The Kansas City Chiefs’ receiving corps was gutted in free agency with the departures of Mecole Hardman and JuJu Smith-Schuster, but HC Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes didn’t seem fazed by the attrition in comments made to the media on Monday.
Both deflected questions about how they might mitigate the loss of such integral pieces to Kansas City’s air attack, pointing to Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore as weapons who seem primed to take a massive step forward in 2023. It’s especially the case, now that the two have a year with the team under their belts.
Speaking of Toney and Moore, Reid stressed the imperative of growth within his offense, and praised both receivers for approaching the game with a mentality that will make adjustments in their second year in the Chiefs’ system easier.
“I think it’s important that they continue to grow – both of them,” Reid said. “You know, KT (Kadarius Toney), he’s not like a seasoned veteran in the league. He’s still relatively young guy and young in this offense so growth will be important, how they handle this offseason (and) how they handle training camp and that whole workload that comes with it. But I’m expecting good things from them, for sure.
“They’re wired the right way and they’ve just got to keep improving and develop that relationship with Pat (Mahomes). And to Vahe’s (Gregorian) question there, Pete, I mean Pat’s been on it right from the get-go so he’s been all over it (building relationships) and with the guys, with the coaches. He checks them all the time, ‘Hey, how we doing?’ In free agency, ‘Hey, how we doing with the Draft?’ He’s interested in that which is unique, I think, so he’s either talking to myself or Brett all the time.”
Mahomes, for his part, echoed what Reid had to say, but placed more emphasis on the receivers’ abilities to take on a greater share of targets with Hardman and Smith-Schuster out of the picture.
“I think the biggest thing – I mean you start off with getting both those guys in year two of the offense and letting them expand their roles,” Mahomes explained. “I think you could see it, especially with Skyy (Moore) at the end of the season how he was getting more and more involved in the offense. I think he’ll continue to take those steps and be even better this next year when he’s more comfortable and can utilize his talents even more.
“And then with Kadarius (Toney), I think y’all saw what the upside this last year of how special of a talent he can be. And so to have him in that offense another year, have him working with (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid and how we practice and training camp I think it’ll have his body in the best shape that you can possibly be in to go out there and be healthy all season long. And so, we’re excited for those guys to take those next steps within this offense.”
Though the coach and quarterback certainly seemed confident in their ability to compete with the talent they have available at present, the Chiefs’ fanbase will undoubtedly continue to clamor for the team to add another receiver before the 2023 offseason comes to a close.
With just a week remaining until the NFL draft takes place in the backyard of Arrowhead Stadium, fans may not have to wait long for the team to make their move on a promising receiver.
