The Kansas City Chiefs made a splash before the trade deadline with the acquisition of Kadarius Toney. The Chiefs dealt draft pricks to the New York Giants for the young receiver, who has shown to be productive when healthy on the field.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has connected with various new receivers this season, continuing his focus on spreading the ball around. The former league MVP entered the bye week with 20 touchdown passes and only five interceptions, with an impressive 109.5 QB rating.
Speaking to Carrington Harrison on 610 Sports Radio show “The Drive” for his weekly check-in, Mahomes gave his first thoughts on Toney after meeting him at the Chiefs facility following the trade.
“Yeah, I came up to the facility. I was in town, so I came to the facility and saw him. I got to meet him a little bit, talk to him. He seemed like a great, great, great dude,” Mahomes said. “(I’m) glad to have him here. Obviously (he’s) a playmaker who can make a lot of plays happen.. Let’s get him rolling into our culture and see what he can do.”
The priority for Toney will be maintaining his health as he’s dealt with multiple injuries since entering the league in 2021. He’s recently dealt with a hamstring injury that kept him out for six games this season.
“You want to take it slow,” Mahomes said. “We have a lot of playmakers already, so we’ve been doing a good thing as far as the offense has been going. When you add a guy that is a playmaker that can make a lot of special plays happen, you don’t want to throw too much on him in the beginning. As the season goes on, I think his role will increase more and more and you’ll also see that special ability that he has.
As for the film that Mahomes has watched on Toney, he was pleasantly surprised by a few things and is excited about the opportunity the young receiver has moving forward.
“He’s a physical catcher,” Mahomes said. “I think that’s the biggest thing you get pleasantly surprised with — he’s a bigger dude than you think. Obviously, it’s special when you can catch the ball and can make guys miss and run with the speed that he has. But to be able to expand his route tree and get him in this offense, I’m excited for the opportunity that he has.”
