For a second consecutive year, the Kansas City Chiefs bid farewell to their leading wide receiver during the offseason, though the loss of wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (78-933-3), who signed with the New England Patriots, is hardly on par with the team’s decision to trade WR Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins before the 2022 campaign. The Hill move felt like KC was hitting the reset button on their receiving corps, whereas Smith-Schuster was more of a one-year rental to ease that transition.
That gave young receivers Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney a chance to learn the offense, and a pair of new additions, veteran Richie James and rookie Rashee Rice, will join Marquez Valdes-Scantling in what should be the top-five wideouts for MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Let’s examine who in that group will hold value for fantasy owners as the team’s secondary outlet behind tight end Travis Kelce.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
With Smith-Schuster gone, MVS assumes the mantle of top returning receiver, having caught 42 passes for 687 yards and two touchdowns in his first year with the Chiefs. The numbers were on par with what Valdes-Scantling did during his Green Bay Packers tenure, and after five seasons of similarly middling production it’s time to consider whether we’ve seen his statistical ceiling. Entering his age-29 season, MVS is a viable deep threat (17.2 career yards per reception) and capable blocker who has never proven he can deliver on a down-in, down-out basis.
Skyy Moore
Kansas City identified Moore as a future building block last year, spending a second-round pick on the Western Michigan product. Despite his lofty draft status, Moore’s rookie impact was minimal as he posted a 22-250-0 line with his lone touchdown coming in the Super Bowl. He also struggled with ball security in an uninspired stint as a return man, though that spoke to KC’s desire to get the ball in his hands with a chance to make plays. At 5-foot-10, 195 pounds, the shifty wideout looks to be in line to take over as the primary slot receiver in 2023.
Kadarius Toney
Toney was selected 20th overall by the New York Giants in 2021, but he appeared in just a dozen games for the G-Men before they shipped him off to Kansas City. Injuries have been a major issue for the Florida alum, limiting him to 19 games over his first two years, and he’s once again on the shelf after undergoing a clean-up procedure on his knee. There’s hope he’ll be ready to go in Week 1, but head coach Andy Reid doesn’t sound like he’s looking to push the third-year pro.
While Toney has great speed and generated a lot of buzz during the offseason as someone the Chiefs were high on, with reports that the team potentially views him as the heir apparent to Hill, he needs to prove he can handle the rigors of the NFL game.
Richie James, Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross
Although MVS is the top returning receiver, the best single-season performance by anyone on the Chiefs in terms of receptions belongs to James, who caught 57 balls with the Giants last year. The veteran isn’t much of a big-play threat, but he’s a solid route runner with good hands and could serve as a safety blanket for Mahomes if the younger wideouts aren’t ready to step up.
After utilizing a second-round pick on Moore in 2022, the Chiefs spent another Round 2 choice on a receiver in this year’s draft in the form of Rice. The rookie has the versatility to line up outside or in the slot, and he carries the reputation of being a quality route runner coming out of SMU. Odds are he’s destined for a tertiary role like what we saw from Moore last year, but Rice is a lock to make the team, and if he develops quicker than anticipated he could surprise.
Finally, Ross is a lanky 6-foot-4 wideout who was on a promising trajectory at Clemson before undergoing cervical surgery to correct a congenital defect in his spine. He wasn’t a factor last year, though Ross has consistently drawn praise this offseason. He’s an intriguing camp body who may find his way to the practice squad due to the lack of investment in him as an undrafted rookie.
Fantasy football outlook
It seems counterintuitive that the NFL’s No. 1 offense won’t produce a single starting-caliber fantasy wideout, but heading into the season there’s nobody in the Chiefs’ receiver room who can be safely classified as a WR1, WR2, or even WR3.
Toney might have the highest ceiling, but he’s a durability risk and hasn’t proven he can produce big-time numbers. Moore is perhaps a notch below Toney in terms of talent, though he doesn’t have the medical red flags. Both could be considered as WR4s with upside. MVS and James could be added to your watch list. Rice is a long shot to contribute, and Ross will be the wild card of the lot.
