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The players
Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery, Junior Hemingway, AJ Jenkins, Kyle Williams, Weston Dressler, De'Anthony Thomas, Frankie Hammond, Jerrell Jackson, Darryl Surgent, Albert Wilson, Mark Harrison, Deon Anthony, Fred Williams.
Bowe, Avery and Hemingway look likely to make the roster. Jenkins, Kyle Williams, Dressler, Hammond and the others are competing for just a few spots after that. It's very fluid and the roster decision will likely involve special teams contributions. Wilson and Hammond are two of the lesser known guys whose names stick out based on what we saw at OTAs. I listed Thomas both in our running back preview and in this one because he could be playing some of both.
More: Read last year's WR preview
What's changed
The slot receiver. Dexter McCluster is gone and now Junior Hemingway is among those in the competition to replace him at slot receiver. Weston Dressler, who was a CFL star, is in that slot competition along with De'Anthony Thomas, who was a fourth round pick in May.
Dwayne Bowe is lighter this season. I seem to remember conditioning being a thing with him before he went off for 15 TDs in 2010.
The big question
Can Dwayne Bowe give the Chiefs more? Statistically, he didn't have a very good season last year compared to what we've seen before. But Bowe put up 151 yards in the playoff game, which is what the Chiefs want to see more often. The Chiefs will need more from Bowe in 2014. There's hope he can do that with another year in the system.
Best case scenario
D-Bowe gets back to his normal self and puts up 75 receptions for 1,000 yards. Avery holds onto a few of those deep balls and Hemingway proves he can capitalize on an opportunity as he did in limited spurts last year. With as much as the Chiefs pass the ball, the potential is there for the receivers (insert your Alex Smith comment here).
Worst case scenario
Here's the thing. The Chiefs didn't get much (statistically) out of their receivers last season. And they still won 11 games. D-Bowe at 600-something yards again would be near my worst case scenario.
Random Facts
- Kyle Williams' dad is in the White Sox front office
- Mark Harrison was a tryout player who the Chiefs ended up signing.
- Canada loves Weston Dressler.
- De'Anthony Thomas was a star in Snoop Dogg's football league growing up.