Since the departure of Tyreek Hill in the 2021 offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs have yet to have a wide receiver eclipse the 1,000-yard barrier. That’s tied with the Green Bay Packers for the third-longest drought in the league. In a Patrick Mahomes-led offense that almost seems illegal, and yet it’s the truth.
Coming into the 2025 season, however, there are reasons to be very optimistic and perhaps even bullish on the numbers Mahomes could produce for his top pass catchers. Similar to this year, the Chiefs' top three receiving options at the position last season were Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Hollywood Brown. The stories coming out of training camp were glowing about how the Chiefs were going to get back to being a light show on offense with all this talent and speed, an attribute that was sorely missing since Hill was traded.
That anticipation quickly diminished after Brown was placed on IR after injuring his SC joint in the first preseason game, and Rice tore both his LCL and PCL in week four. Once again, Mahomes and Andy Reid were forced to shorten down the playbook and attack defenses in a more methodical approach throughout the season, which saw Worthy come along late as a rookie, but amassing only 638 receiving yards.
Chiefs May Have Best WRs of Patrick Mahomes' Career
But now with the trio healthy and roaring to go, I could see a complete turnaround from what the Chiefs have become accustomed to in the last three seasons. Here are some stats to back it up.
- Rashee Rice: Since Week 13, 2024 (including playoffs) and into 2025, Rice paced out for 17 games with 122 Rec, 1,396 yds, and 8 TDs.
- Xavier Worthy: Since Week 11, 2025, Worthy paced out for 17 games with 98 Rec, 1,154 yds, and 10 TDs.
- Hollywood Brown: In his five games with the Chiefs, Brown paced out 17 games for 48 Rec and 479 yds (small sample size and limited numbers, yes, but there’s only one football)
Those are not mere projections or numbers taken out of context, but just the simple math on how these players performed when on the field. When Rice and Worthy both became a more central part of the offense in their respective rookie years, the numbers they each put up were worthy of Pro-Bowl and, in Rice’s case, All-Pro attention.
Those 3,029 receiving yards would be the most by a trio of Chiefs receivers since 2021 (2,500 yards). That may seem like an egregious jump in yardage and usage of the wide receiver position in this offense, but perhaps that’s what needs to happen. As Travis Kelce ages and his numbers dwindle, shifting the focus toward feeding the guys on the outside of the numbers will be key.
The combo of Hill/Kelce accumulated for 2,300-2,600 yards in three of four seasons with Mahomes through 2018-2021. Rice/Worthy project to total 2,550. While Kelce would put up his usual 1,200 yards, that number is now just 700-800. With Hollywood Brown’s 500 yards of his own, that would fill the void left by Kelce’s dip. And if you believe that 500 yards is too much for Brown as the projected fourth passing option, let’s not forget that rookie, Mecole Hardman, had 538 receiving yards as the fourth option in 2019, and Byron Pringle’s 566 yards as the fourth option in 2021.
Through 2018-2021, the Chiefs' top three receivers accumulated a yearly average of 49.4% of all Mahomes' passing yards. Kelce accumulated for a yearly average of 26.6% of all Mahomes' passing yards. That adds up to 76% of receiving yardage being put up by the top four pass-catchers each year. In those four years, Mahomes threw for an average of 4,820 yards each season.
With those stats laid out, let's just say Mahomes throws for his average of 4,800 yards once again. Rice/Worthy/Brown's 3,029 yards would accumulate for 63.1% of all Mahomes' passing yards. That would easily be the highest of any year in the Mahomes era by 11.4%. Kelce’s 700 yards would accumulate for just 14.6% of all Mahomes' yards, assuming Mahomes throws for his usual 4,800 yards. The 63.1% of the WR trio plus the 14.6% equals 77.7%, right at the 76% average put up previously.
It’s a long road to short thought, I know. But the way I see it, this Chiefs offense and its personnel are more than capable of rearranging how they play to be more receiver-centric, while still reaching their previous numbers by setting the bar at having two 1,000-yard pass catchers. Only this time, we are transitioning to a new era, where it won’t be a wide receiver and a generational tight end, but rather two separate wide receivers.