KC Chiefs WR Justyn Ross and Andy Reid Discuss Development Plans for Young WR's Future

Typically, an NFL wide receiver needs more than six offensive snaps to make waves amongst his team's fan base. Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross is not typical.

Ross's winding road to the NFL is well-documented. Once a highly touted prospect out of Clemson, Ross ultimately entered the draft with a bevy of injury concerns that left him unselected, leading him to sign as an undrafted free agent by the Chiefs after the 2022 NFL Draft. He missed all of the 2022 season with another injury and finally made his NFL debut this year. Now, Chiefs fans want to see what this "first-round talent" can provide.

Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, Ross took six offensive snaps and received four targets from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, resulting in two catches and two drops.

It's rare for a receiver to get targeted on 66% of his snaps, but it's also rare for one to drop half of his targets. On Tuesday, Ross spoke to the media and said he knew his day was up and down.

"I feel like I played pretty decent, but I left a lot out there that I know I have to clean up this week," Ross said. "I feel like I could have played a lot better."

As Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy noted last week, Ross's talent is evident and the team's challenge now is to develop him into a player who can reach that ceiling. When asked about Ross on Tuesday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shared his philosophy for how KC can unlock Ross's best.

"I think he’s getting better," Reid said. "The young guys seem to be getting better every day they have a chance. It’s just a matter of experience and there’s one way of getting that, and that’s getting tossed in there and seeing how you do. Again, he’s had a couple real nice ones and he’s had a couple he’d like to have back. Hopefully he grows from that and keeps progressing like he has been."

Praise notwithstanding, Reid's specific message here is a bit incongruous, given the subject. Ross has played just 54 offensive snaps on the season, with 29 of those coming in KC's blowout win over the Bears. Reid, of course, knows how little Ross has played in his short NFL career, so he could be tapping the brakes with that message, but six snaps in Minnesota wouldn't exactly be speeding up Ross's growth.

Justyn Ross had: 6 snaps on offense, 4 targets, 2 catches, 2 drops. https://t.co/zsUMxzvklx pic.twitter.com/qc4wwqoGpJ
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) October 9, 2023

With Reid and Nagy both mentioning the work Ross still has to do, it was interesting to hear his perspective when asked what coaching points he's received in meetings from first-year wide receivers coach Connor Embree.

"Just understanding more than scheme, understanding the defense's understanding, 'why is he here, why is he here,'" Ross said. "Just understanding everything that goes on on the field."

Ross was then asked about that process and how difficult it can be to diagnose all of those defensive goals before and even after the snap.

"It's gonna come as time goes, just with more experience and just seeing everything play out as fast as it does on the field, I feel like it's gonna get easier as time goes."

As Ross gets more comfortable with the speed and complexity of the NFL, the Chiefs still find ways to use his size and talent in Ross-specific plays. As he said Wednesday, his deep catch down the sideline was in KC's gameplan days before they left for Minnesota.

"It was something we had drawn up all week," Ross said. "Coach just let me know that it was my play to have. I just felt like I had to win quick, and Pat put it up there and I just went and got it."

With Reid's perspective and Ross's current stage of development, don't expect to see a 30-snap game from Ross in anything less than another blowout over the next few weeks. But don't forget to look for No. 8 when he does get on the field, because against the Vikings, there was a good chance the ball was headed his way.