Better Days Ahead : Fans Happy As The Chiefs Just Added Another Weapon for Patrick Mahomes

One of the biggest issues the Kansas City Chiefs faced in the 2023 season was the wide receiver room. That issue didn’t upend their championship season, but it was a glaring hole to be fixed in the offseason, and the team has been busy addressing it by bringing in receiving help for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The usual case is Mahomes has plenty of help from tight end Travis Kelce, but even his 984 yards and 5 touchdowns were far lower than his normal output. Wide receiver Rashee Rice was second on the team with 938 yards and 7 touchdowns. After that, there was a huge drop in receiving production.

Fourth in receiving yards was Justin Watson with 460 yards and Marquez Valdes-Scantling was fifth with 315 yards. It’s extremely odd that the Chiefs did not have one receiver over 1,000 yards, but still managed to win the Super Bowl. That’s just a testament to the grit the team has, and how Mahomes can still make sure lower-performing receivers are getting the ball.

Even with poorer receiving talent, Mahomes and the Chiefs got the job done. They are now aiming to be the first team to win a Super Bowl three years in a row, and they have been active in securing potentially better wide receivers to make that dream a reality.

The team did make a huge move in the 2024 NFL Draft as they traded up with the Buffalo Bills to land speedy wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Worthy turned heads at the NFL Combine when he secured a record-breaking 4.21 40-yard dash. Now, he will have the best quarterback in the league throwing him the ball

The team also brought in former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Still, that is not enough, as the team announced they have added another potential sleeper in Jaaron Hayek.

Hayek comes over from Villanova, where he secured 3,000 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns in his time playing for the Wildcats.

Hayek has only been invited to the Chiefs rookie camp, which doesn’t mean that he will get a shot at the 53-man roster. However, should he shine in training camp and the preseason, he could find his way into the rotation.

The above stats also indicate that he secured a punt returner/kick returner 1.52 10y split, which would have been good for fourth place at the NFL Combine. The Chiefs could use him as a special teams ace if he continues to shine in that role.

The Chiefs need plenty of help at wide receiver, and Hayek could beat out the other wide receivers on the depth chart come the start of the regular season. He will be facing an uphill battle as an undrafted rookie, but that does not mean he cannot work his way into a sustainable role.

Plenty of amazing talent has come out of the lower rounds in the draft or been signed as undrafted free-agent rookies. The Chiefs are hoping they found their next diamond in the rough.