The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver situation starts off exciting with the name Dwayne Bowe who had a highly productive rookie year. Just shy of 1,000 yards, he proved to be exciting on AND off the field. But after that, the 'ready-now' talent pool dries up.
With the addition of Mark Bradley, will anyone step up and put a stake in the #2 wide receiver spot?
Jeff Webb is perceived to be a Herm Edwards favorite considering his alma mater. A 6th round draft choice just two years ago, Webb has been underwhelming. But, as Herm would say, 'That's okay'. What did we expect out of a 6th rounder? A complementary role player.
Devard Darling was a 3rd rounder in 2004 and up until 2007 had been used almost exclusively as a return man. Darling was non-existent in the preseason and has just one catch in three separate games for the Chiefs this year. He's (allegedly) a speedster, so why isn't he being utilized more?
Will Franklin has been battling an injury which has limited to one catch in the regular season. Still, he thrived while at Mizzou albeit in the spread offense. We've been high on him for quite some time but reality needs to set in. Rookie wide receivers are generally regarded as the lowest impact players in the draft. Bowe is a huge exception to this rule. Franklin's unlikely to catapult himself to the #2 spot this season.
Mark Bradley comes from an offense with a more putrid quarterback situation than the Chiefs with the Chicago Bears. Grossman and Orton had trouble calling his number but then again they have that problem with a lot of receivers. He was productive at Oklahoma and was expected to accrue similar success when the Bears used a 2nd rounder on him in the 2005 draft. Was Muhsin Muhammad right when he said Chicago is where "receivers go to die"? Or is Bradley another player waiting for the right opportunity?