3 Chiefs Players Fighting for Their Jobs in Week 7 vs. Chargers

3. Kadarius Toney

I firmly believe that Toney and Rice are the Chiefs' best receivers, but Toney's concerning usage worries me that Kansas City views the former first-round pick as a "Super Mario Mushroom" version of Mecole Hardman instead of a legitimate wideout.

Toney has an NFL-low 2.2 yards in average depth per target. We saw against the Broncos how much the Chiefs relied on gadget plays to get Toney involved, as he had a palty nine yards on six targets. He scored a TD, but even that was a designed short-yardage play that required trickery.

When given the opportunity, Toney has produced. He's heavily involved in the offense, but I can't imagine the Chiefs intended to use him exactly like Hardman when they aquired him last year.

We saw in the Jacksonville game last season how effective Toney can be as a normal receiver. He can make contested catches and break tackles in space, making him a logical solution to Kansas City's issues in the passing game.

For whatever reason, the Chiefs are hesitant to involve Toney without those trick plays. His high target share shows the organization still believes in his talent, but I want to see Toney utilized like a standard receiver instead of the recent usage.

Toney has 17 receptions this year. Somehow, those 17 catches only traveled a combined NINE yards beyond the line of scrimmage. If the Chiefs aren't willing to utilize Toney downfield, the juice Brett Veach paid to acquire him last year won't be worth the squeeze.

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