Ahead of the 2025 season, the Kansas City Chiefs faced a tough decision at the wide receiver position. The depth chart was crowded, and the franchise opted to trade Skyy Moore to the San Francisco 49ers in favor of keeping Jason Brownlee, Tyquan Thornton, and Nikko Remigio. It made sense at the time, given that Moore failed to break the 300-yard mark with the Chiefs despite oozing potential as a former second-round pick.
Unfortunately, trading Moore has aged incredibly poorly as K.C. fans have watched the 49ers develop Moore into one of the league's better returners. The former Chief is averaging a whopping 28.1 yards on 29 kick returns, which includes when he amassed a season-high 112 on four attempts during Monday's 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
He's also thrived as a situational WR for the 49ers, with four of his five receptions on the year going for at least 15 yards.
Skyy Moore's Success with 49ers Underscores how Badly Chiefs Messed Up
It has been a frustrating development that exposes just how poorly Kansas City develops its receivers and how it was a mistake to send the speedy Moore packing. The Chiefs' issues developing receivers have been well-covered, with the franchise unable to develop or find any consistent depth behind Rashee Rice in recent years.
Moore, meanwhile, is having an incredible season, with a 98-yard kick return and a 66-yard punt return highlighting his ability to create missed tackles and utilize his speed. It's also a small sample size, but his 17.4 yards per catch on the year would only trail Tyquan Thornton (23.1) and Nikko Remigio (21.0) on the Chiefs, while being much better than Rice (10.8) and Xavier Worthy (12.7).
While a depth receiver flipping the season might seem a tad dramatic, Chiefs fans know just what an uphill battle they had on special teams. Much of this was due to Remigio's limitations, such as his underwhelming returns and inability to make a consistent mark in the aerial attack. It seems that special teams coordinator Dave Toub chose poorly when he made a very public plea to keep the limited playmaker.
This is the exact type of coaching decision indicative of Kansas City's doomed 2025 season and how frustrating it has been to watch a group of decision-makers embrace failing pieces. Moore is proof that the Chiefs aren't getting the most out of their playmakers and have become predictable, putting everything on quarterback Patrick Mahomes' shoulders, expecting him put on his cape and save a roster that has devolved over the last two seasons.
For San Francisco, Moore's addition was out of desperation due to a long list of injuries coming into the season. The gamble paid off, evidently, and now the ex-Chief might be a key part of the 49ers' offensive and special teams operations moving forward.
The Chiefs need to take a serious look in the mirror this offseason as far as their WR development goes. They can't keep relying on inconsistent veterans like Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster forever. Eventually, they're going to have to develop some in-house playmakers if they want to make the most of Mahomes' remaining time in the league.
The silver lining here is that Moore's continued success will give Chiefs fans something to follow this postseason now that the playoffs are off the table. Even then, that won't be enough for them to forget about Kansas City's ongoing WR concerns.