In 2024, the Kansas City Chiefs failed to have a consistent air attack. Their struggles maintaining a passing attack were due to injuries at receiver and a lack of production from the healthy players. While nothing can be done about injuries, Kansas City did add more depth to its receiving group this offseason in hopes of getting more production.
So far, the early returns on the additions through spring practices sound promising. One player that has quickly stood out is rookie fourth-round pick Jalen Royals. The 22-year-old is on track to earn a nice workload during the 2025 season.
Jalen Royals Enters Training Camp Looking to Solidify His Spot at the No.4 Receiver
Chiefs Kingdom got their first taste of what Royal brings to the table during rookie minicamp. On the second day of rookie minicamp, Royals caught a total of ten balls, according to senior Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen. Although it's not surprising that he got the bulk of the workload in rookie minicamp, it was nice to see the youngster have reliable hands.
During OTAs, Royals began to establish a connection with Patrick Mahomes. According to Matt Derrick and Nick Jacobs of the 41IstheMic podcast, Royals had a nice touchdown grab in the back of the endzone during an OTA practice.
🚨 New Episode of @41IsTheMic ! Mahomes is locked in & some #Chiefs Rookies are making plays. @mattderrick & I break down everything from Week 1 of OTAs. #ChiefsKingdom
— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) June 2, 2025
YouTube: https://t.co/8kHynw6IRy
Audio: https://t.co/bSSsMFrpWP pic.twitter.com/otpGQBavYd
Despite looking good in OTAs, the 22-year-old saw fewer reps with the first team during mandatory minicamp. This was due to all three starting wide receivers and veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is currently the No. 4 receiver, being in attendance. That said, when Royals was on the field during minicamp he was still impressive.
Entering training camp, Royals must continue his ascent so he can see as many reps with the first team as possible. His best way of earning these reps is likely showing how dynamic he can be against backups in the preseason.
If Royals is able to achieve that, he could be in store for a bigger role in his rookie year than the Chiefs organization expected.