There is no denying Mahomes skill on the field, already a superstar with plenty of accolades under his belt. Kansas Cities prolific gunslinger is primed to only get better. The most dangerous thing is, everything around him is too. While the Hill trade dominated the news with Kansas City. The Chiefs fairly quietly made even more improvements to address concerns.
More weapons, better quality.
Lets face it for every year leading up to the pending 22 season there has been two big names for Mahomes to go to. Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill where the guys hard stop. The Chiefs still have Kelce who is a problem in his own right regardless of coverage. But we have seen that teams where able to shut down most of the passing game otherwise which led to some concerns. The Chiefs in true champion fashion managed to overcome them but that was then. This is now.
Mahomes Workhorse
Starting with Kelce obviously, the work horse, a man with skills that put him at the top of the tight end discussion and frankly many times in the top of all receivers as well. Kelces numbers and accolades speak for the man far better than any writer can. There is no surprise here that it will remain that way until Kelce decides to call it quits.
Mahomes New Receiving Core
Now to the additions, first up is Valdes-Scantling a player that has lived in Adams shadow for a very long time. On that note hes never had flashy numbers, never more than 700 yards and at best 6 touchdowns in a season. However, what he brings is a similar skill set to what just left Kansas City. MVS clocked an impressive 22.09 MPH on a reception in 2021 the second fastest for the year. So if he can keep his hands on the ball the Chiefs still have someone that can blow the lid off of a defense and tear down the sidelines with speed. The big difference here though. MVS is a much bigger target than the departed Hill.
Next up JuJu Smith-Schuster. Aside from the fact that the Chiefs seem to be set on getting the longest names to call. Send some prayers to the announcers. JuJu is a quick, smart, strong slot receiver that has been itching to get to the WR1 spot. Now, that may or may not pan out but what he brings is depth. Plenty of experience in the slot. Plenty of experience being alongside another high caliber receiver in Antonio Brown. We all know Andy Reid is a wizard at getting the most out of his players. Juju in the slot just makes sense and it shouldn’t be a hard sell.
Mecole Hardman another coming out of the shadows of one of the best. Before Hills departure Hardman was an multipurpose player. Catching, running, and special teams on punt returns he was used as expected of the premier gadget guy. While Hill was feeding, at a total of 153 targets for 2021. Hardman was quietly doing the work getting 83 targets himself. He also posted better yards per reception, a better catching percentage, better yards per target, and yards per touch.
Last but certainly not least. Skyy Moore, brings something that was a problem for the Chiefs in 2021, Reliable Catching. Yes that’s important enough to capitalize both words. Moore posted a 3.3 percent drop rate through his entire career. That’s the second lowest of any qualifying receiver in his class. Additionally he is hard to take down. In 2021 he forced an FBS leading 26 missed tackles after the catch. Skyy could very well live up to his name. The Sky is the limit for him, he just has to put in the work. Perhaps even more importantly Skyy played in the slot letting the Chiefs move Juju if they want.
Why it adds up to Mahomes best season yet.
Much like their division rivals the Raiders the moves here have created a better sum of its parts. I previously wrote on how I don’t agree that Adams moving to Vegas will produce a slump. I still don’t because football isn’t about one man putting up big numbers. It takes a team. The Chiefs of past years where the Kelce and Hill show as directed by Mahomes. Now? Well as they say it takes a village, Mahomes has one heck of a village.
Mahomes may have lost a certified WR1 and overall stud with Hill departing but what he gets is a lot more to work with overall. As stated, Hill dominated the number of targets last year with exception of Kelce. Now Mahomes has to contend with a question mark at who will take the head spot. That being said he now has four very strong candidates for that. The cherry on the top? All of them will have a chance to prove it. Even better? All four can. Right now, for note MVS has taken the lead in that discussion.
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