What are the Chiefs thinking at wide receiver?

Examining potential reasons for Kansas City's (in)action in the receiver market after losing Smith-Schuster, Hardman, and Watson in free agency.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; Chiefs fans (myself included) are worried about the plan at wide receiver this season.

If that sounds familiar… well, almost exactly one year ago to the day, the Chiefs (now-famously) traded All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill for a plethora of picks. The move led to a great deal of questions as to the future for the position in Kansas City and what it boded for the offense moving forward.

Of course, we all know how that story ended. Mahomes/Kelce/Reid, with help from veteran receiver signings Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (along with incumbent Mecole Hardman and some role players in Justin Watson, rookie Skyy Moore, and midseason acquisition Kadarius Toney), spearheaded the best offense in the league on their way to a second Super Bowl victory.

Warren Sharp @SharpFootball

8. the Chiefs are even MORE EFFICIENT this year without Tyreek Hill and they've played more difficult defenses this year than in any of the prior years and while PHI DEF is built to limit deep passing the 2022 KC offense doesn't care they throw faster & strike shorter this yr

I’ve shared this chart before, but it’s just so insane I felt the need to do it again. The Chiefs managed to be more efficient without Hill as Mahomes played the best ball of his career. It was marvelous to watch.

Fast forward to now. Smith-Schuster, Hardman, and Watson are gone. Both Smith-Schuster and Hardman (as well as every free agent at the position) were signed for deals the Chiefs could have matched. The wide receiver group, as it currently sits, is now decidedly less proven than it was even this time last year (when there was a great deal of panic already about the position). The Legion of Zoom has become a memory.

PJ Green @PJGreenTV

Wide receivers currently on the #Chiefs roster: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, John Ross, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Cornell Powell, Jerrion Ealy, Ty Fryfogle, Justyn Ross.

Brad Symcox @BritChiefUK

Well, there it is, the last member of the legendary "Legion of Zoom" has now left the @Chiefs It's certainly the end of an era. I'll look upon this era of Chiefs football with unbreakable memories. Am I sad? ... a little, but I'm so glad to have been part of something huge! 🥰

Amidst the rumors of Odell Beckham Jr. and a seemingly endless debate as to whether trading for DeAndre Hopkins is the right move, Chiefs fans are left to sit and wonder what the plan is moving forward as Brett Veach seemingly stands pat on a position group that looks weaker by a solid margin than it was to close the season.

With that in mind, I thought I’d write about the potential reasons the Chiefs would have for being relatively inactive with their current group. Whether they are right or wrong (regardless of which reason it is) remains to be seen, but what follows is a list of the most likely (in one man’s opinion) reasons Veach and Reid have stood pat. There are four total, and I’ll go in order of most likely to least likely.