Skip to main content

The NFL’s best slot receivers, No. 8: Jeremy Maclin, Chiefs

Maclin is great inside because he understands the specifics of advanced route concepts and he’s tough over the middle.
  • Author:
  • Publish date:

The Chiefs’ passing game is largely reluctant to take deep shots, which puts more pressure on its receivers to run precisely timed routes in the short and intermediate areas and to stretch the field horizontally. Maclin, who worked with head coach Andy Reid in Philadelphia from 2009 through ’12, rejoined Reid in Kansas City in ’15 to provide Alex Smith with a legitimate No. 1 receiver, posting a career-high 87 catches on 128 targets for 1,088 yards. Twenty-seven of those receptions and six of his eight touchdowns came from the slot. Maclin is great inside because he understands the specifics of advanced route concepts and he’s tough over the middle.