Is Weston Dressler An Upgrade At Receiver For The Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dexter McCluster (22) Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

If the Kansas City Chiefs had the chance to sign a free agent wide receiver who averages over 73 receptions a game for his career, nearly 1,100 yards an outing, with 43 career touchdowns in six seasons, how would you feel. What if that receiver was a 5-time All Star.

Meet Weston Dressler.

Dressler is a 5’7″, 179 pound slot receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, and according to Arrowhead Pride, he is trying out for the Chiefs this week.

The 28-year old receiver attended North Dakota University before becoming a star in Canada. He won the the CFL Rookie of the Year in 2008 and has accumulated 442 career receptions and 6,531 yards in just 6 seasons. His best campaign came in 2012 when he snagged 94 passes for 1,206 yards, and 13 touchdowns.

Weston Dressler is about the same size as Dexter McCluster and only slightly smaller than Wes Welker. He plays a slot position with the Roughriders like McCluster and Welker do in the NFL.

While Dressler isn’t facing the same quality of players in the CFL week in and week out as he would in the NFL, surely he would be a more talented receiver than say, Chad Hall.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chad Hall (14) Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs desperately need an upgrade at wide receiver. With the offense that Andy Reid likes to run, a variation of the old West Coast offense, where the passing game is more of an extension of the running game with a lot of short catch and run routes, the slot receivers as very key in how successful the offense will be.

Right now, McCluster is the only true slot receiver on the Chiefs roster who has enjoyed any degree of success in the NFL. Whether Kansas City is looking at Weston Dressler as a replacement for McCluster, or as a supplement, is not not known. He may just be an option the Chiefs are exploring as part of due diligence this off season.

Dressler isn’t allowed to sign, or comment, until after February 15th, when he becomes a free agent.

It is nice to see John Dorsey and Andy Reid thinking outside the box a little bit. Dressler is a star in the CFL. Regardless of the talent of his opposition, he skills sets of speed and quickness, plus the obvious ability to catch the football, should translate well in the NFL. The style of play is different in the CFL, but speed and quickness can’t be taught.

The stats will tell you that Dressler obviously has some football skills. It is up to Dorsey and Reid to decide if those skills will be effective playing in the NFL. Surely Dressler is an upgrade over Chad Hall. Maybe Dressler is a diamond in the rough, and can improve a poor receiving corps.

It is an interesting development and it is encouraging that Dorsey and Reid are not going to overlook any possibilities to improve the Kansas City Chiefs for next season.