Kansas City Chiefs have a major competition brewing for final wide receiver spots

The wide receiver position has been the center of attention for most Kansas City Chiefs fans this offseason. It was widely viewed as the weakest unit from last season's Super Bowl-winning team. Consequently, the Chiefs used their first-round draft pick on wide receiver Xavier Worthy and arguably their biggest free agent signing was wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown. When you add in all the offseason drama with second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice, it's easy to understand why this position has dominated offseason coverage of the Chiefs.

The additions of Worthy and Brown have certainly bolstered the ceiling of the Chiefs wide receiver room. That's especially true since the only real loss to the group from last season was Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency after an up-and-down tenure in Kansas City. On paper, the Chiefs should be much better off with the combo of Worthy/Brown than they were last season with MVS. Should Rice avoid a massive suspension, the quality of positional depth should be much better this season.

The improvements atop the depth chart will receive most of the press come training camp time, but the other thing it will do is create more roster competition at wide receiver than Chiefs fans have seen in a number of years. You can already lock in Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice, and Justin Watson on the 53-man roster if all are healthy (and Rice isn't suspended). That only leaves a couple more spots for which several other wideouts will compete.

Some people might argue with the inclusion of Justin Watson on the list of roster locks, but at 6'2" and 215 pounds, Watson is the only experienced wideout who is built to play the true X receiver reps where they line up on the line of scrimmage and physically take on defensive backs. Yes, Brown, Worthy, and Rice can line up outside, but none of them are known for their blocking prowess and all work best either out of the slot or back off the line to give them more room to move freely. Valdes-Scantling played a lot of those X snaps last year, and Watson is going to take some of those reps. When you mix in his special teams value, it makes him a sure thing.

That means that if/when Rice is available, the Chiefs likely have just two (maybe three) spots open for Kadarius Toney, Mecole Hardman, Skyy Moore, Justyn Ross, and Nikko Remigio to battle it out. That is a lot higher level of competition than we've typically seen for the bottom of the Chiefs roster. Let's run through the key information for those contenders going into training camp.

Kadarius Toney - 6'0" - 193 lbs - 25 years old

Kadarius Toney is entering his 4th NFL season and thus far, he hasn't lived up to the first-round draft pick that the New York Giants spent on him. Through three seasons, Toney is averaging just 27.3 receptions and 253.3 yards receiving per season. His career drops (9) greatly outnumber his career receiving touchdowns (3).

Toney does have some special teams return upside, but he's averaged just 7.0 yards per punt return in his NFL career and has yet to return a kickoff in the NFL. That could change with the new kickoff rules this season, but as you're about to see, KC does have someone with even more of a resume as a return man.

There is no question that Toney has the highest upside of everyone on this list, but at some point, he's going to run out of chances to live up to that upside.

Mecole Hardman - 5'10" - 187 lbs - 26 years old

Mecole Hardman is entering his 6th NFL season and while he has never proved himself worthy of a starting role, he has proven to have some value as a role player. Hardman is averaging 33.2 receptions and 442.4 yards receiving through five seasons. Those numbers are both higher than Toney's, as is his 13.3 yards per reception (compared to Toney's 9.3). Hardman also has significantly more receiving touchdowns (10 to 3). Hardman's career punt return average is 8.9 (with a touchdown) and he has averaged 23.5 yards per kick return (with a TD) as well.

The only thing working against Hardman head-to-head against Toney is his higher fumble rate. Other than that, Hardman has outproduced Toney in the NFL by every measurable means. Maybe there is room for both Toney and Hardman on the roster, but they are similar enough players that it's also possible that they are fighting for the same role.

Skyy Moore - 5'10" - 195 lbs - 23 years old (24 in September)

Brett Veach may have invested a valuable draft pick in Skyy Moore just a few years ago, but Moore may also be running out of chances to prove he can live up to his draft capital. Moore is entering his third NFL season, but has averaged just 21.5 receptions and 247 receiving yards through his first two seasons despite KC's shortage of wide receiver talent during that time. Moore also struggled as a return man when given that role with just a 6.1 punt return average and several fumbles.

I felt obligated to include Moore on this list, but unless he makes major strides as a reliable short to intermediate pass catcher, it's getting harder and harder to see his role on the roster next season with KC having so many other options out of the slot that are better options to contribute in the return game.

Justyn Ross - 6'4" - 210 lbs - 24 years old

Justyn Ross is an interesting contender on this list because he is only competing with himself. He isn't a return man option, but he is the only guy on this list that could potentially split the true X receiver reps with Justin Watson. The Chiefs could use another receiver with size to play up on the line of scrimmage and also challenge down the field. While Ross hasn't proven anything in the NFL, that was exactly his game in college before a serious back injury through his career off track.

Ross had his own off-field issues last season, so there are reasons to be concerned, but the opportunity is still there for the taking. If Ross proves himself worthy, that probably only leaves one job open for the smaller guys/return men options. If Ross doesn't live up to the hype then the Chiefs will likely keep two of those smaller guys.

Nikko Remigio - 5'9" - 187 lbs - 24 years old

If you want a true wildcard for the final wide receiver spot on the roster, that would be Nikko Remigio. This will be Remigio's second camp with the Chiefs. He was making some noise in camp last year before a shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve. Remigio had an unspectacular four year college career at California. He used his bonus 5th season from Covid to his advantage to go to Fresno State and it paid off big as he put up 74 receptions for 852 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was also a great college return man, averaging 10.3 yards on punt returns with 2 touchdowns and 25.1 yards on kick returns with a touchdown.

Remigio has the toughest route to a 53 man roster spot since he'll likely have to beat out one or two similar players like Toney, Hardman, and Moore who have a lot more NFL experience. That having been said, those three players have had their opportunities and haven't always produced, so Remigio has a shot to prove he can excel where they have fallen short.

So there you have it Chiefs fans, those are the five contenders for KC's final couple of wide receiver spots. If Rashee Rice starts the year suspended then maybe three of them will make the opening day roster, but regardless, these five guys have a serious camp battle coming up if they want to stick around in Kansas City. I'm just glad that this year these guys are battling it out for the last few roster spots instead of being counted on to help carry the position like they were last year.