How the Chiefs will benefit from their offseason transactions.
Justin Miles @justm1les Chiefs Focus @Chiefsfocus
By now, everyone knows that the Chiefs have experienced a unique offseason heading into the 2022 season. Between trading away their star wide receiver and loading up with talent at that same position. From the outside looking in, many people may believe that the Chiefs offense will not be the same without Tyreek Hill. While it may be different, it definitely won’t be for the worse. After adding veteran receivers Marquez Valdez-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster and rookies Skyy Moore and Justyn Ross to a team that already has Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman, and Josh Gordon, the Chiefs passing offense looks to be as prolific as ever.
Image via: FirstSportz
Tyreek Hill did manage to put together one of the best stents for a wide receiver in Chiefs history and will clearly be missed. In just six seasons with the Chiefs, the return specialist turned stud receiver put together 479 catches, 6630 yards, with 56 touchdowns. Since Patrick Mahomes was named starting quarterback in 2018, Hill accounted for 23% of his targets, 26% of his yards, and 28% of his touchdowns. Tyreek was clearly one of, if not the most crucial part of the Chiefs offensive production in recent years. Since trading Hill to the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City’s front office has gone to work attempting to make yet another Super Bowl run. We will know soon, but I feel the Chiefs have done a great job boosting our offense and have added some big time players. Despite injuries, since being drafted in 2018, Valdes-Scantling has managed 2153 yards and 13 touchdowns on 123 catches. Smith-Schuster since 2017, has racked up 3855 yards and 26 touchdowns on 323 catches. Since 2018, the two newest additions of the Chiefs offense together, have received 119 targets more than Hill. However, combined they only managed 237 yards more and 11 touchdowns less than the former Chiefs receiver. While Tyreek Hill was known as a deep threat, he also got the job done in the short passing game as well. Thus far in his career, Hill has averaged 13.8 yards per reception. It is likely that Valdes-Scantling will do a great job filling Hill’s role of a deep threat as in his career, he has averaged an astounding 17.5 yards per reception. On the consistency side of things, Smith-Schuster may arguably be better than Hill. Hill has averaged a catch percentage of 67.7% while Smith-Schuster has averaged a catch percentage of 68.6%. Not to mention, the size difference between the players could very well affect the offensive play. With Hill only being 5’10”, Valdes-Scantling stands significantly taller at 6’4” and Smith-Schuster at 6 ‘1”.
Our offense already looks good just adding the two veterans, however you must also account for the rookies being brought into the mix. Drafting Western Michigan receiver Skyy Moore and signing UDFA Justyn Ross out of Clemson, the Chiefs packed the receiver room. Standing at 6’4”, Justyn Ross tallied 158 catches for 2379 yards and 20 touchdowns during his time at Clemson. Skyy Moore did more than help Western Michigan racking up 171 catches for 2482 yards and 16 touchdowns. Both players have looked good in training and are shaping up to be great players for the Chiefs. With the best quarterback in the NFL throwing to them, the upcoming combo paired up with seven time Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce, speedster Mecole Hardman, and Josh Gordon, the Chiefs offense has it all. Having such a versatile and deep roster, should lead to the Chiefs spreading their offense around and sharing the ball more than ever. This will make our offense even more impossible to predict from a defense’s perspective. This should lead to an astounding year for our offense and essentially make our passing game impossible to stop. Chiefs fans should have high hopes and expect big things for this upcoming season.
Stats via: Football Reference(NFL,CFB)
