3 Chiefs on Thin Ice Following Narrow Week 5 Win vs. Vikings

It wasn't all rainbows and roses for the Chiefs in a competitive yet sloppy 27-20 win over the Vikings in Week 5. Kansas City sits at 4-1, but concerns persist about several portions of the team, particularly on the offensive end.

We looked at three players that deserve more playing time yesterday but those players can only earn more snaps at someone else's expense. Today, we'll look at the Chiefs trending down.

Here are three struggling Chiefs on thin ice heading into Thursday Night Football against the Broncos:

3 Chiefs on Thin Ice After Week 5

1. Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Quick, who are the Chiefs' six highest-paid players this season?

Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Travis Kelce, Joe Thuney, Justin Reid and then Marquez Valdes-Scantling. MVS is making $11 million this season, yet has quite possibly been the NFL's worst wide receiver to this point.

Despite playing more snaps than any other Chiefs receiver, Valdes-Scantling has just seven receptions on 11 targets for 116 yards through five games. That's not only embarrassing, it's flat-out unacceptable.

Valdes-Scantling's calling card is deep passing plays, but Justin Watson is a far superior option despite making nearly $10 million less this year. His contributions in the AFC Championship game will live forever, though it's obvious he's playing his way out of Kansas City.

It's telling that Valdes-Scantling is averaging just over two targets per game despite the high snap count. He's not creating separation and Mahomes doesn't trust him, instead favoring Watson, Kadarius Toney and the rookie Rashee Rice.

At this point, there's little argument for bringing Valdes-Scantling back next year, though he's not the only receiver wearing out his welcome.

2. Skyy Moore

I had high expectations for Moore in his second season, but he's been a disaster to this point and is looking like another wasted early draft pick for Brett Veach on offense.

Between Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Mecole Hardman and Moore, Veach's track record on skill position players has been disappointing, to say the least. I'm hopeful Moore can turn things around, but he needs to prove he can be impactful to justify his high snap count.

Moore has caught just nine of 17 targets for 123 yards and a TD. He's been more productive than Valdes-Scantling but not by much, and the Chiefs' offense is running out of time to squeeze production out of the former second-round pick.

It's particularly gut-wrenching to consider the Chiefs could have drafted George Pickens, who just had six catches for 130 yards and the game-winning score against Baltimore and would perfectly fit Kansas City's offense.

Hindsight is 20-20, though Moore has done little to justify his draft position. Unless he can turn things around in a hurry, I see no reason to give him snaps over Rice or Watson as we approach the second half of the season.

He's still got time to hit the Skyy-high expectations, but the ice Moore's standing on is perilously thin.

Meanwhile, one former first-round pick's ice has already cracked and completely broken.

3. Clyde Edwards-Helaire

For the love of all that is good, I'm begging this coaching staff to stop putting Edwards-Helaire on the field.

One of the worst Chiefs draft picks in recent memory, Edwards-Helaire managed just four total yards on three carries against Minnesota and now has 28 carries for a pathetic 93 yards on the season. That's 3.3 yards per carry, a disastrous mark that pales in comparison to Isiah Pacheco's 4.6 yards per carry mark.

Clyde's tape is littered with poor reps like this one and it's impossible to justify giving him touches. Even if you want to manage Pacheco's workload, utilizing Jerick McKinnon more or even calling up a practice squad player like Deneric Prince or La'Mical Perine would be a better optimization of the roster.

Edwards-Helaire has the ninth-highest salary on the team this season and he's a detriment to the offense every time he's on the field.

He's a sunk cost and it's time to cut our losses. No more Clyde please, I'm begging you Andy.

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