The Chiefs' Offense Still Needs Another Pass-Catching Weapon
There are a lot of problems with the Kansas City Chiefs' offense right now.
Some of the reasons the Chiefs' offense has struggled (seemingly for the first time under Patrick Mahomes) are not easy to “just fix.” For instance, Mahomes has some issues that will not be fixed by signing a new player or giving a certain player more playing time. But the Chiefs offense as a whole does have one problem that could have been fixed by acquiring a player.
The Chiefs' offense is in desperate need of another reliable playmaker if they wish to run the offense of the last few years.
The statement above can be a bit odd for a team that has two of the best offensive weapons in the game in Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, but with every passing week, it is looking more and more true. This is especially notable as both players have had struggles this year as well, with Hill struggling with drops and Kelce getting beaten up in his age-32 season.
The two players that fans and the Chiefs hoped would step up this year to fill that void were Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Mecole Hardman. Neither have capitalized.
Of the two, it is hard not to be the most disappointed by how Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s season has gone. Maybe this will change when he comes back from injury, but as of now, the way Edwards-Helaire is being used and his effectiveness in his current role are both disappointing.
When the Chiefs drafted Edwards-Helaire, Brett Veach and Andy Reid raved about how he was a complete running back and reminded them of Brian Westbrook. The same Brian Westbrook that had 60+ receptions in four seasons in the NFL. As a prospective third option in the offense heading into the season, Edwards-Helaire would not be a wide receiver, but the ascendance of his play in the passing game could take pressure off Hill and Kelce.
There has, so far, been no such evolution to Edwards-Helaire’s game.
Through the five games Edwards-Helaire played before getting injured, he only had 10 targets. That pace would give Edwards-Helaire only 34 targets on the year if he played the full season. That target number would have ranked 33rd in the NFL last year... in a season with one less game! Edwards-Helaire is on pace to have fewer targets than Ronald Jones had last year for the Buccaneers.
For a running back who was talked up as a receiving back and looked the part in the historic LSU offense with Joe Burrow, it is shocking to see him provide nothing in the passing game. It is not like Edwards-Helaire is providing great value in the rushing game, either.
While yes, Edwards-Helaire has not lost value compared to the expected yards per carry, he has not gained anything over it either. A running back who gets what he is expected to get in the running game and is not a factor in the passing game is an entirely replaceable asset in the NFL, and a disappointment of a first-round pick.
And still, Hardman has probably been worse than Edwards-Helaire so far.
While Hardman had a ton of buzz in training camp about his year-three season being a breakout year, so far it just has not panned out. Hardman ranks 77th in Pro Football Focus grade among wide receivers who have 20 or more targets this year. Hardman leads all wide receivers in fumbles with three. Hardman’s aDOT (average depth of target) of 7.2 yards is similar to slot receivers like Tyler Boyd, which is odd considering Hardman’s one special trait is speed. This aDOT is explained by the fact that many of Hardman’s touches are manufactured touches like screens and touch passes. That's fine for an offensive role player, but Hardman still cannot find enough consistency as a traditional wide receiver, which is what this offense still needs.
Past Edwards-Helaire and Hardman, the Chiefs' cupboard is bare. Demarcus Robinson is in his sixth year in the league and received no interest on the open market this offseason. Byron Pringle is a nice depth wide receiver but just days away from turning 28 years old, it is fair to question if he will be anything more than that. As shown above, Darrel Williams is a backup running back with poor efficiency numbers this year. Josh Gordon could provide something, but he has only one catch in five weeks with the team.
This offense has no consistent offensive weapon to turn to beyond Hill and Kelce. The Chiefs have had no one step into the shoes Sammy Watkins left at the door.
Watkins was the glue that held the offense together. He ran the underneath routes. He converted on third-down passes. He made tough catches. When he was on the field, the Chiefs' offense definitely clicked at a rate it has not without him.
Watkins’s impact on the field was noticeable in many ways, as Arrowhead Report’s own Sam Hays showed last offseason.
The Chiefs tried to fill the void that Watkins left; they knew it was important that this offense had one more complementary piece on it. The Chiefs were connected to numerous free agent wide receivers such as Juju Smith-Schuster, Josh Reynolds, Corey Davis and others. The signing of Josh Gordon mid-season also indicated how they currently feel about the supporting players on offense.
It is no surprise the Chiefs were reportedly in on Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham was probably the last chance the Chiefs had to find a suitable replacement for Watkins this season. Now, with Beckham signing with the Los Angeles Rams, the Chiefs can only hope Josh Gordon finally clicks with the offense or pray for Mecole Hardman and Clyde Edwards-Helaire to provide more than they have given so far this year.
This season has provided an ample view of the Chiefs' offense without a suitable role player like Watkins, and the unit has struggled. In the upcoming offseason, wide receiver will probably be high on the list of needs again for the Chiefs, and there is a very, very good reason for it.
