New Chiefs Receiver Makes A Positive First Impression

The Kansas City Chiefs did their homework when they were scouting receiver Josh Downs, and much of what they experienced with Downs in his first day of practice mirrored their expectations, according to a piece from Jesse Newell of The Athletic. 

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes praised Downs’ intellect and his professional approach, which may or may not be a commentary on what Mahomes has experienced with his current group of young receivers over the last year or so. 

The big question about Downs at this point is how quickly the receiver can pick up the Chiefs offense, and Mahomes also offered a bit of a prediction with that. 

“The entire offense, it’ll probably take a couple weeks (to learn),” Mahomes said.

Coach Andy Reid was concerned about this as well, and he reportedly conveyed those concerns to GM Brett Veach when they went about the process of determining which players were good fits. 

Reid called Downs “a pretty alert kid,” which is interesting because it almost certainly refers to the receivers’ ability to pick up changes at the line of scrimmage and stay on the same page with Mahomes. 

That isn’t something we’ve seen a lot from the receivers to date. It’s part of the reason still often has to resort to making throws to tight end Travis Kelce when plays start to break down.

As for Downs, he acknowledged that the last 72 hours have been a “whirlwind,” per Newell. He didn’t play well against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in what turned out to be his final game for the Indianapolis Colts, and he said he wasn’t his best after a game that included two critical drops. 

But Downs feels like he’s valued now, which he definitely is. He’s the linchpin to the Chiefs offense right now, and he got emotional after the trade was announced. 

Downs was also on the right track when he said he didn’t want to be the guy who’s “asking everybody what the play is, what the formation is,” per Newell. He knows how quickly he’ll get left behind if that happens, and he wants to build trust with both Mahomes and his new teammates. 

Mahomes added that Downs can help the Chiefs win one-on-one matchups, which is exactly why they got him. Reid didn’t predict a specific snap count for the receiver, as Downs has barely gotten his feet wet in learning the Chiefs offense. 

That will change quickly, though. The Chiefs got Downs to fill a need that’s close to urgent, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him targeted frequently against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to bring him up to speed as quickly as possible.