Tag: WR1

Making a case for Rashee Rice as Chiefs’ WR1 in 2023

Our @LazarczykLogan concludes his four-part series with a look at #Chiefs WR Rashee Rice’s chances to break recent rookie tendencies.

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Kansas City Chiefs rookie WR Rashee Rice is a dark horse candidate, but he could be a possibility with the ambiguity in the receiver room.

Rookie receivers in Andy Reid’s system tend to take a few lumps along the road in their development. The best season of a rookie WR under Reid was DeSean Jackson in 2008. In that season, Jackson had 62 receptions for 912 yards and two touchdowns.

The system has a reputation for being very complex and it takes time for rookies to pick it up and truly understand their responsibilities.

Rice may be a rookie, but he is not your prototypical first-year NFL receiver. He’s 23 years old and played four years in college. Patrick Mahomes has emphasized that Rice appears wise beyond his years against certain types of coverages.

“Obviously, you know he has the explosiveness and the jump ball ability,” Mahomes told reporters during OTAs. “But the way he was able to kind of feel throughout the zone coverages and pull up in the right spot, that’s more of a veteran-type mindset for a receiver, so I’m very excited about that.”

Rice is 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds and possesses the ability to high-point passes and make physical catches with little separation. The front office and coaching staff have emphasized his ability to create yards after the catch, often likening Rice to a running back.

The combination of size and athleticism is why Rice’s ceiling is so high in Kansas City’s offense. The skill set is why he could manage a larger percentage of the snaps as a rookie compared to Skyy Moore a season ago.

Not only did the Chiefs trade up to select Rice in the second round, but Mahomes and Shane Buechele both vouched for the former SMU wideout after an impromptu workout this offseason.

In his final collegiate season, Rice compiled 1,355 yards and 10 touchdowns on 96 receptions, skyrocketing his production from his junior season. He did so while playing nine games with a turf toe injury. Recovering from that injury could allow Rice to take his game to another level in Kansas City.

As stated, Rice emerging as the team’s WR1 is an outlier possibility, and rookie receivers tend to have growing pains in Reid’s offense. Fans shouldn’t expect Rice to establish himself this way in his first year in the league, but don’t be surprised should he emerge as the top option rather quickly.

Part 1 Kadarius Toney
Part 2 Skyy Moore
Part 3 Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Part 4 Rashee Rice

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Making a case for Marquez Valdes-Scantling as Chiefs’ WR1 in 2023

Our @LazarczykLogan continues his four-part series with a look at Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s potential to be the #Chiefs’ No. 1 receiver in 2023.

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Kansas City Chiefs WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling is entering his second season with the team after signing a multi-year contract last year. Although he is entering year two in the Chiefs’ system, Valdes-Scantling is the longest-tenured NFL veteran in the receiver room.

When discussing options for the top wide receiver in Kansas City, Valdes-Scantling doesn’t get enough credit. We already know the type of player he is at this point in his career, yet it’s not impossible that the 28-year-old wideout could wind up as the top receiver for Mahomes in 2023. There are many unknowns with the other players in the room and Valdes-Scantling can be a constant at the very least.

Before arriving in Kansas City, Valdes-Scantling was primarily used as a field stretcher in Green Bay. With the Chiefs, he was asked to be more effective in the intermediate parts of the field while still being used to exploit defenses down the field at times.

Valdes-Scantling failed to surpass 700 yards in 2022 and only caught two touchdowns on 42 receptions. Stacking his production against others in the room will reveal that he’s the only receiver on the roster with more than 570 yards receiving in a given season.

If there were another piece of evidence to prove that Valdes-Scantling could be the leader in the receiving room, it would have to be the AFC title game against Cincinnati. Albeit, Kansas City was without Justin Watson going into the contest, Travis Kelce was dealing with a back injury that almost kept him sidelined, and Juju Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman, and Toney all left the game with injuries. Nonetheless, Valdes-Scantling was instrumental in the win, catching six passes for 116 yards and one touchdown.

The 6-foot-4, 206-pound receiver has the lowest ceiling among the top receiving options in this offense in 2023, but he also possesses the safest floor.

Part 1 Kadarius Toney
Part 2 Skyy Moore
Part 3 Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Part 4 Rashee Rice

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Making a case for Skyy Moore as Chiefs’ WR1 in 2023

Our @LazarczykLogan continues his four-part series exploring potential WR1’s for the #Chiefs in 2023 with a look at second-year WR Skyy Moore.

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Kansas City Chiefs WR Skyy Moore is looking to take a second-year leap in 2023 and he has received a ton of offseason buzz so far.

The 22-year-old WR is coming off a disappointing rookie season in terms of his on-field production. Winning a Super Bowl and catching a touchdown in the game is not something to gloss over for a rookie player. However, that was Moore’s only touchdown during his rookie campaign and it came against a broken defensive coverage.

