As Chiefs’ oldest wideout, Marquez Valdes-Scantling embraces leadership role

In his first season as a Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, Marquez Valdes-Scantling felt like the old guy among his teammates. But as he begins his second season with the team, he is confident in his understanding of an offensive scheme that is perceived to be difficult to master — which gives him a responsibility.

“Obviously I was learning the offense last year — but I was the oldest guy in the room,” he quipped to reporters following Saturday’s training camp practice at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. “So now being two years into this system, I’m still the oldest guy in the room — and I can still teach this offense just as good as I know it.”

A two-team veteran, Valdes-Scantling feels privileged to share his knowledge of the game with a room full of younger teammates.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in this league for quite some time,” he noted. “I’ve had some great vets that kind of taught me some things. Then being able to go out and teach those guys — and be in that role? It’s an honor.”

Before coming to the Chiefs in 2022, Valdes-Scantling spent four seasons with the Green Bay Packers, where he appreciated the time he spent with veterans like wide receivers Randall Cobb and Davante Adams — along with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Some of the league’s greatest players taught him that staying authentic to himself would take him a long way.

“I think that the more you can be yourself,” he reflected, “that’s what got you in the door. Just learn how to be a pro, learn how to practice, learn how to play the game the right way. I think that’s something that isn’t really taught until you get to the pros.”

Even as he mentors them, Valdes-Scantling sees himself in the team’s young receivers.

“Those guys remind me a lot of myself as a rookie — just their size and how they move — especially Justyn Ross,” he observed. “We’re pretty much identical with the body type, so that’s one of those guys that I’ve kind of just taken under my wing.”

The veteran wideout also sees potential in second-year wideout Skyy Moore, who collected just 250 yards on 22 receptions as a rookie.

“Skyy’s doing a great job,” said Valdes-Scantling. “They drafted him in the second round for a reason. He’s super talented — and [seeing] him be able to move around and do some of the things that he can do, I’m excited to see what the season holds for him.”

To players like Moore and Ross, he offers the same advice he received from the veterans before him.

“Don’t let the moment get too big… It’s just football: something you’ve been doing your whole life.”