Chiefs WR Coach Connor Embree Addresses 2 Aspects of Difficult Year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A month ago in a critical game at Denver, the Chiefs’ receivers struggled against man coverage.

Pat Surtain was out, Kansas City was fresh off its bye and hungry to continue a historic postseason run. Instead, receivers struggled to get separation and began dropping passes. And when Kansas City’s immensely talented receivers did get open, Patrick Mahomes was off target.

mahome — Nov 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian (29) sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) in the fourth quarter at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Symptoms of maddening inconsistency, those factors have colluded to hamper the Chiefs’ offense this year. Wide receivers coach Connor Embree on Thursday addressed two of the issues.

Watch Connor Embree discuss below...

Against man schemes

Vance Joseph played the Chiefs a lot like most defensive coordinators, daring Mahomes to beat them in man coverage. In a 22-19 win, Denver’s ferocious pass rush generated just three sacks – none from Nik Bonitto or Jonathon Cooper – and held Mahomes to a career-low completion percentage.

Embree said there isn’t one factor that has kept the Chiefs from consistently winning against man coverage.

patrick mahome — Nov 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) throws a pass during the first quarter of the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

“I think it's a mixture of things,” said Embree, Kansas City’s wide receivers coach since 2023. “I don't think you can just pinpoint it on one specific thing. So, like I said, it's probably a multitude of things.”

Late-season drops

Drops are somewhat subjective, but most people expect NFL receivers to make catches within their reach. And to be fair, tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray have dropped several passes this year, too. But drops by wide receivers over the four-game stretch beginning with that loss in Denver paralyzed Kansas City’s offense.

“I think mostly,” Embree said Thursday, “the drops I feel like this year have been with some stuff where it's like, they're trying to get the ball and make a move before they catch it.

“And it's usually with players that, that's their strength, where they catch the ball, get up the field. … And it's just happened this year where some of those, they didn't look it all the way in before they started running.”

Rashee Rice is the prime example, leading the receivers with five drops. And what’s so frustrating for everyone is Rice is also their prime receiver, leading all players at the position in both receptions (53) and yards (571) despite missing the first six games while suspended by the league.

And since his Week 7 return, Rice still leads the NFL with 424 yards after the catch. Embree said the drops were a symptom of losing focus during that significant stretch after the bye – although Rice excelled in the 23-20 overtime win over the Colts.

Any coaching points certainly don’t come from lack of effort on Rice’s part.

“He was having a great training camp, preseason and got suspended,” Embree said, “and had to go get away for a couple games. And coming back, I thought he got off to a hot start and continued to get better throughout the year. I thought he got better.”

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