Former Boise State WR Tyler Shoemaker Signs With the Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs announced that they signed WR Tyler Shoemaker on Friday afternoon. If the name doesn’t ring a bell you’re surely not alone but you may remember him from his college days at Boise State (2011-2007).

Tyler Shoemaker celebrates his touchdown against ASU the 2011 Las Vegas Bowl. (Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

In 2011, his senior season, Shoemaker was the top target for the Broncos. He racked up 992 yards and 16 touchdowns on 62 catches and averaged 76.5 yards per game over the course of the year. In 2010, he didn’t play nearly as big a role in Boise’s offense though that was due largely to the presence of NFL caliber WRs Titus Young and Austin Pettis who went 44th and 78th respectively in the 2011 NFL Draft. Playing third fiddle, Shoemaker still caught 32 balls for 582 yards and 5 TDs. Over the course of his entire five year career at Boise State – he redshirted in 2007 – he caught 122 passes, 25 of which were TDs, and amassed 2,029 yards.

A former walk-on with the Broncos, the 6’1″ 213 lb Shoemaker is no stranger to overcoming long odds. NFL Teams didn’t invite him to Boise’s pro day last March but he took part in all the testing anyway. He ran a 4.4 40-yard dash, caught every pass thrown in his direction and showed well in all the other drills. As a result there was some thought that he had improved his stock enough to be a late round draft pick.

Though Green Bay and New Orleans had contact with him leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft, Shoemaker wasn’t selected. In the days following the conclusion of the draft he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but was cut prior to the start of training camp last season.

On the surface he would appear to be a long shot to make the Chiefs 2013 roster, but don’t count him out. There aren’t many WR corps that need help as badly and Tyler Shoemaker is used to being an underdog.