Kansas City Chiefs: Wide Receiver Woes
It’s no secret by now that the Kansas City Chiefs have a lot of issues when it comes to the wide receiver position. The Chiefs’ wide receiving roster has not only been decimated by injuries, but also has just flat out sucked. The wide outs for Kansas City have combined for a total of zero touchdowns so far this season. ZERO.
The receiving woes for the Kansas City Chiefs started during the 2014 NFL Draft. This year’s draft had an amazing group of wide receivers coming out of college, primed and ready for the pros. Not only did the Chiefs pass on a receiver in the first round, they didn’t draft a receiver at all. Not a single one.
Let’s take a look at that draft. Five receivers were taken in the first round. The Chiefs had no shot at getting guys like Sammy Watkins or Mike Evans, but they very well could have drafted Kelvin Benjamin, Jordan Matthews, Allen Robinson, or even John Brown who attended Pittsburg State in Kansas (a Division 2 school) and who has looked fantastic for the Arizona Cardinals.
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Watching the latter of those guys making big catches this season makes it even more painful that the Chiefs didn’t take a chance on a wide receiver in what has been said to be the best wide receiver draft class in the history of the NFL.
Look, I get it. Drafting Jonathan Baldwin in 2011 with a first round pick has scarred a lot of Chiefs fans when it comes to young receivers. People were very against drafting Kelvin Benjamin because they saw a lot of similarities between him and Baldwin.
As the summer approached, the Chiefs made a go for Emmanuel Sanders. Confusion arose and Sanders somehow ended up with the Denver Broncos. Sanders would have helped Alex Smith and this Kansas City Chiefs offense immediately, but instead, he’s playing for a division rival and making Chiefs fans cry each and every week.
Luckily the Chiefs have had other guys step up on offense in place of the pitiful wide receivers. Jamaal Charles is once again having a great season, Knile Davis has shown he’s a reliable guy, and Travis Kelce is a rising superstar in the NFL. The wide receivers have done virtually nothing though.
Dwayne Bowe has had his share of good games this season, but still has yet to make it to the end zone. Bowe is the number one receiver for Kansas City, but would be a number two or three receiver on most other teams.
John Dorsey finally attempted to help out the Chiefs by signing Jason Avant last week, but I’m still not convinced Avant is the missing piece to the puzzle. Sure he played with Andy Reid for years in Philadelphia, but he’s in his 30s now and I just don’t see him being a long term solution for the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Stats for 2014 Season So Far
Dwayne Bowe – 44 receptions, 551 yards on 67 targets
Donnie Avery – 14 receptions, 156 yards on 24 targets (Has been out with a groin injury since week 4)
Junior Hemingway – 12 receptions, 108 yards on 22 targets (Is listed as out for Sunday night’s matchup against Denver)
A.J. Jenkins – 9 receptions, 93 yards on 15 targets
Frankie Hammond – 3 receptions, 38 yards on 9 targets
Albert Wilson – 4 receptions for 51 yards on 4 targets (he’s caught every pass thrown his way, which is impressive)
Jason Avant (with Carolina this season) – 21 receptions for 201 yards on 40 targets
From the stats listed above, it’s obvious that Bowe is the Chiefs’ main guy. Avery went out of the season early on, but should be good to go for Sunday’s game against the Broncos. Hemingway and Jenkins haven’t been reliable and I forget Hammond is even on the team. Albert Wilson should be playing more honestly, and it’ll be interesting to see how Jason Avant is used in this offense come Sunday night.
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Wide receiver stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.