8 Chiefs Whose Stock is Rising After OTAs
5. Kadarius Toney, WR
Even though the Chiefs won the Super Bowl (again) last season, certain players left the fanbase craving more. One of the biggest 2023 underperformers was none other than Kadarius Toney.
While Toney showed plenty of promise during his rookie year, his run with the Chiefs has been largely forgettable. He's suited up in a total of 20 games in a Kansas City uniform over the last two seasons, catching only 41 balls for 340 receiving yards and three touchdowns. To understand how bad he's been, Mahomes — arguably the greatest QB on the planet — only registered a 66.7 passer rating when targeting him last year.
To put things into perspective, a season-long passer rating at that rate would've ranked ninth-worst among 59 eligible QBs last season.
Many fans were ready to write Toney off, but he's slowly begun to reverse those opinions this offseason. OC Nagy has described the 25-year-old WR as "special" while mentioning how he wants to put him in "the right spot" to succeed going forward. The ultimate goal is for Toney to stick with "simple" play calls so that he can let his talent do the talking.
#Chiefs OC Matt Nagy on how to get the best out of Kadarius Toney:
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) May 30, 2024
“He understands the foundation, mentally, of where to go, where to line up. That’s a big part of the process. Then the next part of the process is just making the simple plays be simple. He’s so talented.
“And… pic.twitter.com/wNacp4MHKG
If Nagy and the rest of the staff can get the most out of Toney, the passing game could be even more lethal than ever before. Average Joe wideouts don't register 10 catches for 189 receiving yards as a rookie, so hopefully the Chiefs can successfully get Toney back to playing confidently so he can reach those heights again.