4 nightmare scenarios for the Chiefs offense in 2023

Lack of wide receiver weaponry

Stop me if you've heard this before: the Chiefs are heading into this season with what appears to be less firepower in the receiving corps than in years past. With the departure of JuJu Smith-Schuster to the New England Patriots, the Chiefs will be entering this season sans their top receiving option from the season before for the second straight campaign. Now, that's not to say that the void left by JuJu is the same as the one left behind by Tyreek Hill heading into the 2022 season, but the point stands. The Chiefs have chosen the team control route with receiver contracts as opposed to dishing out sizeable deals to proven veterans. It worked last year, but what about in 2023?

That's where this list starts and where things could get interesting for Kansas City's offense this season. I'm writing this in mid-June, so things could obviously change, but as of right now, the Chiefs have Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, and Skyy Moore slated to start with rookie Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Richie James, Justyn Ross, and a handful of other fringe roster players providing depth. This will be the first time since 2015 that the Chiefs enter a season without a single player in their receiving corps having made a Pro Bowl appearance.

,We saw Patrick Mahomes take a similar bunch of receivers last year and seemingly say "hold my bear" and torch the league anyway with JuJu, MVS, Mecole Hardman, Moore, and Watson last year, why can't he do it again? Well, first of all, there are only four guys who have even experienced a game day with the Chiefs (Moore, MVS, Toney, and Watson) and none who have proven to be go-to targets or leaders in the locker room to this point. That's not to say that they won't, but the experience is certainly lacking heading into 2023.

There's also the fact that a player's best ability is his availability. Both Moore and Toney missed time last season with an injury, and Valdes-Scantling missed time the season before when he was with the Packers due to a hamstring injury. Justin Watson was reliable a year ago from a health standpoint, but to imagine a Chiefs roster where Watson is WR1 is a thought that even the presence of Travis Kelce can't fully cure. The offense certainly runs through Mahomes and Kelce first, but there have to be threats at every level—including the wide receiving corps—for the offense to be consistent enough throughout the course of a 17-game schedule to remain at the top of football's mountain. That respect will have to be earned this season by this unit.