Chiefs Fill In With Secondary Receivers While Shorthanded

The Kansas City Chiefs have been making changes with their wide receiver group, and they’re trying to find a playmaker among them. They didn’t find one, but they did find a way to get productivity from Patrick Mahomes. 

Mahomes was able to distribute the ball against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Chiefs’ 22-6 win over the Chargers, and it produced some nice numbers. The Chiefs aren’t all the way there yet, but they played without Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton, but Mahomes was able to generate his usual stats, passing for 272 yards on 23-of-30 pass attempts. 

The quarterback still doesn’t trust everyone from this new group, though, as he relied on his history with tight end Travis Kelce, who caught for balls for 53 yards. Kelce has been quiet when this offense is going well and running back Kenneth Walker III is producing, but he’s clearly capable of stepping into the moment when the occasion demands. 

Having different receivers also brought about the emergence of tight end Noah Gray, who hasn’t been heard from in a whle. Gray had three catches for 53 yards, including a 31-yard reception that bodes well for the future of the Kansas City offense. 

But the biggest development was probably the performance of receiver Xavier Worthy. The Chiefs have been trying to unlock Worthy’s big play capability in training camp, and while they haven’t been able to do it yet, Worthy did have seven catches for 73 yards. He was featured on numerous crossing routes, and it’s only a matter of time before he breaks one of them open. 

Three other receivers checked in with catches, and they’re important as well. Start with Cyrus Allen, who was a training camp sensation who’s since disappeared into the depth chart, but against the Chargers he caught two passes for 27 yards. Mahomes trusted him in training camp, and it was good to see that trust carry forward into a game. 

Jalen Royals also caught two passes that went for 24 yards, and that’s after catching a TD pass from Mahomes as they start to build trust. The more productivity the Chiefs can get from their secondary receivers, the better Kansas City’s offense will be over the long haul. Andrew Armstrong also contributed with a catch for 13 yards, and Walker and rookie running back Emmett Johnson also caught a pair of passes. 

The Chiefs don’t have the deep threat they need yet, but they’re filling in nicely until they can find one.