WR Room Breakdowns: The Kansas City Chiefs Have Another Interesting Season Ahead
Who emerges? Who leads the way as the de facto 2 behind Travis Kelce?
Can they get it done without Tyreek Hill?
This question was presented at large about a year ago, as the Kansas City Chiefs were set to begin another season as one of the top Super Bowl contenders. They were going to contend with Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones spearheading things. But, questions arose if trading away Tyreek Hill would doom the offense.
The Chiefs tried to rebuild him in the aggregate. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman would give the Chiefs their deep threats. Skyy Moore was set to be a versatile playmaker. Juju Smith-Schuster would be the chain-moving slot with a bit of YAC to boot. Justin Watson had the ability to win deep as well and provided a big target. Kansas City also went and traded for Kadarius Toney, giving up a third-round pick for the talented playmaker.
Did it work? Yes, with a caveat or two. Patrick Mahomes toned down the big game hunting, mostly due to the fact of quarters and two-high dominating the coverages they played against all year long, and had his best advanced statistical season of his career. Kelce dominated as well.
The running backs came up big, most notably Isaih Pacheco. Pacheco became an early down workhorse (over 5 ypc in the playoffs) and had a big receiving game in the AFC title matchup. Jerick McKinnon had his moments as a runner and receiver as well.
Valdes-Scantling caught six for 116 against the Bengals. Smith-Schuster had seven grabs in the Super Bowl. Both Toney and Moore caught touchdowns to help beat the Eagles.
Now, Smith-Schuster is out. Hardman left as well. A core of MVS/Moore/Toney/Watson is still there. They signed Richie James, drafted Rashee Rice in the second round, and Twitter-adored Justyn Ross has made the team. So who emerges? Let’s make the case for each.
For the purposes here, we left out MVS and Justin Watson, whose roles seem pretty defined, as do their ceiling (a breakout game or two this year).
Skyy Moore
The 2022 season was a tumultuous one for Moore. As a rookie, he caught just 27 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown, counting the postseason. He broke out in a few games, most notably a five-catch, 63-yard performance against the Chargers. When Moore is on, he catches everything thrown his way. Moore had some of the largest hands in the 2022 draft, and he catches it easily away from his body. His comfort in the slot shows, and he can attack leverage, play fast through his releases and route breaks, and create separation. He’s got the speed to threaten angles after the catch as well. Let’s not forget about his ability to find soft spots in zone, and work back to the ball to secure catch point leverage.
There were times in his rookie campaign where he second guessed a little in terms of how to attack softer coverage on the boundary. Hesitancy with his releases off the line turned into rough reps. He did drop some passes as well. His biggest red flag of the year was constant mistakes as a punt returner.
The case for Moore comes from the fact that the talent is there to be a dynamo in the slot. We’ve seen it at Western Michigan and in short spurts with the Chiefs. Plus, it takes some time to acclimate to the scheme, and Moore is ahead of a few of the new guys in that regard. The reliability, separation skills, speed, and work in the scramble drill will draw favor from Mahomes.
Kadarius Toney
The 19th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Kadarius Toney struggled a bit with injury as a rookie, and it’s persisted through his time in Kansas City. However, when healthy, he can be a difference maker. His throttle control and suddenness is very reminiscent of what Dante Hall used to do as a returner. It’s so difficult to corral him in space. He’s got great feel as a slot receiver as well, using pace control and acceleration to find space and win vertically in man coverage. The route breaks are efficient, he changes direction in a blink, and let’s not forget about the 10-catch, 189-yard performance against Dallas in 2021.
We’ve mentioned the injuries already, as availability is obviously a trait that matters. But the off-script movement can alter the rhythm, and the subsequent timing of progressions. However, that’s few and far between, as he operates as an extension of the run game with screens because of his proficiency after the catch.
Proving he can operate on the perimeter would give Toney the edge for the breakout in 2023. The physical tools are a separation and YAC success potion, and if he stays healthy, he could lead the offense in what should be another year of short passes and long-marching drives.
Rashee Rice
Rashee Rice had a wide range of draft outcomes back in the spring. He got some round one talk near the end of winter, and for good reason. He broke out at SMU, catching 96 passes for 1,344 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Rice doesn’t possess elite speed, but he could win down the field. His ability to elevate and win the catch point was there. Rice had a great success rate against zone coverage, and the film backs that up. He has good catch-to-attack transition skills that will translate in an offense that will rely on YAC in important spots.
The question marks will exist on the perimeter. Can he win as a true “X” out there, attacking leverage, winning with a full route tree, and handling press coverage? Can he clean up the drops that showed up in the preseason? If so, Rice will be on his way to being the WR1 in KC. However, as we’ve seen, it takes some time for rookies in this offense.
Richie James
Another smaller, twitched-up receiver, Richie James does offer more speed in the explosive passing game along with the return game. James also provides some positional flexibility, having played 73 percent of his snaps out wide with the 49ers in 2020, then nearly 85 percent of his snaps in the slot in 2022 with the Giants.
With teams keying on quarters, two-high, and plenty of dink and dunk opportunities, James has some short area burst to gain a few extra yards after the catch in the quick passing game and to create some separation as a route runner.
Still, James feels more like a depth piece than a true breakout player, but his role will be exciting to watch in Kansas City.
Justyn Ross
The draft community was in full force in 2022 at the end of the draft, frantically refreshing the app formerly known as Twitter to see where he landed. When the Chiefs were the team, excitement rung.
Ross had to deal with a serious neck injury at Clemson, which sapped him of playing time at the end of his college career. When he did play, Ross was a maestro as a route runner despite his size profile. He threatened leverage well, ran crisp routes, and of course dominated the catch point with a ludicrous wingspan.
After settling on the practice squad as a rookie, Ross has made the team in 2023. His size gives him a chance to be a perimeter receiver, and his fluid movement skills look back to create separation and stay elusive post-catch. He still isn’t extremely well-built for his size, and playing through contact was a bit hit or miss in the preseason. However, he’s scoring touchdowns, winning on back shoulder throws, and showing off some of what we saw pre-injury.
Securing a boundary starting role would lead him to the promised land of a breakout, but he’s currently WR7. We have to temper expectations with the golden boy at WR, but it’ll be exciting when he gets on the field.
Conclusion
If there’s a breakout, and not just a bunch of Kelce support at receiver, the “winner” likely comes from either Skyy Moore or Kadarius Toney. Both players have rabid support groups, so the back and forth should be entertaining. Both have the skill sets to win in a variety of ways and both could offer positional flexibility in 2023. I give the nod to Moore based on health, but a WR1A-1B scenario would be fun to watch.
Perhaps Mahomes does spread it around just as much as 2022. But, with a year of experience under the belt of many of the receivers in the system, the fireworks could be even brighter in 2023.