Kansas City Chiefs: Wide receiver depth chart after 2019 NFL Draft

By Leigh Oleszczak | May 8, 2019

Sammy Watkins #14 of the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images) /

The Kansas City Chiefs have plenty of options at wide receiver. What does the position look like now that the 2019 NFL Draft has wrapped up?

With a franchise quarterback in town, the Kansas City Chiefs need to make sure they do a better job at giving him star wide receivers than they did when Alex Smith was a Chief.

As of now, the Chiefs have 12 wide receivers listed on their official roster. This doesn’t include all of the UDFAs they brought in after the 2019 NFL Draft concluded. We’ll get to those guys momentarily, but first, let’s take a look at the 12 receivers listed on the Chiefs’ roster:

All right, let’s start with the elephant in the room. We’re unsure of what’s going to happen with Tyreek Hill, as the investigation involving him is still going on. He’s currently suspended from team activities and it wouldn’t be shocking if he’s placed on the commissioner’s exempt list at some point.

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If Hill is on the roster and is eligible to play, he’ll be the unquestioned number one option. If he’s not eligible to play and/or isn’t with the team anymore, Sammy Watkins probably takes on that role.

Even with his injury-riddled career, Watkins makes a difference when he’s healthy. He might not have put up the most dominant stats last year, but when he was on the field, it was noticeable. He added a whole other element to the already stout Chiefs offense.

Demarcus Robinson and Gehrig Dieter basically leapfrogged Chris Conley during the 2018 season, so seeing them get bigger roles (especially Robinson) this year would make sense. Second round pick Mecole Hardman, who compares to Hill’s size and speed, is also in the mix to be a big time playmaker in 2019 and initially it appeared as if he’d be replacing Hill in 2019.

Byron Pringle is someone I was high on last year, but an injury kept him from truly making an impact. It’d be cool to see the K-State product suit up with the hometown Chiefs in 2019 and beyond.

As for the other names on this list, there are a few we know very little about so it’s hard to really gauge what they’ll be able to bring to the team. Custis, Davis, Grayson, and Thompson aren’t well-known names, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t talented. Sometimes those lesser known players come out of nowhere and really make an impression when it matters most.

The Chiefs also signed Joel Blumenthal, Jody Fortson Jr., Justin Hobbs, Jamire Jordan, Andre Lindsay, and Julius Wingate to UDFA contracts.

In other words, there isn’t a lack of competition at the wide receiver spot. The speculation at the position really hinges on what Hill’s future with the organization looks like. If he’s around, we’ll see a similar depth chart to last year.

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If Hill isn’t around, Watkins becomes the number one option and suddenly Robinson is thrust into an even bigger role. Hardman probably gets the third spot and while Dieter impressed in limited action last year, that won’t be enough to solidify him for sure being the fourth option in 2019.

What are your predictions for the final wide receiver depth chart?

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