Kansas City Chiefs 2024 NFL Draft WR Rankings: Who Makes Sense for the Champs?
Should Kansas City look to add a wideout in this year's draft, which prospects could be intriguing options?
Regarding Kansas City Chiefs 2024 NFL Draft discourse, the wide receiver position has gotten plenty of buzz. It makes sense, especially considering how last season unfolded at that spot.
Outside of Rashee Rice's rookie breakout, Kansas City struggled with getting consistency and production from its wideouts. Despite winning the Super Bowl, insulating the position room with depth and upside is paramount. After adding Marquise "Hollywood" Brown in free agency, doubling down with a draft selection would be optimal.
Which prospects are suitable, though? During this draft cycle, I scouted out the 2024 wide receiver class and found 22 players who could make a difference for the reigning Super Bowl champions both now and later. They're ranked in a tier system, starting with first-round locks and ending with those who could hear their names called later on.
Tier 1: Elite prospects who won't be within range
- Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State)
- Rome Odunze (Washington)
- Malik Nabers (LSU)
There isn't much to say about this group that hasn't already been uttered by the masses. Harrison is hands-down the best wideout prospect in the class and has generational upside. Behind him, Odunze is a true ball-winner with tantalizing potential and Nabers' ability to stretch the field vertically is among the best of his peers. For all intents and purposes, each of these players will be out of range for the Chiefs.
Tier 2: High-level impact contributors for 2024 and beyond
- Adonai Mitchell (Texas)
- Ladd McConkey (Georgia)
- Xavier Worthy (Texas)
This is where things begin to get interesting. Mitchell had a breakout final season at Texas, which fueled projections for his ceiling as a lengthy boundary wideout with a suddenness to his route-running process. He also tested extremely well and boosted his draft stock. Worthy, his running mate (pun intended) with the Longhorns, broke the NFL Combine record for the fastest 40-yard dash but also boasts excellent ball-tracking chops. McConkey is one of the draft's better route runners and is a technically sound receiver with a nice athletic profile, although he may be confined to the slot.
Tier 3: Go-to skills and/or freakish upside
- Brian Thomas Jr. (LSU)
- Troy Franklin (Oregon)
- Keon Coleman (Florida State)
- Ja'Lynn Polk (Washington)
Many believe Thomas will be the fourth receiver taken, including this writer, but I'm not quite as high on his profile as teams may be. Nonetheless, he scored a staggering 17 touchdowns in his final season at LSU and has an elite blend of length, speed and explosiveness. His ceiling is as high as just about anyone's. Coleman is in the same general boat, although he isn't quite as good of an athlete and wins more with being an overpowering physical presence.
Franklin is commonly projected in Chiefs circles as a potential replacement for Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and for good reason. He has fantastic long speed and foot quickness and could factor into a vertical passing game or thrive on comebacks/digs. With that said, he's quite light (176 pounds) and didn't have a great Combine. Polk is a reliable target with good hands, great body control and competitive toughness. His downsides are a lack of an elite athletic profile and a need to develop his hand usage and release package.
Tier 4: Prime mid-to-late Day Two targets
- Roman Wilson (Michigan)
- Ricky Pearsall (Florida)
- Jalen McMillan (Washington)
- Malachi Corley (Western Kentucky)
Wilson is a smaller player, although he boasts tremendous speed and has a savvy understanding of leverage and timing. He plays bigger than his frame in regards to catch radius and body control. Pearsall's hands might be his biggest strength. On top of that, he tracks the football well and boasts some alignment versatility with upside as a zone-beater.
If you're looking for a good route runner in the second or early third round, McMillan is your guy. He sells defenders easily and has plus stop-start ability and fluid hips. He's a good separator from the slot — his ceiling will be determined by whether he can win outside at all. Corley has a compact build and plays a tough brand of football. He's an explosive player who thrives predominantly on generating yards after the catch (almost 70%). He has nice body control and maintains his speed through the catch, then quickly turns upfield.
Tier 5: The best of the rest
- Malik Washington (Virginia)
- Devontez "Tez" Walker (North Carolina)
- Xavier Legette (South Carolina)
- Brenden Rice (USC)
- Javon Baker (UCF)
- Tahj Washington (USC)
- Jermaine Burton (Alabama)
- Johnny Wilson (Florida State)
This group could have a few names get called in round two, although some others could slip a couple of rounds later. Washington, like Corley, is a huge YAC threat but needs more development elsewhere. Walker has a nice size/speed/explosiveness blend and is a great vertical threat, although that's very clearly his go-to skill set. Legette might be the most polarizing wideout prospect in this class, as he had a fantastic final season at South Carolina but is already 23 and still needs to refine the intricacies of his game.
Rice, the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame wideout Jerry Rice, is a nice zone-beater and is quarterback-friendly with a willingness to do the small things that add up. Baker is a big play waiting to happen and has great upside as a ball-winner. Some questions about translatable athleticism remain, though. Washington is a small receiver who will be best used as a slot option with special teams versatility. A premier vertical threat, Burton gets up to top speed quickly and blends great body control with superb ball-tracking and more skills. Wilson is a physical outlier (6'6", 231 pounds) with endless potential but also major question marks.
