a serious question.
Depending on how naturally optimistic you are as a person will likely color just how you feel about the state of the wide receiver position for the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s quite possible to feel excited about the potential of the depth at the position with a wide array of exciting new players to get to know on the roster. At the same time, the Chiefs are moving on without a legend in his prime after trading Tyreek Hill—a tall order for any position group.
For most fans, it’s likely that the sunny view is the dominant one given that Andy Reid is still the team’s creative genius of a head coach and that Patrick Mahomes is still the young superstar throwing them the ball. Any head coach and quarterback combination of that type is going to bestow Pro Bowl status on someone on the receiving end, and the Chiefs simply have to deliver it to someone other than Travis Kelce this year.
That’s not to say that the receivers don’t have positive talking points themselves. There’s a reason why the Chiefs drafted Skyy Moore and signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. There’s also plenty of hope around a holdover like Mecole Hardman and a new rookie free agent like Justyn Ross. But we’re asking questions on a day like today, which means we’re ready to get to the concerns that each one brings.
Here are the questions that each of the Chiefs’ best bets at wide receiver must answer in a year in which no one can be quite certain what to think until the regular season arrives.
Can MVS handle a greater load?
For all of the ink spilled about the signing of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, it seems quite odd to think that he’s never once caught 40 passes in a single season. Nor has he ever reached 700 receiving yards in a year. Instead, he’s been relegated to an occasionally-trusted downfield option for Aaron Rodgers and company.
Is Valdes-Scantling’s lack of greater production due to his inability to handle it? Were there reasons why Matt LaFleur didn’t feature him more? The Chiefs seem to think there are solid answers to those questions given the three-year, $30M deal they gave him this offseason, but even that comes with what are largely two team options after this season with little money guaranteed over the long haul.
The good news is that MVS is earning rave reviews at offseason training activities and it seems as if he’s already developing solid chemistry with Mahomes. The coaching staff has also spoken highly of his ability to do much more than just run deep routes, and the Chiefs might be grooming him for a more well-rounded role than he had in Green Bay.