Hollywood Brown Injury Gives Chiefs Fan-Favorite Inside Track to Make Roster

Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown's unfortunate shoulder injury complicates the team's wide receiver room, though simultaneously gives an opportunity to one player rising up the depth chart in recent weeks.

24-year-old Justyn Ross, who became Chiefs Kingdom's 2023 summer darling last year, suddenly has an inside track to make the 53-man roster. If Kansas City keeps seven receivers or places Brown on the injured reserve list for the first four weeks of the season, Ross looks to have secured a spot with training camp concluding on Wednesday.

Considering the potential severity of Brown's injury, I believe Ross will be on the team.

Chiefs WR Justyn Ross Making Strong Push for Roster Spot

At six-foot-four, Ross has the size and contested-catch ability that the Chiefs' other receivers don't possess. We saw that on Saturday's preseason loss to the Jaguars, with Ross making a toe-tapping sideline 23-yard grab on his only target.

It's theoretically possible that Kansas City could look to free agency. However, it's far more likely that Brown's injury paves the way for someone like Ross to stick with the team. Entering camp, Kadarius Toney seemed ahead of Ross but after Matt Nagy's recent comments, Ross appears to have overtaken the much-maligned fifth-year wideout.

While Ross had only six catches for 53 yards last year, he converted two for first downs and has immense unrealized potential. Who could forget his performance in the National Championship game during his freshman year against Alabama before injuries derailed his promising career?

On the Chiefs' most recent unofficial depth chart, Ross is listed ahead of Toney and Nikko Remigio, another fan-favorite fighting for a place on the roster. There are still two preseason games left to prove he belongs, though I agree with Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride's projection that he's making this team.

It might have come a year after most fans predicted it would but Ross' time to shine may finally have arrived.

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