What is the State of the Chiefs Offensive Arsenal?
If the last several years of the NFL have taught us anything, it's that any offense headed by Patrick Mahomes is an offense worth taking seriously. Despite the narrative around his less-than-spectacular stats last season, it would be safe to bet that Mahomes will still be seen as a very dangerous man by the defenses of the league going into the 2025 season. It isn’t just Mahomes alone that makes the Chiefs’ offense a scary one for any defense to face; he has historically had both high-end talent to throw to, as well as an uncanny ability to elevate decent playmakers into elite weapons. Fans around the league are either thrilled or terrified of the three-headed monster that the Chiefs will showcase at WR in Rashee Rice, Marquise Brown, and Xavier Worthy. Likewise, the league will be watching Travis Kelce closely, seeing if the Chiefs legend can return to an elite form for what could be his last year in a Chiefs uniform, or any NFL uniform at all, for that matter.
What can easily get lost in the shuffle of all this star power is that Mahomes has more than just these four guys to throw to. Depth at any position matters a great deal in the NFL, particularly on the offensive weapons front. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the aforementioned receiver corps is no stranger to getting hurt, with both Brown and Rice missing almost the entirety of last season due to nasty injuries. Likewise, Kelce plays a very physical style and carries a lot of wear and tear from his many years as a number one option for the Chiefs’ offense. Keeping in mind fatigue, injury, and different offensive packages, there are a number of Chiefs that deserve to be highlighted as likely important members of this season’s roster.
In the WR room, the veteran presence of JuJu Smith-Schuster should continue to be valuable into the 2025 season. This tenured receiver is entering his ninth year in the league and his third season in four years with Kansas City. Smith-Schuster led KC’s receiver corps in yards during their 2022 campaign that eventually ended with the Chiefs hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. While his production was not the same during his stint with the Chiefs last season, Smith-Schuster brings a championship mindset and a great deal of experience to a WR corps that has been headed by some very young players. He may not see a great deal of targets from Mahomes this next year, but he’s proven to be dependable when his number is called, on and off the field.
It is hard to stand out when you’re in the shadow of a legend, but that is something that Noah Gray has somehow done. While the face of the Chiefs’ tight end room is rightfully Travis Kelce, Noah Gray has put up some solid numbers as the team's number two TE. Gray actually tied for the third most receiving yards of anyone on the Chiefs roster last season, putting up the exact same number as the illustrious DeAndre Hopkins, while actually bringing in one more touchdown. Gray is measurably improving every year, earning a career-high amount of receiving yards and TDs last season, marking a bright future for the young Duke alumnus. Chiefs fans are quietly excited for Gray to step into the shoes of a retired Kelce, but with a breakout year looming, Gray may stake his claim as the new face of the TE corps before Kelce even leaves.
The player that both the Kansas City front office and fans alike might be most excited for is the rookie Jalen Royals. Royals was taken in the fourth round by the Chiefs in this year’s draft after an impressive career as the number one option at Utah State. For the last two years, the Chiefs have been on a roll of developing rookie receivers into forces to be reckoned with, as seen by the rise of both Rice and Worthy in their respective rookie seasons. Could Royals make the Chiefs’ rookie-to-weapon streak hit three years straight? We likely won’t know until the end of the season, as the Chiefs under head coach Andy Reid have made a habit of slowly trickling in their rookie playmakers, gradually building up their snap count as the season rolls on. If Royals can establish himself as yet another young star playmaker, Mahomes might just have himself a colossal revenge tour in the making, all on the backs of homegrown talent.
