Kansas City has had some good running backs over the years. The Chiefs have also seen their fair share of good tight end play. The receiver position has been sort of a conundrum for the Chiefs, especially in today’s NFL, where an elite passing offense is the key. In fact, the Chiefs all-time leading receiver in both yards and receptions is a tight end. Tony Gonzalez is a surefire Hall of Famer and leads both categories for the Chiefs. The next player on the list is Otis Taylor. Taylor had a great career with Kansas City while recording 7,306 yards with 410 receptions. The two-time Pro Bowler had all these receptions from 1965-1975.
The next-highest receiver on that list is former LSU Tiger Dwayne Bowe. Bowe played for the Chiefs from 2007-2014. The former Chief was cut after the infamous 2014 season where no Kansas City receiver caught a touchdown pass. After a season like that, the Chiefs had to do something about their receiving corps. Bowe was later signed by the Cleveland Browns. The one-time Pro Bowler barely saw the field, recording five receptions for a total of 53 yards in the seven games he played in.
The Tale of the Kansas City Chiefs Receivers
Enter Jeremy Maclin
In 2015, the Chiefs decided to target the Philadelphia Eagles leading receiver Jeremy Maclin in free agency. Maclin, who played college football at Missouri, also played under the Chiefs head coach Andy Reid when he coached in Philadelphia. Maclin became the first Chiefs receiver to get over 1,000 yards receiving since Bowe did it in 2011. The former two-time All-American even became the first receiver to record 1,000 yards receiving with Alex Smith as his quarterback.
Even with the success that Maclin had last year, the Chiefs ranked 30th in passing offense. Andy Reid is known for his west coast offense that puts points on the scoreboard. The lone team in Missouri might be solid at running back right now, but they need their receivers to step up. Rod Streater and Mike Williams at one point both showed a lot of promise. Both receivers are looking to revive their careers on the Chiefs in 2016.
While Kansas City is looking at some of the veterans to find a way on the offense, they also look towards the returning receivers. Albert Wilson played college ball at Georgia State before going undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft. Wilson is now the current number two receiver. In 2014, he had 260 yards receiving. He would follow that up during his second season with 451 yards and two touchdowns. Kansas City hopes that he continues to progress. In addition, the team is counting on 2015 third-round draft pick Chris Conley to step it up. The 6’3” receiver had 199 yards receiving and one touchdown in 2015 but he was on the field for all 16 games.
To really make sure that the Chiefs would have a solid receiving group, they went out and drafted two additional members in the 2016 NFL Draft. In the fourth round of the draft, Kansas City selected Demarcus Robinson out of Florida. John Dorsey, Chiefs general manager, wasn’t done with just one receiver. Dorsey also selected Tyreek Hill out of West Alabama in the fifth round as well. Both Robinson and Hill have had some character issues that Dorsey and Andy Reid hope to resolve. Andy Reid is used to coaching controversial players, as he coached Michael Vick on the Eagles after Vick was released from federal prison.
Kansas City hopes that the character issues that players like Mike Williams, Tyreek Hill, and Demarcus Robinson have demonstrated can be worked out. If they are able to get these issues resolved and move past from them, this would give Alex Smith plenty of offensive weapons to work with. Kansas City hopes to win the AFC West in 2016 and in years to follow. For them to do so, they need more offensive production out of the receivers. They head into the 2016 season with a stacked backfield. They hope the same can be true with the receivers they have.
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