PFF ranks the Chiefs’ wide receivers in the middle of the NFL pack

On Thursday, the football analytics site Pro Football Focus continued with its string of articles ranking NFL players. Just like he did with running backs on Wednesday, PFF’s Ben Linsey evaluated each team’s wide receivers as a group.

He separated them into four tiers: Elite, Strong Overall with a Weak Point or Two, Could Be a Strength or Weakness and Likely a Weakness. (Naming these tiers seems like a full-time job for someone at PFF). The Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receivers were ranked 19th, which was third in the 10-team Could Be a Strength or Weakness group.

19. Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs had to give in somewhere on the roster after handing out a lot of big contracts over the past several offseasons, and they opted to do so at wide receiver. One doesn’t simply replace what Tyreek Hill provides to an offense, but Kansas City attacked the position with several different skill sets, acquiring Skyy Moore, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. It remains to be seen how those pieces, along with returners like Mecole Hardman, fit together. Travis Kelce remains the star of the unit, though. His 85.0 PFF grade ranked fourth at the position in 2021.

Takeaway

There are plenty of Chiefs observers who think that as a whole, the team’s wideouts will be stronger (and more productive) in 2022. They have solid arguments for their point of view — and they could easily turn out to be right.

Just the same, Linsey’s characterization is reasonable. It’s one thing to have a theory about how well Kansas City can replace Hill’s production with the free-agent receivers the team has acquired — but it’s still just a theory. We’ll just have to see how it plays out.

Meanwhile, wild cards like rookie Skyy Moore, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Justin Watson and undrafted free agent Justyn Ross could surprise us during their initial seasons with the Chiefs.