By: Jake Rajala

The Kansas City Chiefs will no longer feature the fireworks that Tyreek Hill brought to the wide receiver position (three-time All-Pro), but they will carry a few new, potent faces: JuJu Smith-Schuster, MVS, and Skyy Moore. Patrick Mahomes may have leaned on Hill to catch third and long passes in pivotal situations, but he certainly has many unique threats to replace Hill (and potentially improve Mahomes’s production) moving forward.

Of course, the TE Travis Kelce will still be a major factor for a long time in KC.

Smith-Schuster may have been a ghost over the past couple of seasons, but it didn’t help that he was in a crowded WR with a washed-up Ben Roethlisberger. It also should be noted that his health has really derailed him: four missed games in 2019 and 11 missed games last season.

The 25-year-old WR is absolutely capable of high-end success with a QB like Patty Mahomes. In fact, his most productive season is similar to Hill’s most electric season, as shown below.

Smith-Schuster’s best season (2018): 1,426 yds and 7 touchdowns

Tyreek Hill’s best season (2018): 1,479 yds and 12 touchdowns

Smith-Schuster should be a Pro Bowl-caliber in a Chiefs uniform, but the football world could be surprised by the rookie Skyy Moore. James Jones was an enormous fan of Moore prior to him being drafted by KC (as shown below).

The second-round pick was MIA in rookie mini-camp due to a minor hamstring injury. Although he returned to action (on a limited basis) in OTAs. It’s also positive that Moore has impressed Big Red in OTAs as of late. Per Chiefs Wire, Reid stated, “He’s doing a good job of understanding what we’re trying to get done.” Reid elaborated that he needs to catch up a bit, but it’s clear that the gifted athlete is meshing well with the Chiefs offensive system.

I expect MVS to be an occasional threat deep down the field, as he was often very explosive for A-Rod in the past. He averaged 20.9 YPC in 2020 and he has a career YPC of 17.5. The Chiefs will have everybody’s old crush in Mecole Hardman and the unique WR Josh Gordon. Hardman quietly had 693 yards last season and he should compete with MVS for the third-most production at WR. Finally, the former Browns legend at WR will likely be busting his tail to keep a roster spot and he may have a couple of touchdown catches that make NFL fans reminisce about his days of being an elite WR.

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By: Jake Rajala

It’s safe to say that a large portion of the NFL world believes the Kansas City Chiefs transitioned into the Avengers team at the beginning of Avengers: End Game after Tyreek Hill was delivered to Miami. They may have lost a bit of their Super Bowl 54 pixy dust after Hill departed, but I believe they could absolutely still return to the SB next season. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine three reasons why KC could return to the SB in the 2022-2023 season.

WR talent

Outside of the Chiefs exhibiting a greek god-like character in Travis Kelce, the Chiefs actually brought in a few fascinating WR faces this off-season. JuJu Smith-Schuster will surely look to unveil production similar to his 2018 season as the new WR1. The rookie Skyy Moore can be an excellent YAC player in Andy Reid’s offense. MVS is an excellent deep threat (17.5 career Y/C) and Josh Gordon might be a diamond in the rough, as a low-risk signing ($1.2 million in 2022).

JuJu Smith’s career season in 2018: 111 receptions, 1,426 yds, and 7 touchdowns

Tyreek Hill’s career season in 2018: 87 receptions, 1,479 yds, and 12 touchdowns

RB position

The Chiefs quietly have one of the most talented 1-2 RB tandems in the NFL. I expect Clyde Edwards-Helaire to return fresh (7 missed games last season) and be highly motivated for his third season in the league. Ronald Jones is an upgrade over Jerick “Jet” McKinnon and he should be an x-factor in the Chiefs offense (1,143 all-purpose yds and 8 total touchdowns in 2020). It will be vital that the Chiefs can have a lethal rushing attack in all four quarters against opponents like Cincinnati and Buffalo. R-Jo could have certainly helped the Chiefs bury the Bengals in the recent post-season contest.

