Can Kadarius Toney really be the Chiefs top wide receiver?

James Palmer’s recent report says that the Chiefs are viewing Toney as their #1 wide receiver for the 2023 season.

When the Kansas City Chiefs traded a third and sixth round pick for Kadarius Toney, the move was seen as a nice boost for a wide receiving corps that had a bit too few long-term irons in the fire for Andy Reid’s offense. For general manager Brett Veach, it was a nice low-risk investment on a former first-round pick with the hope that it could reap serious dividends.

As it turns out, that wasn’t a hope but an expectation.

Coming into the 2023 NFL season, reporter James Palmer posted on Tuesday that the Chiefs’ expectation for Toney is that he will ascend the depth chart to take over that top wideout spot.

It’s an interesting idea for Toney to be the team’s top wideout considering he’s never shouldered a considerable load at all at the professional level. While he was taken as a top 20 pick overall in the NFL Draft (2021) by the New York Giants, his health has never allowed him to string together consistent performances that would point to such potential production.

At first, Toney looked like a future grab that would keep a Mecole Hardman-style player around for the moment that Hardman left in free agency this spring. But it wasn’t long until Toney showed he was a more dynamic player than Hardman and, in fact, looked more like Tyreek Hill as a physical receiver with elite speed and athleticism.

If Toney can stay healthy, the Chiefs offense has proven to be very effective with a Tyreek-like player serving as the primary focal point among wide receivers. It also helps that Travis Kelce is still around at tight end to keep the load from getting too heavy.

Until Toney stays upright for a full season with the Chiefs, he’s going to have his doubters, but the Chiefs’ belief in him is certainly a hopeful sign that the unit overall is more complete on the depth chart than initially believed.