Two sneaky good players that the Chiefs must select in the 2024 NFL Draft
The Kansas City Chiefs don’t need to do anything to enhance their roster. Clearly. They recently won the Super Bowl for the second time in a row. But if there is one area where the Chiefs could improve, it is their wide receiving group. While Patrick Mahomes has been able to get it done without star quality at the position over the last two seasons since the Chiefs moved Tyreek Hill, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try to improve. Ladd McConkey and Malachi Corley could be interesting targets for the Chiefs to consider in 2024.
Skyy Moore has not yet turned out the way they hoped. After the Chiefs acquired him in exchange for a third-round pick, Kadarius Toney began to accumulate healthy scratches. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Justin Watson are usually considered deep threats.
Rashee Rice came on during the second half of the season, but he had a pretty limited role and route tree as a rookie. His average depth of target was just 4.8 yards, which ranked 99th among wide receivers according to playerprofiler.com. That’s not great, but Rice did average 2.52 yards per route run, which ranked 10th at the position. That is great.
Rice was a big hit for the Chiefs, but they need more dynamism at that position. The best place for the Chiefs to look to find that is the NFL draft. If the Chiefs want to wait until after the first round to find potential receivers, then players like Ladd McConkey and Malachi Corley should be high on their draft boards.
The Chiefs urgently need a more explosive deep threat and big-play receiver than Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Justin Watson have provided. Patrick Mahomes averaged just 6.5 air yards per attempt in 2023. It was his career’s lowest average.
Teams play almost solely cover 2 shell defense against Mahomes to reduce the number of bombs he drops over their heads. Another reason is that teams do not fear Chiefs receivers beating them over the top, like they did with Tyreek Hill.
Ladd McConkey could aid in that regard. McConkey has jets in his legs and frequently demonstrated them at the University of Georgia. He averaged more over 14 yards per reception in college and 3.62 yards per route run in 2023. Only LSU’s Malik Nabers had a higher average
McConkey’s route running, combined with his elite speed, helps him be more efficient. This helps him win further down the field.
If defenses play McConkey for his deep threat potential, he is also adept at breaking routes and simply taking what the opposition offers him.
Georgia also gave McConkey the ball in open space on few occasions. Throughout his college career, he carried 13 times for 216 yards and four touchdowns. Mahomes and Andy Reid excel at getting the ball to their receivers in open space, and McConkey is no exception. He appears to be an ideal match for the Chiefs’ system and has the potential to raise it to new heights.#
