The Kansas City Chiefs will trot out an offense in 2022 that won’t feature Tyreek Hill for the first time since the 2015 NFL season.
Hill has been one of the most electrifying receivers in the league from 2016 onward. Many expect that the offense in Kansas City will look much different without him. Chiefs HC Andy Reid, however, isn’t among that group.
Asked about the offense in Hill’s absence during his Monday media availability, Reid explained that he doesn’t expect significant changes.
“I don’t think it’ll be significantly different, it’ll be similar to what we did in the games that Tyreek (Hill) couldn’t play in,” Reid told reporters. “There are certain things that (Hill) did very well that, we’ll have people try to fill in those spots without forcing anything. Normally, what we do on this is that we try to play into the player’s strengths as best we can. We’ll see with some of the new guys what they can do and then we’ll work around that.”
If you’ll recall our dive into Patrick Mahomes’ stats in games without Tyreek Hill, he completed 125 passes for 1,737 yards, 8 touchdowns and one interception. Mahomes managed a 103.1 passer rating and completed 63.5% of his passes during that span with a different leading receiver in each game. The team also had a 4-1 record during those five games.
Ultimately, Reid says the team will play to the strengths of the players that they do have. The additions that they’ve made this offseason include a few players who are bigger than the receivers they’ve traditionally employed, which means there could naturally be a few changes to how the offense looks in 2022.
“I don’t know if we necessarily had to get bigger, but these guys are bigger,” Reid said. “So, you’re going to utilize some of the things that you can do with a little bit bigger guy. We’re fortunate that they have speed, athletic ability and size. You try to take those redeeming qualities and exploit them the best you can and that’s what we’ll do. It ends up being maybe a little different flair, though, than what we’ve had in the past.”
One of those new players is former Packers WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He was primarily used as a deep threat in Green Bay because he has the speed to stretch the field vertically. In Kansas City, Reid envisions a scenario where they can unlock every facet of his game.
“Yeah, so he’s a big kid, he’s very smart,” Reid said of Valdes-Scantling. “I think it’s great that he’s getting a jump-start with Pat (Mahomes) here going down on his own time and working with him just so they get to know each other. I think Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) can do a lot of things. He’s got good stop-start ability, he’s a big target, he can run your slant games, he can take your deep throws, he can run your intermediate routes, he’s got a good feel for space. He gives us good flexibility in there. (The Green Bay Packers) did more than just a deep threat for him. They incorporated him in the whole passing game and he can kind of do all that stuff and does it well. We look forward to getting him in and mixing him in there. He seems like a really good kid. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend with him, zero time with football. But I think that, when he came in for his visit, just him talking about what they did in Green Bay and watching the tape with him, you can really see that he’s got a nice package of work.”
As for one of the players that the Chiefs are returning from the 2021 NFL season, Mecole Hardman is due for a bigger role within the offense. Reid seems to think they have a good idea of his abilities and what they can ask of him.
“Yeah, well the one nice thing is that we know what Mecole (Hardman) can do,” Reid said. “And we have a lot of confidence in what he can do. He was coming off of a big year and he’s going to continue to grow here over the next couple of years. So, Mecole has the speed like a Tyreek (Hill) had — a different player — but he gives you a nice skillset there with the speed and quickness, and the ability to run with the ball in his hands. He’s a very aggressive runner when he has the ball in his hands. So, we’ll find ways (to get the ball in his hands) in a variety of different ways.”
It’s safe to say that Hardman is one of the players who Reid believes can step in and help replace some of the things that Hill did in the offense. After all, Hardman was the primary backup to Hill in those five games that he was unable to play over the past three seasons.
