KC Chiefs: What NFL Draft experts said about Kadarius Toney
After the KC Chiefs acquired wide receiver Kadarius Toney, what did scouting reports from before the 2021 NFL Draft have to say about him?
Many Chiefs fans expected Brett Veach to acquire a pass rusher instead of another wide receiver but this trade does make sense. The only wide receivers Kansas City had under contract in 2023, before the trade, were Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Justyn Ross. Also, you can never have too many weapons for a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes.
Acquiring Kadarius Toney could signal that the Chiefs don’t plan on re-signing Mecole Hardman this offseason since both players have similar skill sets. This trade is essentially Kansas City using about the 103rd overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft on Kadarius Toney, which isn’t a bad deal considering he is signed through 2024 (with cap hits of $1.907M and $2.531M in both years), plus a potential fifth-year option in 2025.
It’s well known that Toney is fast (he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the 2021 NFL Combine) but is there anything else to his game that scouts saw in him that justified the Giants using the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on him?
According to the 2021 NFL Draft Consensus Big Board compiled by The Athletic’s Arif Hasan ($), Kadarius Toney was the 31st-ranked player in his class, including the fifth-highest-ranked wide receiver.
How did certain draft experts view the now 23-year-old receiver? What were his perceived strengths and weaknesses? Let’s review several scouting reports of Kadarius Toney from before he was drafted:
Bleacher Report’s Nate Tice was fairly low on Toney as he ranked as the best 11th-best wide receiver in his class. He was clear in his evaluation that Toney was more of a risk and that teams should have been cautious.
"Essentially, you’re betting on the flash with Toney and hoping he develops into a consistent superweapon creating yards from across the formation for a creative play-caller. His late-career production and role, lack of consistency throughout his game, and overall rawness should cause some concerns for a team looking to select him and feed touches to right out of the gate."
Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network graded Kadarius Toney as the sixth-best wide receiver in the 2021 NFL Draft, calling him a “straight weapon”. Also, I wonder what team fits the description of what Cummings is describing…
"I want to see Toney employ his traits within a more diverse route tree at the next level. Nevertheless, in the right offense, he has the speed, explosiveness, and creative capacity to be a dangerous weapon in short ranges. For teams that like to scheme touches to their playmakers closer to the line of scrimmage, he’s an excellent fit, and he has the natural traits to expand his repertoire."
Although Glynn Morgan of NBC Sports compared Toney to Tyreek Hill, he did have his fair share of critiques for the ex-Florida star.
"Toney is not without his flaws. As a future professional, he must dedicate himself to becoming a better route runner and learn the nuances of being a NFL receiver. Many of the things he accomplished in college was because he was just a way better athlete than the person guarding him. Also, he’s guilty of having inconsistent hands and losing focus on some routine catches. Classic “running before catching the ball” is an example of the unnecessary lapse in concentration he displays at times."
NBC Sports NFL analysts Chris Simms had Kadarius Toney as his fifth-favorite wide receiver before the 2021 Draft. He even went as far as to say that “he [Toney] and Ja’Marr Chase are the most dangerous with the ball in their hands” in terms of the 2021 wide receiver draft class. After the rookie year that Chase had, Chiefs fans will take that. Simms also said that he relied more on his pure physical ability than technique because “that’s what he can do”. Also, he observed that Toney’s acceleration was incredible and was not afraid to get physical by lowering his shoulder, bouncing off tacklers, and running through arm tackles.
Overall, Kadarius Toney likely went a little earlier than he should have in the 2021 NFL Draft, according to most draft analysts. A common theme of a lot of scouting reports was that he was very explosive in college and could be a serious weapon with the ball in his hands. At the same time, other common themes of his scouting reports were a lack of a complete route tree as well as consistency.
If Andy Reid can work his magic and find a role that works for him, then the Chiefs may have something special with Kadarius Toney. If issues of struggling to get on the same page with his coaches pop up again, like in New York, then all the Chiefs would have lost was some time, effort, and a couple of lower-level draft picks. They didn’t invest too much in the wide receiver so this is a classic low-risk, high-reward move for a team that has attempted a decent amount of reclamation projects in the past.
Next. Ranking every trade Veach has ever made. dark