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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Wesley Roesch

Chiefs Check-in: The state of the Chiefs’ receiver room

What’s happening in Chiefs Kingdom?

Right now, a lot of receiver chatter. The Chiefs recently signed a new WR and re-signed a familiar face, and Patrick Mahomes has been feeding the Justyn Ross Hype Train. Plus, DeAndre Hopkins made it (sort of) clear where he wants to go…

Let’s look at the most recent and relevant Chiefs stories for the morning of April 18.

Latest in Chiefs news

Top Chiefs news

  • Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has nothing but great things to say about receiver Justyn Ross. “The talent is through the roof,” Mahomes said about Ross, who has been working with Mahomes during the offseason. “I think anyone can see that. He’s getting better and better.” While Chiefs fans should remain cautious about getting too excited about Ross, it’s hard not to feel the hype about the 2022 undrafted free agent entering offseason workouts.
  • Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins sort of indicated that the Chiefs and Bills are his preferred trade destinations. It’s not surprising to see Hopkins want to go to a contender, but it’s tough to say whether he’ll ultimately get his (assumed) wish.
  • Contract details for new Chiefs WR Richie James were recently revealed. James will earn up to about $1.23 million in 2023 — a pretty cheap deal for a player who earned over 500 yards receiving last year (with Daniel Jones as his quarterback, no less). James could end up being an under-the-radar steal for the Chiefs.
  • The Chiefs re-signed WR Justin Watson to a two-year deal worth up to $6 million. That may seem like a lot for a guy who was essentially WR5/6 last year, but it’s a deal mostly loaded with incentives. It’s actually a good pickup — Watson was a reliable body on offense and special teams, with the ability to catch, block, return and even make tackles.
  • So, given all this WR news, what’s the state of the Chiefs’ WR room, anyway? Here’s a look: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Richie James, Justin Watson, Justyn Ross, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Cornell Powell, John Ross and Ty Fryfogle. You can probably add one or two drafted players and a handful of undrafted players to that group after the draft later this month. Is this a good enough squad for the Chiefs to enter 2023 with? Some may say no, but remember that many believed that to be the case before the 2022 season. We all know how that turned out. On that note, Sam McDowell has a good writeup on this topic over at the Kansas City Star.

In case you missed it

Chiefs draft notes

Around the AFC West

Denver Broncos news

Las Vegas Raiders news

Los Angeles Chargers news

  • The Chargers re-signed WR Jalen Guyton, who tore his ACL in Week 3 last season. The 25-year-old still has plenty of potential, so he’ll be one to watch as he tries to bounce back from injury in 2023.

Around the NFL

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