Chris Jones

The Chiefs have one of the NFL’s unearthly defensive linemen in Chris Jones. The Chiefs DT has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past three seasons, despite not making the Pro Bowl in his 15.5 sack season (which took place in 2018). I fully expect the soon-to-be 28-year-old Jones to continue to be the biggest stud for the Tyrann Mathieu-less Chiefs defense. If Jones could be joined by a friend in Jadeveon Clowney, it would really be hard for other ascending AFC signal-callers to go blow for blow with Mahomes.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Green Bay Packers are a juggernaut football franchise and they should continue to be a Super Bowl contender with burning man Aaron Rodgers for another season. The Packers fan base delights in sitting on aluminum benches with cheese on their heads, but they also enjoy witnessing under-the-radar players ascend into household names. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine three Packers that can burst onto the scene next season.

Sammy Watkins

I really like Sammy Watkins’s fit as a deep-threat in the Packers offense. Outside of Tae’s absence, he should absolutely excel with the old deep-threat MVS out of town against pedestrian NFC North defenses. The former fourth overall pick is still 28 years old and he has actually been somewhat healthy in recent memory, as well (13+ games played in two of his past three seasons). He might be a lock to explode in Week 1, but I believe he can still certainly have more consistent, high-level production in 2022 than his 2019 season (673 yds in 14 games).

Elgton Jenkins

The Packers swiss army knife at OL Elgton Jenkins is the second OL returning from an ACL injury. It’s unclear where Jenkins will start next season, but he should excel at any starting spot on the OL. Jenkins did grab a Pro Bowl spot in 2020, but I expect him to really shine against elite edge rushers from the RT spot in his fourth season/contract year in 2022.

Christian Watson

I might be cheating by adding another WR to this list, but the ceiling of Christian Watson’s career is quite underrated. His combination of size (6’4, 220) and 4.30 speed should help him translate to being a star at the professional level. Most importantly, there is a large void of targets after the exit from Adams and MVS, so the rook should have a nice opportunity to be very involved early on. Freddie Boston from Lombardi Ave also projects Watson to turn heads in 2022.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Kansas City Chiefs are paying Patrick Mahomes $45 million a season, but they made life a bit more difficult for him this offseason. Mahomes lost his favorite toy in Tyreek Hill and the Chiefs witnessed every other AFC West squad level up in the AFC West arms race.

It’s safe to say that Mahomes isn’t the 2022 MVP favorite. With that said, the question is: what is the long-term of Mahomes, and should dynasty owners of Mahomes sell him now? Well, I’m going to untwine his dynasty outlook.

The upside of Mahomes

Patty Mahomes is only 26 years old and he’s made the Pro Bowl in each of the past four seasons. He’s also thrown 37+ passing touchdowns in the past of the two seasons. Hill and Travis Kelce both caught 9 touchdowns last season. Hill is a big loss, but I really believe JuJu and MVS will help Mahomes have a nice floor moving forward.

Travis Kelce is arguably the biggest weapon for Mahomes after the departure of Hill and he should be an elite TE for at least a few more seasons. I don’t know if Mahomes will be the best QB in the AFC West moving forward, but I believe he should average at least 30 passing touchdowns a season without Hill. After Kelce retires, Mahomes may request a trade to a loaded roster.

The downside of Mahomes

The Chiefs will really miss the cheetah. Here is a closer look at how dominant he has been over the past four seasons:

• 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2017
• 1,276 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2020
• A career-high 159 targets in 2021

I don’t expect Mahomes to throw 5,000+ passing yards and 50+ passing touchdowns (in the same season in) a Tyreek Hill-less offense to say the least. Here is a closer look at how productive Mahomes was in 2019 when Hill had a below-average season.

Hill in 2019: 58-860-7

Mahomes in 2019: 4,031 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns

It’s clear that Hill has been the engine to the Chiefs offense. It won’t be easy for Mahomes to oust an MVP season in Kansas City without Hill, as shown above. Nonetheless, he will still have JuJu and MVS at the WR position to help heal the wound.

Verdict:

Hill might be on the Dolphins and it could seem earth-shattering for dynasty fanatics and Chiefs fans, but I would absolutely hold Mahomes. He should be an elite QB with his current offense (Kelce, JuJu, MVS).

The 25-year-old JuJu unleashed 1,426 yards in 2018 and he should be a 1,000+ yard WR in year one as a Chief. I am not convinced that Mahomes will be an All-Pro as a Chief, but he should be a routine Pro Bowl moving forward.

Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers are the most gifted signal-callers in the league. Mahomes will still be an elite QB for the Chiefs and he could potentially follow Russell Wilson’s path by switching teams in the post Kelce era.

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