Attempting to Decode Message of Chiefs’ Inactivity at WR
NFL free agency for the 2023-24 league year is now a few weeks into its existence, and the Kansas City Chiefs have been relatively active making moves to stabilize or even attempt to improve a team that just won Super Bowl LVII in February.
Additions such as defensive end Charles Omenihu, safety Mike Edwards, linebacker Drue Tranquill and offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor provide some runway for Kansas City to have a solid mix of depth, youth and athleticism from its free agent class ahead of the 2023 campaign. General manager Brett Veach has made the most of his available cap space thus far, with the upcoming NFL Draft serving as another avenue to add firepower.
One position that has been left untouched, though, is wide receiver.
The Chiefs entered the offseason with multiple unrestricted free agents at the wideout spot: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman and Justin Watson. Smith-Schuster has signed with the New England Patriots, Hardman is a New York Jet and, as of the publishing of this article, Watson remains a free agent. Veach hasn't done anything to replace any lost production via external additions, instead choosing to stand pat.
On Monday afternoon, James Palmer of NFL Network broke down the Chiefs' recent decision-making and thought processes regarding the receiver position. The full video is below — let's take a closer look at some of what Palmer said and apply it to what the team may or may not be doing at wideout for the remainder of the offseason.
Kansas City has faith in a lot of its current group
The quote:
The plan this offseason was — they were hoping — Patrick Mahomes was going to be throwing to essentially the same group he was in the Super Bowl. It was going to be MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling). It was going to be JuJu Smith-Schuster; it was the plan to bring him back but then when the numbers came from the New England Patriots, they were just never going to get near those numbers so he ended up departing.
It was going to be Kadarius Toney, who they expect to play even better and do even more in this offense in year two. We know Travis Kelce is really the leading receiver out of this group even though he plays tight end, and then their rookie in Skyy Moore now moving now into year two.
The analysis: This is consistent with almost all reports on the Chiefs' wide receiver room since the Super Bowl game clock hit zeros. The team was fond of what Smith-Schuster brought to the table and had the desire to bring him back for the future, which would've allowed him to help lead a room that otherwise consisted of Toney, Valdes-Scantling and Moore. That trio remains in place as the offseason continues, but the team's choice to let Smith-Schuster sign for money that was in line with the market on another team shows just how confident the Chiefs are in the ceiling of their current core at receiver.
Toney dazzled in limited action this past season, showcasing the ability to do a little bit of everything on offense. Valdes-Scantling was far from perfect, but he also had perhaps the biggest game of his career (when factoring in importance) in the AFC Championship Game. Moore has plenty of potential and was a second-round draft pick just last year. With that said, the floor of this group borders on rock bottom. Moore is unproven, Valdes-Scantling is more of a wideout No. 3 than a top-tier option and Toney's durability is a serious question mark. Even if the Chiefs fully believe in this unit, not having contingency plans would be risky.
Patience is a virtue regarding top weapons on market
The quote:
They are going to add to this group but if you look at the way the receiver market has played out, it's been rather interesting. Now, they are looking at DeAndre Hopkins and they are monitoring Odell Beckham Jr. — they were one of the teams represented at Odell's workout — they're looking at both of them, but they're also taking their time.
The analysis: The Hopkins situation is the one worth monitoring in the long term, as it appears that clubs throughout the league are implying that the Arizona Cardinals' reported asking price in trade discussions is too high. Assuming a second-round draft pick — or even something close to it — is being requested in exchange for the 30-year-old wideout, a swap could come later instead of sooner. For the Chiefs' purposes, reports of their interest/involvement in the Hopkins sweepstakes have varied in recent weeks. The likelihood of them adding him into the fold remains shaky at best.
Beckham, who last played in Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams before suffering a torn ACL and not latching on with a team at all last season, might price himself out of Kansas City's range. The longer he spends on the open market, though, the less teams could have to spend on him. Head coach Andy Reid is fond of Beckham but like with the Hopkins situation, any Chiefs-related move would likely come after continued patience and plotting on the team's behalf. Veach doesn't appear to be in any hurry to add a highly-regarded receiver right now.
Does tight end depth impact the equation at all?
The quote:
Look for them to continue to monitor those top guys and keep an eye on every capacity but at the same time, they did bring back all of their tight ends in Jody Fortson, Blake Bell — they have Noah Gray — and they like to use all of those guys as well in how they use different formations with multiple tight ends. Andy Reid uses his offense very differently than a lot of other people so it's not a pressing, pressing need, it's a need.
The analysis: The Chiefs are known for their love for multiple tight end sets on offense, gaining more yardage out of 13-personnel (one running back, three tight ends) than any other offense in the league in 2022-23. Their success in those situations routinely presented opposing defenses with unique problems to solve, as Travis Kelce shared the field with one or two of Jody Fortson, Noah Gray and Blake Bell many times over the course of the season. The Chiefs retained Fortson and Bell this offseason — one via an ERFA tender and one via an unrestricted free agent re-signing — when they didn't have to bring either back. The club's tight end depth remains very strong.
Having a plethora of available tight ends doesn't necessarily impact the wide receiver room a ton, but the Chiefs very well could double down (figuratively) on their 12- or 13-personnel usage in 2023. That takes some of the stress off of the wideouts on the team, although it also adds to the importance of who is on the field in those situations. This logic is likely the weakest reason to not invest in adding a marquee player at receiver, but it's still sound nonetheless. Kansas City is probably going to make the tight end position a focal point of its offensive plans once again.
