KC Chiefs have to have eyes on specific wide receiver

Given their passive stance to a lot of solid wide receiver, it’s clear the Kansas City Chiefs have their eye on a specific prize and nothing else.

For the Kansas City Chiefs defense, it’s been a tremendous offseason of work so far, even just a couple of weeks into free agency. For the offense, it’s been a different story—not that there have not been meaningful additions or decisions, but they also come with questions and there’s also that whole story at wide receiver.

Through the first steps of the offseason, the Chiefs have been content to watch plenty of solid wide receivers come off of the list of available players in free agency. They’ve also watched low-level trades made between other teams. All the while, the Chiefs have left the position alone.

Is that okay? Perhaps the Chiefs won’t really need anyone after all—at least not on the level we all picture. Skyy Moore can grow into a greater role, and the Chiefs are viewing Kadarius Toney as a future No. 1 wideout, per James Palmer. Marquez Valdes-Scantling can carry a solid load, and Travis Kelce will lead the charge among pass catchers as it is.

But, to be candid, all of those come with questions of their own. The players that remain are getting older, oft-injured, inexperienced, and/or inconsistent (apply those labels where you will). There’s a chance for it all to fall apart, and Murphy’s Law is even more true in the NFL than anywhere else (“if something can go wrong…”).

So why are the Chiefs watching solid candidates walk right on by at decent prices? Darius Slayton at two years and $12 million was a good buy. Jakobi Meyers at $11M annually would have added a very reliable pass catcher for the foreseeable future. Per rumors, the Chiefs aren’t even interested in another solid fit in D.J. Chark.

Even familiar faces are leaving for discount prices. Mecole Hardman’s projected market value via Spotrac was nearly $10.4 million per season on a multi-year contract. Instead, he landed with the New York Jets on a one-year deal for $6.5M. The same can be said of JuJu Smith-Schuster’s three-year deal with the Patriots, whose $8M+ average annual value makes him a good bet.

Even the trade route is being ignored. Elijah Moore could have been had from the Jets, in the wake of Hardman’s signing, for a drop of a single round on Day 2 of the draft. Brandin Cooks is the deal of the offseason so far after changing teams for a fifth- and sixth-round choice from the Dallas Cowboys.

Where does that leave the Chiefs? Either fans will realize the team was supremely confident about their core trio going forward because there was so much room for growth in year two on the team for all three, or the Chiefs have their eyes on a very specific prize. That’s what the rumors tell us, of course, but the inaction points even more so to that fact. Odell Beckham Jr. is the biggest free agent left on the open market, and DeAndre Hopkins is the largest prize on the trade block. Either would be a nice addition for the Chiefs offense.

What is clear is that the Chiefs seem to be intently waiting on someone, not just anyone who could help round out the position of wide receiver. Other solid candidates have come and gone, but the Chiefs seem willing to wait them out for the sake of claiming a player they’ve wanted all along.