Despite playing 16 games, Moore caught just 22 passes for 250 yards and no touchdowns during the regular season. There were moments on the road against the Chargers when the Western Michigan product came down with monumental catches to preserve drives. Hard work this offseason can propel Moore into what Chiefs fans thought he might be when he was selected in the second round of last year’s draft.

Throughout the offseason programs, specifically mandatory minicamp, Moore has been a standout player. Moore has gained a rapport with Chiefs’ starting QB Patrick Mahomes throughout the offseason, and it has shown in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team drills. Andy Reid even said that Moore was targeted often and had among the most receptions during OTAs and mandatory minicamp.

Last season, Moore was moved around the field, playing in the slot and out wide. Coming into the NFL, it was assumed that the former second-round pick would orchestrate predominantly from the slot. The fact that he wore so many hats as a rookie really didn’t allow him to get comfortable with any singular role. That could change in 2023, with Moore playing a lot of the snaps vacated by JuJu Smith-Schuster. Route running and creating separation has never been a question mark with Moore, as he was quite impressive in that department for a stretch last season.

There is a strong chance that Moore will see a consistent role in the slot in 2023. Although you rarely see a slot receiver become a team’s WR1, it is not out of the realm of possibility in this iteration of the Chiefs’ offense.

Part 1 Kadarius Toney
Part 2 Skyy Moore
Part 3 Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Part 4 Rashee Rice

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Making a case for Kadarius Toney as Chiefs’ WR1 in 2023

Our @LazarczykLogan begins his four-part series exploring potential WR1’s for the #Chiefs in 2023 with a look at Kadarius Toney heading into his second season in Kansas City.

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When healthy and on the field, Kansas City Chiefs second-year WR Kadarius Toney has flashed elite traits, but injuries have kept him from reaching his true potential. In his two seasons in the NFL, Toney has played only 19 of 34 possible games, while failing to log a single game with a 50% snap share.

Toney is the first name that comes to mind when speaking about WR1’s potential in the 2023 NFL season. The 24-year-old wideout was a first-round pick by the New York Giants back in 2021, with K.C. investing picks No. 100 and No. 209 in the 2023 NFL draft in return for Toney.

It is widely expected that Toney’s role and snaps will expand for the Chiefs in 2023. Kansas City acquired Toney about midway through last season and while he picked up the offense right away,  he was mostly utilized as a gadget player, fulfilling Mecole Hardman’s role while the veteran dealt with injuries.

In Week 10 against the Jaguars, we saw how impactful Toney can be when featured, even on just a limited number of snaps. He played his highest percentage of offensive snaps of the season (44%), catching four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown. He would also add another 33 rushing yards. In that game specifically, Toney showed that he could be an effective receiver on every level of the field – underneath, intermediate, and downfield — giving a glimpse of WR1 ability.

Heading into the offseason, Toney was a popular pick to become the top passing option outside of Kelce. That only amplified when new Chiefs OC Matt Nagy claimed that Toney has the skillset to be a true No. 1 receiver.

“Well, I think we all see what he can do when the football is in his hands,” Nagy said. “Again, the same type of deal. He comes in halfway through the season, it’s a whole new offense that he has to learn the ins and outs (of). So, you have that point, and he was able to do that. It’s exciting now for us to be able to take that to year two and build that relationship with Pat (Mahomes). But he’s super-talented with the football in his hands and he’s been that way his entire life in his football career.”

With a full offseason to continue to learn the offense, Toney is in line to separate himself as the top receiver in Kansas City’s offense. Health will be a major factor in this equation, but the training staff had 13 weeks to understand what type of plan it’ll take to keep Toney healthy and on the field. We’ve already seen part of that plan in action this offseason, with Toney getting some rest during OTAs and mandatory minicamp practices.

Part 1 Kadarius Toney
Part 2 Skyy Moore
Part 3 Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Part 4 Rashee Rice

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Seahawks lock up WR Tyler Lockett with massive contract extension

The Seattle Seahawks have locked up wide receiver Tyler Lockett with a massive, four-year contract extension worth $69.2 million.

The Seattle Seahawks have locked up star wide receiver Tyler Lockett for the long term. Seattle is giving Lockett a four-year, $69.2 million contract extension, with $37 million guaranteed, per ESPN’s Adam Shefter.

Lockett was originally selected by the Seahawks in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft out of Kansas State. He has been a staple of Seattle’s offense and quarterback Russell Wilson’s most reliable receiver. He finished his 2020 campaign logging 100 receptions for 1054 yards and 10 touchdowns in the regular season.

Wilson might have been hoping for a vastly improved offensive line this year but ensuring his number one receiver stays in Seattle should make the signal-caller equally happy.

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