It feels like every season, Kansas City Chiefs fans are complaining about the wide receiver position and how little has been done to improve it. When the season kicks off, we then see those complaints validated with how lackluster the players at the position perform.
While the 2026 season hasn't started yet, we're at the first stage of the process right now, which is complaining about the state of the wide receivers in Kansas City. It's fair for fans to have problems with the wide receiver position considering the Chiefs did very little to address it this past season. That decision was even crazier considering the offseason that Rashee Rice had. Rice spent time in jail and has been unable to stay out of trouble during his pro career yet the Chiefs have put their trust in him for a very important season ahead.
Last year's trio of Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown left plenty to be desired yet the Chiefs are running it back with two of those guys as the starters. The only one not back in K.C. this year out of that trio is Brown, who the Chiefs were content to let walk. Brown linked up with the Eagles in the offseason, signing a one-year deal with Philadelphia.
Former Chiefs receivers are proving the point elsewhere
Brown hasn't impressed at all with his fourth team in four years, though. Before the first round of preseason games, Eagles writer Anthony DiBona noted that he hadn't seen anything special out of Brown during training camp. DiBona went as far as to say that Brown wouldn't make the roster if the Eagles weren't paying him what they are. This is a guy who, exactly one year ago, was a starter for the Chiefs.
Not only was Brown starting for Kansas City last year, he led the wideouts in receiving yards with 587 yards and was on the field for 52% of the offensive snaps. If you had told Chiefs fans before the season that Brown would lead the wide receivers in receiving yards, they'd have likely been thrilled. If you told them what that number would be, however, they'd surely be less thrilled. But, that's the way things went for this position a season ago and the Chiefs only have themselves to blame for it.
Another receiver the Chiefs have leaned on a lot in recent years is JuJu Smith-Schuster. His story is similar to Brown's in that they were both first-round picks by an AFC North team, played well there and then eventually found their way to Kansas City.
Smith-Schuster's first run in Kansas City went fine. He helped K.C. win a Super Bowl in the 2022 season and then capitalized off that season by signing a three-year deal with the Patriots. Unfortunately for JuJu, his Patriots tenure went about as poorly as it could have and he was a free agent once again by season's end.
As so many vets of this team often do, he rejoined the Chiefs in 2024 and 2025. Smith-Schuster didn't give the offense much of a spark despite playing in 56% of the snaps last year, which was frustrating, to say the least. He clearly wasn't the same player he once was but was continuing to be leaned on as though he was.
Smith-Schuster was not brought back this offseason and, after not hearing from him for awhile, he worked out with the Giants and eventually was signed to their roster. Well, after the Giants needed to make room for Najee Harris, Smith-Schuster was out the door, and his Giants tenure was over before it ever really began. This is another guy that the Chiefs leaned on heavily last year and it shows that the Chiefs have been getting the wide receiver position all wrong.
Patrick Mahomes deserved more help after a major injury
The Chiefs are fortunate to have a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes leading the charge but, year after year, they continue to give him guys to throw to who are past their prime and wouldn't be given a chance to start on any other team. We're seeing that play out right before our very eyes now.
Considering that Mahomes is now coming off a major injury, this would have been an ideal time to invest in some better players for him to lean on. Instead, he'll be running it back with two of the same guys that underwhelmed a season ago.
Some might be arguing that the Chiefs won a Super Bowl with Rice and Smith-Schuster as primary targets. While I understand they were on the roster during that time, we can all agree that the 2023 season's run was led by the efforts on defense and in 2022, Smith-Schuster was still a solid contributor.
Veach is betting everything on Rice, Worthy, and a 5th-round rookie
Rice and Worthy both started out looking like solid draft picks but the clock is certainly ticking on both of their Chiefs' careers. Rice was just shy of 1,000 yards during his rookie year in 2023 and scored seven touchdowns that year but injuries and off-the-field drama have plagued him ever since. He's entering the final year of his rookie contract and it feels like, unless he absolutely tears it up on the gridiron, this will be it for him in a Chiefs uniform.
As for Worthy, he had over 600 yards as a rookie and found the end zone six times. He looked to be a smart draft pick early in the season, then tapered off a bit, and then picked things back up after the Chiefs had acquired DeAndre Hopkins. This past season was probably a better sample size for what Worthy can provide and the fact of the matter is that he's undersized and that's going to be a problem. His injuries this past season proved exactly that.
Veach knew that, if he didn't address the wide receiver position this spring, Rice and Worthy would be leading the way once again. Clearly, he feels comfortable with that being the case. He must have felt so comfortable that he didn't even spend a pick on the position until the fifth round when Cyrus Allen became a Chief.
Allen has looked good so far this summer but will that carry over into the regular season? Can a guy who was drafted in the fifth round become one of Mahomes' most reliable targets? Tyreek Hill proved that it can happen but can Veach strike gold in the fifth round again?
If Allen's production doesn't carry over and Rice and Worthy continue to flounder, what does that say about the Chiefs' GM? Clearly the league doesn't value the former Chiefs wideouts the way that Veach does and it's proof with how Brown and Smith-Schuster's summers have been going.
Veach better hope that Allen overexceeds his draft slot and that Worthy and Rice can improve this year. Otherwise, it's going to be a long year for the Chiefs offense.
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