KC Chiefs: Wide receiver depth chart after 2020 NFL Draft

With the 2020 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, it’s time to start looking ahead at the 2020 NFL season. Wide receiver is an important position for the KC Chiefs, so how does it look now that the draft has concluded?

Anyone who has watched the Kansas City Chiefs offense over the past two seasons knows that the wide receiver position is huge in being the explosive unit that they are. Without good receivers, Patrick Mahomes isn’t going to be able to make as many big time plays in big time moments and we saw how being armed with two solid receivers paid dividends in Super Bowl LIV.

The interesting part about the 2020 Chiefs season is that fans went from thinking the team would be losing two of their best receivers to not losing anyone. That’s obviously huge for this offense because even though Mahomes is what carries this unit, the more talented receivers he has, the better.

So, here’s how the depth chart looks after the 2020 NFL Draft:

• WR1: Tyreek Hill
• WR2: Sammy Watkins
• WR3: Demarcus Robinson
• WR4: Mecole Hardman
• WR5: Byron Pringle

All five of those players were on the roster last season and are returning for 2020. It is worth noting, however, that KC has nine other wide receivers listed on their roster and those players are:

• Andre Baccellia
• Felton Davis
• Gehrig Dieter
• Maurice Ffrench
• Jody Fortson
• Aleva Hifo
• Kalija Lipscomb
• Justice Shelton-Mosley
• Cody White

Out of those nine players, three were on last year’s roster while the other six were signed as undrafted free agents. I highlighted Lipscomb and White when discussing the most intriguing UDFAs KC brought in, as both had 900+ yard seasons at one point during their collegiate career.

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Out of all of these players, only Dieter has played in a pro game before and for whatever reason, the Chiefs organization has kept him around the past two seasons, but one has to think if he doesn’t show something big this summer or whenever preseason games take place, he’ll be cut.

The Chiefs could potentially keep two of these nine players for their active roster, so who will be the lucky two to make the cut? Also, how many would then end up on the practice squad? The Chiefs will have some tough decisions to make when it comes to dwindling down these unknowns.

For the most part, however, the wide receiver position is going to look virtually the same as it did last year with Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins as the two starters and Demarcus Robinson and Mecole Hardman behind them. Had both Watkins and Robinson departed in free agency, Hardman would have been the new number two, but the Chiefs also probably would have taken a wide receiver in the first three rounds had that been the case.

Fortunately, both guys are back and the main wide receiver core will be kept intact. Byron Pringle had one huge game in 2019, but disappeared down the stretch. Still, as a former K-State player, the locals like Pringle and he showed that he can have breakout performances.

Do you think the wide receiver depth chart will look differently? How so?