Assigning first-quarter letter grades to the Kansas City Chiefs

Grade: F

• Wide receiver, Marquez Valdez-Scantling
• Wide receiver, Kadarius Toney

Marquez Valdez-Scantling is who he is at this point. With that being said, the Chiefs do not have top-flight talent at wide receiver and Valdez-Scantling received a three-year 30-million-dollar contract from the Chiefs in 2022. I can understand how he can go through a single game with zero or one catch given his skillset and how defenses might be playing Kansas City that day. He is sort of a one-trick pony as a deep threat. To go through four games and have nine targets, six catches and 104 yards is not ideal though. 

Kadarius Toney has not established himself as a Kansas City Chief so far in his tenure. He made some incredible plays in the Super Bowl and was worth every penny of the trade because of that. The Chiefs spoke all offseason about how he will be their number one receiver, and that was probably unfair to put on him given his injury history. Toney has suited up every game, however, but has produced 57 yards on nine catches and at least three to four drops. I would still like to see him get more snaps given his talent and the lack of options the Chiefs have at the position. 

Grade: Incomplete

• Tight end, Travis Kelce

Travis Kelce has been just fine in the three games that he has played in, posting 155 yards and 2 touchdowns. He certainly is not playing up to his normal superstar level, but given how the season started with the injury, I could not stomach giving him a bad grade. He may be dealing with less explosiveness because of his injury or it may be because of age. Maybe the wide receivers are so bad that he cannot get open as often, but the jury is still out. The next four weeks should give us a good barometer.