The Kansas City Chiefs have had a wide receiver problem for a few years now. Even knowing the issues the unit had a season ago, the Chiefs opted not to put a lot into the position in the offseason and didn't even select a wide receiver until the fifth round of the draft.
The Chiefs plan to enter the 2026 season with their starting wide receivers consisting of Rashee Rice, Tyquan Thornton, and Xavier Worthy. Two of those players are still on their rookie deals and Thornton re-signed with the team on an affordable contract over the offseason.
With all of this in mind, it won't come as a shock that, according to Spotrac that was later posted on Reddit, the Chiefs have spent the second least amount of money on their wide receivers at $9.2 million. For those who might be curious who spend the least, it's the Raiders at $7.9 million. The most is the Bengals at $77 million.
Chiefs have spent the second-least amount of money on receivers
Again, the biggest reason for why the Chiefs have spent so little on the wide receiver position is that Rice and Worthy are both still on their rookie deals. Teams like the Bengals have chosen to pay both of their top receiver targets and the money reflects that.
Kansas City tried bringing in a fairly big name the past two years in Hollywood Brown but it was clear he wasn't the same player as he was earlier in his career. This offseason, they re-signed Thornton and drafted Cyrus Allen and clearly hope that that will be enough to turn the tides. Jalen Royals is also returning for his second season after being ignored for most of his rookie year.
The fact of the matter is that while the Chiefs put a lot into fixing the rushing attack this offseason, they're mostly running it back with the same group of receivers who struggled in 2025. With Patrick Mahomes returning from a major injury, this could end up being a big mistake for the Chiefs.
Let's hope that this group bounces back after a lackluster season and that the Chiefs' lack of spending at the position is looked at as genius rather than being cheap.
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